I'm wondering how soon we can do this so I can help with the feeds at night and give my wife a break from time to time. She's been in the house for 2 weeks and needs to get out. Let me know what you think please. Thanks.
2006-11-20 03:15:12 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
You should be able to start immediately.
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2006-11-20 03:18:02 · answer #1 · answered by raecliff95 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
6 weeks. But even then it can cause problems and many breastfed babies will not accept a bottle.
Why can't she go out with the baby? Seriously I have been breastfeeding for 8 months and the only time I go out with the baby is if my husband happens to be home and it is time for the dog's walk. Then sometimes I take the dog to the park on my own. But that is right down the street and I take the cell phone so I can come right back. It wasn't until my baby was 4 or 5 months old that I could even bear to be apart from him for that long.
Your wife really needs to join some mommy groups, it made a huge difference to me. To get out and see other moms and babies. However 2 weeks after childbirth she may not want to leave the house, we are all different.
Your wife can go almost anywhere she did before and just take the baby, and with a breastfed baby you do not have to worry about packing bottles and formula. You can breastfeed anywhere. Encourage her to go out, in fact you can all go out together.
As for the "break" the kind of break your wife needs is you watching the baby while she naps, or showers, eats, or whatnot. Not a break from feeding, feeding should be a relaxing peaceful time.
2006-11-20 03:27:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Some people will try to tell you that there is no such thing as nipple confusion. Sorry to say, they're wrong. I've seen too many nursing couples who had to struggle with it. The problem is, the baby doesn't come with a lable on his head that says "prone to nipple confusion" or "I don't care.....just feed me!" Eating from a bottle and nursing at the breast require totally different mechanics and some babies just can't handle trying to learn both methods at the same time.
If breastfeeding is going smoothly and there are no latch problems, then you may be able to introduce an occasional bottle of pumped milk after the 3 week growth spurt. If breastfeeding got off to a rought start, I'd suggest waiting until closer to the 6 week mark to avoid problems.
2006-11-20 03:23:07 · answer #3 · answered by momma2mingbu 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Try it out. My son took both nipple and bottle right from birth. You probably have been told about nipple confusion but here is my experience with it. I am a pediatric nurse and sometimes strictly breast fed babies will come in and if the mom's aren't around, we will have to give them bottles. The older babies who have NEVER tried a bottle are much more reluctant to take the bottle than the younger babes. We have never had a problem with a baby trying a bottle and refusing to go back on the breast. There are lots of different bottles and nipples out there. Try the ones that promote breast feeding. It's nice for your wife to get a break once in a while, and believe me, a FULL nights sleep is a blessing. You're a good man for wanting to help.
2006-11-20 03:27:53 · answer #4 · answered by Gin 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
is he a good nurser? If there are no problems you can start to use a bottle, just remember it takes a while for a baby to get used to a new experience, so he may be resistant. Bottles will aslo make him more prone to gassiness, so burp him well. Good luck!
2006-11-20 03:23:43 · answer #5 · answered by parental unit 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Every Baby Is Differant
2006-11-20 03:18:21 · answer #6 · answered by mks 7-15-02 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As long as he doesn't have any issues with nursing you should be able to start right away! Just try not to do it too often or he may start to refuse the breast.
And BTW, what a nice thing for you to do for your wife :) It's nice that she will be able to get out for bit.
2006-11-20 04:22:00 · answer #7 · answered by __Geri 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I have been pumping breast milk since birth, so my son could be bottle fed by both me and his father. He always had a bottle but it always had breastmilk too.
2006-11-20 03:39:56 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I did it right away and it was fine. People talk about nipple confusion but my son never had that problem at all.
2006-11-20 03:37:56 · answer #9 · answered by In Luv w/ 2 B, 1 G + 1 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you can do it now but not a lot of babies like both
2006-11-20 03:18:30 · answer #10 · answered by dumplingmuffin 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