Breastmilk Bottlefeeding tips requested

Lori - posted on 06/15/2009

Boiling damages breastmilk (as does the microwave, which is one reason why you should also never use that) - Perhaps boiling has been the recommended method for heating formula.

My personal experience has been that my little one has a very strong preference for the breast. We started trying to give him bottles of breastmilk at around 4-5 weeks, and every few days thereafter, and he has never been pleased. At first he would take it reluctantly, but then for weeks would outright refuse. We initially tried lots of different nipples, but have only recently (around 6 months) discovered the Breastflow by First Years. It has this great design of a double nipple so that the baby latches properly and has to use suction and compression, just like breastfeeding. It's the only bottle my baby bubs will take. Evidently lactation experts also like it because it does not interfere with proper latch for a breastfeeding mother.

good luck!

Patty - posted on 06/14/2009

I started my son on bottles around 5 weeks of age and would try to give him one once every few days at first. My son did not have any problems switching between bottle and breast. If he will not take it from your husband then you can try offering it. I was the one who offered him bottles first and once he learned how to eat from a bottle almost anyone could do it. I would have someone other than me give him the bottle either at his dinner feeding or the one just before bed, when he was really hungry and was more apt to take it due to hunger, so that he would not always associate me with feeding times. I personally think the best way to approach it is just to dive in head first and see how he reacts. If he will not take it from your husband then you can try offering it. I was the one who offered him bottles first and once he learned how to eat from a bottle almost anyone could do it.



I also freeze my milk in the Lasinoh bags, but when I heat them up I just heat up water in a large coffee mug and set the bag, or bottle from the fridge, in it and let it warm up that way. I'm not sure why they say not to boil it, I can't say I've ever heard that.



How often you should pump really depends on how often your son nurses. In the beginning my son was nursing every 2 hours and actually still does. I pump from one breast in the morning while he nurses from the other at his first feeding, that is when I am the fullest and can get the most. I have personally found that if I pump while nursing I get almost double the amount of milk. When I pump at work and while he is napping I try to pump 10 to 15 minutes on each side. If your going back to work I would recommend tyring to stock up now, I wish I would have done that more in the beginning. Some days I pump an ounce from each side before he nurses and at the end of the day I will have anywhere from 6 to 10 ounces and I break that up and freeze it. If you know at some point throughout your day you have 4 hours between feedings trying pumping in the middle. That will give your body 2 hours to reproduce the milk for the next feeding.



I currently go to a BF support group every week and have asked many of the questions you are asking. Most of what I have included here is advice from the lactation consultants and the many mothers with older babies. I hope this helps you in some way. Let me know if I can help in any other way.

Jennifer - posted on 06/14/2009

Yeah, it is a big can of worms. And the biggest thing is that each baby is different. Personally none of my kids had any problems with switching between breast and bottle, whether it was from me or my husband. I can't remember the reason why you don't boil the bottle... but I'm sure it's a relevant one. I pump so much excess milk that I store it in the Lansinoh milk storage bags laying flat in 4oz back so it makes a flat 'brick' type thing. It thaws very quickly underneath warm tap water versus a solid frozen bottle.



I don't know what your specific situation is but I work full time so it's pretty obvious when bottle is needed instead of me :) If you can kick hubby out of bed once in a while in the middle of the night that might be helpful for you, and any time that you are not with baby, but the more you can breastfeed instead of replacing bottle will help you maintain your milk supply. If you'd like to keep extra milk in the freezer, pump pump pump! Whenever your breasts are full especially after baby's first morning feeding. This is when milk supply is at its highest. I got up to a point where I literally had 100 bags of 4oz milk. I've had to gradually dig into that as I don't have the time I once used to to pump at work. So the more you can pump now the better off you may be. It certainly wont hurt.



How long you have to pump at each session depends on your body, your breastpump, and how each responds to the other. When I first started pumping with my first baby it took me 20-25 minutes to get used to it. Now it takes 10 minutes to empty both sides and 5 minutes to cleanup.



http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index... is a good place to read up at. But like most parenting, you'll learn as you go.



Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 06/14/2009

Yeah, it is a big can of worms. And the biggest thing is that each baby is different. Personally none of my kids had any problems with switching between breast and bottle, whether it was from me or my husband. I can't remember the reason why you don't boil the bottle... but I'm sure it's a relevant one. I pump so much excess milk that I store it in the Lansinoh milk storage bags laying flat in 4oz back so it makes a flat 'brick' type thing. It thaws very quickly underneath warm tap water versus a solid frozen bottle.



I don't know what your specific situation is but I work full time so it's pretty obvious when bottle is needed instead of me :) If you can kick hubby out of bed once in a while in the middle of the night that might be helpful for you, and any time that you are not with baby, but the more you can breastfeed instead of replacing bottle will help you maintain your milk supply. If you'd like to keep extra milk in the freezer, pump pump pump! Whenever your breasts are full especially after baby's first morning feeding. This is when milk supply is at its highest. I got up to a point where I literally had 100 bags of 4oz milk. I've had to gradually dig into that as I don't have the time I once used to to pump at work. So the more you can pump now the better off you may be. It certainly wont hurt.



How long you have to pump at each session depends on your body, your breastpump, and how each responds to the other. When I first started pumping with my first baby it took me 20-25 minutes to get used to it. Now it takes 10 minutes to empty both sides and 5 minutes to cleanup.



http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index... is a good place to read up at. But like most parenting, you'll learn as you go.



Good luck!