if you are expecting and you want to breastfeed and bottle feed, when is the best time to do it?

Answer 1

Make sure that breastfeeding is well established before introducing a bottle. The manner of sucking is different on each and the baby may prefer the bottle, not wishing to breastfeed anymore.

Ask at a breastfeeding clinic.(offered in hospitals)

Answer 2

Breastfeed for the first few weeks until you get the baby on a schedule. Then you can pump some milk and let dad bottle feed for a set feeding. This will give dad and baby bonding time and give you some free time to go talk a walk, etc. Bottle feeding will give the baby more stomach gas. So make sure dad knows how to burp the baby.

Answer 3

I'm not sure if by "bottle feed" you mean pumping breast milk and then feeding, or using formula; so I will answer both. For various reasons I was unable to breast feed past 4 weeks. I pumped for awhile, but keep in mind that if you are giving your baby what you pumped, you're pulling double duty. I would pump for an hour then spend an hour feeding my baby. If you have to go back to work, this may not be realistic for you because of how much time it consumes. If you are planning to combine breast milk and formula, which is what I eventually did before tapering off to just formula, you are the only one that can decide what the right time is. You can mix the formula right in with the breast milk. If you want to keep your milk supply up, my only advice is pump every two hours for at least 15 minutes on each side, even if you aren't expressing any milk, it's the stimulation that is important in the beginning. Also, don't skip on pumping. Your breasts will only produce as much milk as your baby needs, so by pumping, you are essentially "tricking" your breasts into producing more. I hope this helps you. As a new mom myself, the very best advice that I can give you is to trust your instincts about your baby. Often when I would seek advice, people would give me thier opinions, rather than the information that I seeked. Take everyting with a grain of salt, because as far as your baby is concerned, you are the only expert at caring for him/her. Good luck to you.

Answer 4

Breastfeed on cue in the early weeks. If you want to combine breast and bottle, have Dad offer a bottle of expressed milk around 4-6 weeks of age. If breastfeeding is going smooth, 3-4 weeks would be fine. If you got off to a rough start, you might want to wait until closer to 6 weeks.

Answer 5

Will you be bottle feeding breastmilk or formula? If breastmilk then my lactation consultant recommends introducing the bottle around 2-4 weeks and always using nipples with only one hole. If it is formula then I'd wait until you are prepared for the possibility of your milk drying up...because there is a good chance it will once you start supplimenting with formula.

Answer 6

I plan to breast feed only. I breastfed my son for over 2 1/2 years. And I plan to breastfeed my 2nd son too. Breastmilk is the best.

Answer 7

purchase a good quality pump and start after birth with the nursing then after the milk comes in (2 to 3 days) begin to express/pump milk after your child nurses, you can then freeze it to use in a bottle at a later time

Father of 3 breastfed/bottle fed babies

Answer 8

hmm....a shot in the dark....but...umm.....when the baby is born