Breastfeeding Mamas

I have a one month old and am breast feeding too. I have given him 3 bottles so far and he took them with no problem from me. He did not seem to have any trouble with the slow flow nipple and no problems going back to the breast. I also am trying to do as few bottles as possible to establish good feeding, however if you wait to long you may have a harder time getting the baby to take the bottle.

Check out the LeLeche League site or kellymom.com. They have great answers for common breastfeeding questions.

My advice (after BFing three kids, still nursing my 1 yr old), is to let your husband feed the baby a "fresh breastmilk" bottle while you go take a shower, or LEAVE THE HOUSE for 30 minutes - or go down to the basement and stay away until he's done feeding the baby. I SWEAR they smell you. If you're within range, your child may not take the bottle.

So pump, and let your husband start giving 1 bottle a day. I'd start now. You may have to try different bottles/nipples. Some babies are very particular. It may take a little "practice" or the baby may take it just fine.

Try to pump 1x a day, because you're supply should still be pretty abundant right now...it will taper off a bit. You can find all the "guidelines" for storage on the Le Leche site or almost anywhere on the internet. (You may have even gotten some info on your new mommy inserts you got from the hospital.)

I'd say store it in 2oz portions right now. It's like "liquid gold" so try not to waste it. The general rule of thumb is that if the baby's mouth goes on the bottle, you don't "save" that milk if the baby doesn't finish it, the bacteria from the saliva, "contaminates" the milk.

They do sell "milk storage bags" that have the mls/ozs on them. You can use them as liners in your pump bottles and then squeeze the air out, and seal them. Mark the date, oz stored and then either fridge or freezer.

If you're going to freeze, I'd recommend freezing it RIGHT away. That keeps it freshest. And you can quickly build up your stockpile now while your supply is good. You may notice that ANY decongestants (cold meds), Benadryl, allergy meds, etc. drop your milk levels. So stay away from them while BFing. If you have a freezer supply, then in case you need to be away from him or YOU get sick, then you'll have milk on hand.

To "rewarm" the milk, don't microwave! Put it in a cup of warm water. Again, every baby is different. Some like it 98.6 degrees, others will drink it cold. For a small baby, who's new to bottles, I'd bring it up to 98-99 degrees to keep it MOST like he's used to. Then you can gradually warm the next ones a little less and less over weeks.

Good luck!

My boys took both a bottle and the breast from birth, and had no problems switching back and forth, but since the bottle was easier to feed from (I never produced much milk), my oldest self weened from the breast at 3 months. It may be easier for him if his first bottles are introduced by daddy so he is not expecting the breast.

I would start as soon as possible, but keep it to one bottle per day at the most, a few days per week at least. This lets your baby learn to take a bottle (as mentioned, have someone other than you do this) but might make it easier on grandma. We started at 3 weeks with both boys with my husband giving one bottle after work, since I went back to work at 6 weeks but still nursed almost a year with my first, and past 13 months with my second. Some babies will never take a bottle, so consider leaving alternatives like small cups, a dropper (like an eye dropper or medicine dropper), and a few different kinds of bottle. At this point you don't want to really replace feedings altogether but let your baby know that this is another way to be fed. Make sure he is ravenous when the bottle is introduced and keep the amounts small and the bottles with a slow flow nipple. I have known some moms who introduced the bottle themselves, but it does not work in the long run for everyone and I never could imagine giving my kids a bottle or convincing them that it was just as good. Good luck!

my son got bottles of BM from 3 days old. I started pumping in the hospital per the latcation consultant. My son never had issues going between a bottle and me.

Begin pumping and let someone else give the bottle. Most important: make sure it is the SLOWEST flow nipple possible so he will have to work at getting your milk like he does at your breast or he will not want to work for it for you. I was nearby watching (taking pictures!) the first time Grandma gave my son a bottle. I had heard that if he smells me/my milk, he wouldn't take the bottle. That was not the case for him.

As far as pumping and storing, your milk will keep for 6-7 days refrigerated if you put it directly in the back of the fridge where it is coldest. If kept in the freezer (in the back) it can be stored safely for up to 3 months. If you have a DEEP freeze, it will last 5-6 months. Once thawed, it needs to be used within 24 hours (kept refrigerated). If you pump for use that day, it is safe on the counter for up to 8 hours. You need to get the air out before storing. Be careful not to let the bags rub against anything else when frozen, as that could put holes in them.

PLEASE keep in mind that a two month old baby has vastly different nutritional needs than a baby that is four, six, or eight months old. Your body produces exactly what he needs NOW. I did pump and store for daycare, but was always sure to rotate so my son was getting my milk that was within about two months from being pumped so it wasn't too mismatched for his needs.

