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Postnatal health

As with all health-related issues, please seek advice from a RL health professional if you're worried about anything.

Flip

Original poster

Expressing at 3 weeks old

7 replies

Ali46 · 25/10/2020 01:20

Hi, is it too early to be expressing and mixing bottle and boob when newborn is just 3 weeks old? I’ve currently got mastitis and the gp told me to express to help the infection but rather than pour it away I’ve been keeping some so hubby can help feed too. Has anyone else done this? I had in my head you should wait till 6 weeks...

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Cleaninglady46 · 25/10/2020 08:06

Ps how much should I be giving each time?

Globalpandemicmum · 25/10/2020 08:10

You need to wait or the baby can get nipple
confusion. Pop them in the freezer for now, they’ll come in handy later.

Also, have you heard of the Haakka pump, genuinely the best thing ever for expressing. You just pop it on your other boob when baby is feeding and it catches your letdown. My baby is 4 months now and I’ve not had to sit and get the manual pump out once.

JoanApple · 25/10/2020 08:11

I had a difficult birth and struggled to bf whilst recovering mentally and physically. I did a combination of expressing and formula from 3 weeks, then just formula from about 5 weeks. No problem and happier mum and baby as a result.

LolaLollypop · 25/10/2020 08:11

I expressed from about day 3 - never affected my breastfeeding relationship with baby. It was a lifesaver when I needed someone else to feed him with a bottle!
I think nipple confusion is quite rare. If you have mastitis then expressing can help clear the blockages - don’t express too much though otherwise your boobs will go into overdrive. I think I expressed about 30ml at first. Make sure you massage the problem areas on your boob first, or whilst expressing.
Good luck!

legalseagull · 25/10/2020 08:15

My two never had nipple confusion and I used one expressed bottlle a night (so I could get some sleep!) from about 2/3 weeks

theresaplaceforus · 25/10/2020 16:52

Ive been expressing since day 3 - no confusion at all.

Itsalwayssunnyupnorth · 25/10/2020 17:03

Iv been giving a bottle a day in the evening (well DP has) since day 1 sometimes expressed BM and sometimes formula. No issues here with nipple confusion/supply. From personal experience I didn’t want to leave it too long and end up with a little bottle refuser! More recent evidence shows that nipple confusion isn’t such a big issue in feeding so just go with what feels right for you and your family.

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