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Community > Birth Month
May 2024 Babies
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FloridaGirl228
Hi ladies,
I’m wondering when you have found it best to introduce a bottle while also trying to get in the breastfeeding groove. I know it can be different for baby to feel the bottle nipple as opposed to the real thing. I’d like to breastfeed but also my husband wants me to be able to rest and to have a part in things himself if I can pump and store and he can do his share of bottle feeding. I’m curious what others have found works best as far as when to introduce bottles. Is it best to just breastfeed for the first few weeks and then start pumping and using a bottle or more right away? Thoughts? Experiences?
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Allycat2400
The general recommendation is to wait a few weeks before pumping. That way your body has some time to regulate and baby has time to get the hang of breastfeeding.
For me I’ll be exclusively pumping. So I’ll try and get baby to latch until my milk comes in, just to help signal to my body to produce.
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aforsyth96
@Kedi57,
I would have formula on hand just in case! Colostrum was not enough for my first. I produced an adequate amount of colostrum but she was hungry for 2-3oz bottles right away. We needed formula for about two days.
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heylilmama
with my first, I didn’t begin pumping till I was a month post partum, and then my husband was able to give her one bottle daily to give me a break in the mornings. It takes a few weeks/months before you feel like you got the hang of breast feeding, and I think it’s important to prioritize that so baby has a good latch and you produce a sufficient milk supply to feed baby. I really felt more confident with breastfeeding around the three month mark, baby was turning super chunky and receptive to both bottle and breast. Don’t over stress yourself, and prioritize what’s most important to you!
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Jennafc
I would personally introduce the bottle as soon as possible. Pumping is a great way to increase your supply and getting the baby use to a bottle also!
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kolalakitty
most lactation consultants recommend waiting to start pumping until month 2 PP unless you're planning to exclusively pump. the reasoning being if You're doing both, it can lead to you over producing. that first month after the milk comes in helps set the tone for how much baby actually eats/needs. if you're breastfeeding and pumping, you'll telling your body that baby is eating for two babies instead and this needs to produce that much all the time.
that can lead to engorgement if you aren't feeding and doing a bottle instead for a feed. it's is no fun and puts you at higher risk of mastitis which is even worse.
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beektees
With my first, I started pumping and breastfeeding within 24 hours of birth. I had a c-section, so was in the hospital for four days. Two lactation nurses came in to help me learn to breastfeed, how to latch and to get the flow going to use the Medela Symphony pump during those four days. My son had jaundice, so had to be under blue light off/on for two days, and the nurses got him to bottle feed (Medela) my milk and formula. He was not picky and no allergies to formula or bottle type, thankfully.
I did a combo of pumping, bottle feeding, breastfed, froze breastmilk and some formula for 7.5 months. Hope to do the same again, hopefully for a year though for breastmilk pumping. Having your husband help or friends or family to bottle feed is helpful so you can do other things. Hope it works out for you! ����
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meg30h
it's best to wait at least 6 weeks before pumping/bottle feeding, otherwise you risk creating an oversupply, which comes with its own set of problems! We introduced one bottle a day at 6 weeks, but in all honesty I wish we hadn't - despite following paced feeding guidelines, my baby eventually developed a bottle preference, which caused a lot of stress for our nursing journey and ultimately meant I ended up switching to exclusively pumping, which is HARD work. Of course every baby is different and every family's needs are different, just sharing my experience. This time I'm fortunate enough to be able to take a longer maternity leave, so I'm hoping to avoid bottles, but we'll see what happens!
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ImACoolMama
I want my baby to take a bottle so we’ll introduce it early on again this time as well. My daughter never had issues going back and forth between nursing and bottle
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mom2b123
I honestly cannot remember when we introduced the bottle for the first time but I started expressing milk around 4-5 weeks and I think it would have been around the same time. I used a Hakka in the earlier weeks before switching to the electric pump.
I started on the earlier side because I really wanted to make sure I had a solid freezer supply for baby when he went to daycare a few short months later.
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rtm1014
I’m planning to introduce a bottle early (probably one a day) because I don’t want to be in a position where she won’t accept a bottle. I will primarily breastfeed but may use formula sometimes in the bottle to try to get her used to that too since I’ll need to go back to work at 14 weeks and with my last I wasn’t able to pump enough for daycare and my daughter refused formula for a while
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mtnnewland
I was an over producer so the moment my milk came in I had to pump. but I breastfeed him too. he didn't get a bottle until I think 3 or 4 weeks and we kept it to once a day. eventually we forgot about the bottle because it was easier to just breastfeed but then we ended up with bottle refusal by the time he went to daycare so once you start with bottles don't stop cold turkey and try to reintroduce later, it's a pain.
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