Here is an article by Dr. Sears on storing and transporting breastmilk: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t026900.asp At the bottom there is a great chart with exactly what you need!!

Good Luck and God Bless!! :)

We didn't have a choice but my little one was introduced the bottle at week 2 had just the bottle for a week and a half and now has one every now and then. No issues at all I happen to think the sooner the better. I bet he is breastfeed just fine now so i would go for it. :)

I'd start now. Niether of my children ever accepted a bottle. Never. It's been long enought that there will be no nipple confusion, so you might as well give it a try. If you wait too long, the chances baby will accept it are lower.

Good luck!

Obviously every child is different, but here is/was my experience...I exclusively breastfed my oldest until 4 months. At that point, I tried to pump and give him a bottle so I could have a little more freedom. He did not want the bottle! It took a while for him to drink a whole bottle. Then, at 7 months, my milk was quickly drying up, so I had to give him formula and that was also a HUGE battle. My 3rd is now 2 months old and I have nursed and pumped since he was born. He will happily take either!
As for storage, I have milk in the freezer. I store it in the pumping bottles and milk storage bags. Check online for how long you can store it for--I think it's about 3 months in the freezer. Good Luck!

There really is no reason why you can't give your baby the bottle yourself. I suppose every baby is different, but my little guy has never had a problem switching back and forth for me. After trying several different types of bottles I highly recommend Playtex® VentAire® Advanced Slow Flow Nipple - Wide

http://www.playtexbaby.com/Bottles/VentAire/Advanced-Wide

The wide nipple is important so your baby doesn't develop nipple confusion...we had some trouble with that early on. And my little guy started biting me because he had to suck differently on the smaller nipple.
Anyway hope this helps!

Start pumping now. Figure out when your supply is at it's highest and pump then. I was always able to pump a lot in the morning, but each person is different. Remember, milk production is supply & demand, so you might notice an increase in production once you start pumping. Don't get discouraged if you only and an ounce or two when you start pumping. Your body has to get used to it! I really liked the Lansinoh storage bags. I would fill them up, read the measurements (there are ounce lines on the bag), squeeze out the air (YOU HAVE TO DO THIS OR THE MILK WILL GO BAD), write on the bag the ounces & the date, lie flat to freeze. Once the milk is frozen, you can either stack the bags up, or stand them up in a container. I used the big Glad plastic containers, but anything will work. Make sure you keep the milk in the coldest part of your freezer. For most freezers the coldest spot is in the back. Never place your milk in the door or the front of the freezer. It doesn't stay cold enough and will go bad. You can keep milk frozen for about 6 months in a regular freezer or 12 months in a deep freeze. To warm it up, just put the frozen milk in a cup of hot water, never use the microwave.
Introducing the bottle now is fine also. You can try to give the baby the bottle, or have your husband try. I would suggest that if you have someone else try, that you leave the house. Go shopping or out to lunch. The baby will be more likely to take the bottle if you're not around. Some people say to offer when the baby isn't starving and other say to do it when the baby is really hungry. You kind of have to decide what would work best for your child. At 2 months you shouldn't have any nipple confusion switching from the bottle to the breast.

Neither of mine had trouble going back and forth. I highly recommend using the Playtex nurser with the latex (brown) nipple. It is super soft just like mom. I never had any trouble feeding mine a bottle.

Every baby is different so you just have to give it a go and see what, if any, adjustments you need to make.

I used Gerber bm storage bags. Date them and them bag them in a gallon size freezer bag. We had to do that when my son was in the NICU just in case of a leak. I only ever had one leak with the Gerber bags and they are far less expensive than the Medela ones.

Also, get your hands on the Medela steam clean bags when you start pumping. They make clean up/sterilizing the parts so much easier!

Pumping takes time for your body to learn how to do as well. It is very different from baby nursing. What you are able to pump can sometimes be vastly different than what baby gets. don't be worried or shocked if you don't pump much at first. Or you might pump just fine! Every mommy is different. I would start now so you have time to get the hang of it and get a little milk stored up. Maybe just once a day give it a try.

It all depends on the baby. My baby took the bottle from me as well as breastfeeding..........but a lot of babies are very picky as far as the mommy feeding a bottle.
I know some moms who waited too long and they refused the bottle. There is just so many things that can happen. I suggest that dad gives it too him and gets him ready for grandma........and for now, you don't give it too him. As too when ??? I guess that is up too you. One or two bottles a week is not a huge change at this stage. But waiting another month I don't think will make a huge difference.

It s never too late to pump. Freeze the milk. I think it last 5 months. Not sure though. There is baggies sold for storing.

I'd keep it just breastfeeding for as long as you can, maybe introduce the pumped breastmilk bottle the day before. The later you introduce the bottle, the more stable and strong your nursing relationship will be.

Good luck, I'm sure things will go well.