Only breastfeeding to give colostrum

[sarah13xx]

Hi I’m going to bottle feed and depending how I feel after my little one is born I’m thinking of trying to give colostrum at least while in hospital. I’m dreading it being painful or giving colostrum starting off my milk supply then I get mastitis. Has anyone does this successfully and how did it go? Did you give bottles as well as colostrum while in hospital? Does it hurt? Thanks

Hi op. I breast fed my first but planning on bottle feeding this baby for practical reasons (work!) I've also wondered about doing the first few days breast feeding but I had a terrible time breast feeding my first (the breast feeding consultant said my nipples were too big for her mouth... It took months for her to be able to latch well) And like you I don't want my milk to come in and then stop as it could be very painful. I'm interested in whether anyone has done this successfully..

The colostrum days don't hurt and milk comes in anyway, whether you're breastfeeding or not. Personally I think it's a waste if colostrum isn't used. Liquid gold that stuff.

Have you tried or thought about colostrum collection? It is quite easy to do with a syringe - I did BF, but had an ELCS and was worried it would be slow or I couldn't, so I started a week before birth squeezing and syringing out. At first you don't get much, but was able to get out about 5ml easily in one sitting of an hour or so in front of Netflix by a week in. Then I just syringed into baby's mouth in hospital between practising BF. If you start a fortnight between due date you should have a fair amount.

You can always try hand expressing the colostrum and collecting in tiny syringes. You can start before the birth (ask your midwife for advice on how and when to start), but I would also take formula to the hospital.

Ime it doesn't hurt until your milk comes in and that will happen whether you feed for a couple of days or not. If you're worried though you could always express colostrum and bottle / syringe feed it

I haven't personally done it but, I have heard of people harvesting colostrum with a syringe and giving it to baby like that. I guess you would hand express rather than latching baby on.

I've bf both my dc and honestly it's never hurt. My boobs did sometimes ache when due a feed (once milk had come in) but that was it.

Just give it a try and see how you feel :) You can always stop if you don't like it.

It can be a little bit painful to start with - think 10 10. It's about the first ten seconds (or swallows) of a feed, you can count down, for about the first ten days. After this it should be getting better. If you're having pain lasting longer into the feed, for longer than this, or it's not improving after this length of time, you would want to seek experienced breastfeeding support, as it may be there is an issue which can be corrected.

I don't think you will be at any greater risk of mastitis if you feed for a few days vs not feeding at all. Even if you never feed, your milk will come in as it's hormonally triggered and you'll need to deal with this - actually feeding is a great way to do that and then you can always stop a bit more slowly which reduces the risk of any blocked ducts.

You might also want to look into combi feeding? There is a new book out about this called Mixed Up which is quite helpful, although I found the kindle layout of it a bit confusing. Maybe the print layout is better.

It doesn't hurt if someone shows you what to do plus breastfeeding is far easier than bottle feeding once established.

I'm thinking of doing the same. I really want the baby to have the goodness of colostrum but I'm looking to bottle feed.

I've watched an nhs video on collecting colostrum which seemed simple enough. Then you store it in a syringe and take it to the hospital with you.

People who comment saying to give breastfeeding a go when the OP has already said she's going to bottle feed isn't helpful. Know one knows why someone has made the choice to bottle feed over breastfeeding.

I tried to bf my 1st three and failed miserably, they all lost too much weight and I had to swap to formula. I had mastitis after 1 of them and needed antibiotics, can't remember which one though.
Our twins I knew I needed to take formula with me so got the little C&G 70ml bottles. I gave them colostrum in hospital alongside the bottles. I tried to give them some breast for the 1st 6 weeks but I never got much supply wise. I will try again with this one but already have all the bottles and ready made formula in ready too.
I think you should always try to give them breast as it's so beneficial to their health, even if it's just for a few days.

On the colostrum harvesting, our hospital have little starter kits for that out in the waiting areas (leaflets and syringes). Worth asking your midwife if they have some available in your area. I picked one up to try closer to my due date.

@whatsthescoregeorgedoors Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

Thanks everyone 😊 that’s really helpful! I did suspect I would have milk coming in regardless so feeding before this wouldn’t make much difference.

I’m going to have a look into colostrum harvesting and ask my midwife about it. The only thing putting me off it was the faff of needing to have it in sterilised syringes then keep them in the freezer and somehow get this to hospital and I presume keep it in their fridge until he’s born? 🤔 It would be really good being able to syringe it in alongside bottle feeding though and see if I could give some more colostrum for a few days if possible. Going to wait til he’s here to see how I feel. I don’t have that urge to feed a baby right now but I’m hoping it somehow kicks in and doesn’t feel totally weird after I see him 😂 x

@Rumples that’s why I’m hoping to do it. Feel like I’ll feel guilty no matter what I do but will get the best of both worlds this way (if it works out) 🙈 I think I watched that NHS video. I need a section so I’m really worried harvesting colostrum will put me into labour before that and it will end up being an emergency. Some evidence seems to say it does and others say it doesn’t 🤦🏼‍♀️ If I leave it til the final week before my section I’ll hopefully be okay! X

I gave colostrum for the first 24 hrs before being advised to give formula by the paediatricians. It didn't hurt at all. Your milk still comes in but if isn't used goes away quickly and I did not find it painful, just a little tender for the first 48hrs or so.

@sarah13xx I only BF my son colostrum and expressed as I couldn’t breast feed successfully after a host of post birth issues. My milk came in quickly but I finished expressing and giving colostrum by the 6th day and I had no pain when I stopped x

Your body starts to produce colostrum from 16 weeks pregnant. The delivery of the placenta triggers the change in milk from colostrum to the regular milk. This happens approx 48hrs after birth. The more you feed the baby the more milk the body will produce but if you don't feed at all or not much then the body will start to switch off milk production. When breasts are full of milk there is a hormone that tells them not to make milk. When they are emptied, hormones tell them to make more.

Colostrum harvesting is really useful, means you have some ready to give baby straight away and you can collect some more after birth if you wish to.

Colostrum harvesting struck me as quite a faff, and I ebf. Just let them have a bit from you, then stop if it isn’t going to work for you to bf long term.

Yes I'd use the syringes, no point risking cracked nipples if you don't need the baby to latch.

@MindyStClaire definitely sounds like an easier option, will ask my midwife about doing it x

I was milked by a midwife for 3 days and my son fed from a dropper. Then I went on to the bottles. Being milked wasn't fun but wasn't painful. On the 3rd day my milk came in properly and my boobs ballooned, but I just did nothing about it. I wasn't told to do anything by midwives either. Then they went back to normal and that was that.

Because I couldn't get the hang of it, my nipples are small and only 1 midwife could get a good spray. Milking isn't mandatory is my point, you can DIY.

This is really interesting as I wanted my DS to have colostrum but bottle feed. I tried breast but didn't get the hang of it and moved to bottle. He's now 9 and I had over the muscle breast implants a few years ago which I've read can cause a reduced milk supply. I'm 8 weeks with twins and would like them to have colostrum so I'm going to look into the harvesting! Does anyone have any good links about it and do you collect and freeze it or keep it in a fridge?

www.laleche.org.uk/antenatal-expression-of-colostrum/#why

You collect and freeze. If you Google NHS colostrum harvesting you'll get links to pdfs from various NHS trusts. But it's best to speak to your midwife before starting to do it.