Bottled Breastmilk vs Nursing

Stephanie - posted on 05/06/2009

Quoting Amber:

Hi Stephanie it is nice to find out that other people have had some problems as well I don't feel so alone. My son is now 3 1/2 months old and I have exclusively pumped since he was just 3 days old. I got him to latch at first, but once we went home he just refused. I was so upset he would cry and then I would cry and that was no good so I started pumping and have been since. I have tried and tried to get him back to the breast and he just refuses and gets very upset. I still wish he would bf, but I do feel he is still getting the same benefits and now that I am back at work and have been I have to pump anyway. I think you should keep trying I am still trying it would be so much easier if he would just bf when I am with him. The only thing that is nice is that if I want to sleep at night I can make dad get up and feed him. Someone suggested to me to pour some expressed milk on me before putting him on to nurse. Either way our babies are getting the benefits. I did read though that when you warm the milk do not shake it you actually lose some of the nutrients of breastmilk by shaking it just swirl it around to even the warm spots.

Thank you so much. It's great to meet people who are going through the same thing. Thanks for the advice as well!! Best of luck to you and I hope you can get your son back to bf!!

Amber - posted on 05/06/2009

Hi Stephanie it is nice to find out that other people have had some problems as well I don't feel so alone. My son is now 3 1/2 months old and I have exclusively pumped since he was just 3 days old. I got him to latch at first, but once we went home he just refused. I was so upset he would cry and then I would cry and that was no good so I started pumping and have been since. I have tried and tried to get him back to the breast and he just refuses and gets very upset. I still wish he would bf, but I do feel he is still getting the same benefits and now that I am back at work and have been I have to pump anyway. I think you should keep trying I am still trying it would be so much easier if he would just bf when I am with him. The only thing that is nice is that if I want to sleep at night I can make dad get up and feed him. Someone suggested to me to pour some expressed milk on me before putting him on to nurse. Either way our babies are getting the benefits. I did read though that when you warm the milk do not shake it you actually lose some of the nutrients of breastmilk by shaking it just swirl it around to even the warm spots.

Stephanie - posted on 05/06/2009

Quoting Heather:

If you are having issues with nipple soreness, I'd try lilypadz instead of traditional pads... don't use them until your nipples have healed, and then don't use lanolin or anything else on the nipple... the lilypadz solved the cracking problems I had in the first few weeks of breast feeding... I'm not sure why, I think part of it was rubbing the breast milk into the nipples and letting them air dry a bit before applying the pad. Lanolin never helped me a bit, so I was frustrated until I found this solution... good luck!

I will give them a try. Thanks!

Heather - posted on 05/05/2009

If you are having issues with nipple soreness, I'd try lilypadz instead of traditional pads... don't use them until your nipples have healed, and then don't use lanolin or anything else on the nipple... the lilypadz solved the cracking problems I had in the first few weeks of breast feeding... I'm not sure why, I think part of it was rubbing the breast milk into the nipples and letting them air dry a bit before applying the pad. Lanolin never helped me a bit, so I was frustrated until I found this solution... good luck!

Stephanie - posted on 05/05/2009

Quoting Emily:

I exclusively pumped for the first 4-6 weeks of my twins life when I finally dug my heals in and managed to get them to exclusively bf. they are still bf at 11 mo. Pumping is so hard, much more work than nursing. I would have done the same if I hadn't had luck getting them to nurse exclusively despite how hard it is. Did you have your son's tongue "fixed"? If you did and still wantto bf...it CAN be done...nipple confusion can be overcome. Be sure that you pump consistently and pump extra when your son goes through growth spurts so that your milk supply will keep up with him. Good luck to you...be proud that you've gotten this far! Good job!

Wow, twins! I could only imagine! You're right, pumping is really time consuming! Breast pumps really aren't equipt to pump 6-10 times a day. Or at least my original one wasn't. I've since had to invest in a one that's or a little better quality. I'm glad to hear that you were able to go back to breastfeeding. I'd love to go back to it someday. Yes, the pediatrician clipped the extra skin under his tongue so now he's able to latch on properly (all the way). I've breastfed since he had it fixed, and it doesn't hurt anymore. Our problem now is the nipple confusion. I'm going to continue to work at it and hopefully we can get back to it soon! Thank you! Good luck with the twins!!

Stephanie - posted on 05/05/2009

Quoting Michelle:

I am in a similar situation. I breastfed for 5 days and she latched on great most times, but my nipples still got sore and red. I am also expressing more milk than she can drink, so I had to pump and store the remainder. Now, she is on just breast milk in a bottle while I get my nipples back to feeling normal. Any idea how long that takes? I would actually like to try getting her back on the breast, but it may not happen because I have to go back to work in 5 weeks. Breast milk is the best you can give your baby no matter how you give it to them =)

Thank you! I don't feel like I'm alone any longer. I don't know anyone that has had to do the same thing that I am going through. I think it probably depends on how you take care of your nipples for how long it takes them to heal. I finally got my nipples to heal. I used a lot of lanolin cream, everytime I changed my nursing pads. I also rubbed some of my expressed breastmilk onto my nipples. It took my nipples about 2 weeks to heal completely. It probably would have been a lot sooner, but of course I was still pumping so slowed the healing process a bit. I agree, breast millk is the best  no matter how they get it =). Thanks again and good luck to you!

Stephanie - posted on 05/05/2009

Quoting Heather:

I would definitely get a consult w aq lactation consultant. My son had issues latching, he was born early and didn't have the muscle tone to suck. I pumped for him, and after 2wks I started using something called a nipple shield- a thin clear layer of plastic, I think, or some sort of rubber that goes over your nipple to give then the oral stimulation of a bottle but all the benefits of breastfeeding. I was able to wean him off of it after a month or so to bare breast by doing 1 feeding a day w/o the shield. Once he got the hang of that I went to 2 feedings bare breast, etc.. good luck!

Thanks for the advice!

Heather - posted on 05/05/2009

I would definitely get a consult w aq lactation consultant. My son had issues latching, he was born early and didn't have the muscle tone to suck. I pumped for him, and after 2wks I started using something called a nipple shield- a thin clear layer of plastic, I think, or some sort of rubber that goes over your nipple to give then the oral stimulation of a bottle but all the benefits of breastfeeding. I was able to wean him off of it after a month or so to bare breast by doing 1 feeding a day w/o the shield. Once he got the hang of that I went to 2 feedings bare breast, etc.. good luck!

Jessica - posted on 05/05/2009

Its never too late to try to get him latched on. Do a search onlline of re-introducing the breast or contact a local la leche league leader to help you. I don't know a lot about it but I would say just keep trying occasionally. I know someone one personally that went 6 weeks and then was able to get the baby latched on still. Also try a LC.

Michelle - posted on 05/05/2009

I am in a similar situation. I breastfed for 5 days and she latched on great most times, but my nipples still got sore and red. I am also expressing more milk than she can drink, so I had to pump and store the remainder. Now, she is on just breast milk in a bottle while I get my nipples back to feeling normal. Any idea how long that takes? I would actually like to try getting her back on the breast, but it may not happen because I have to go back to work in 5 weeks. Breast milk is the best you can give your baby no matter how you give it to them =)

Emily - posted on 05/05/2009

I exclusively pumped for the first 4-6 weeks of my twins life when I finally dug my heals in and managed to get them to exclusively bf. they are still bf at 11 mo. Pumping is so hard, much more work than nursing. I would have done the same if I hadn't had luck getting them to nurse exclusively despite how hard it is. Did you have your son's tongue "fixed"? If you did and still wantto bf...it CAN be done...nipple confusion can be overcome. Be sure that you pump consistently and pump extra when your son goes through growth spurts so that your milk supply will keep up with him. Good luck to you...be proud that you've gotten this far! Good job!