Breast feeding question, expressing as well?

Question

I would like to breast feed half the time and express other, to make my daughter and huband feel invilved, is this ok for baby? also anyone know any good sites on breast feeding as ive never done it and pretty nervous

Answer 1

my wife breast feed all 5 of our kids and expressed too its fine and good thinking plus gives mum break to try looking on Internet my wife found loads or ask midwife/ health visitor

Answer 2

Expressing while breastfeeding is great but it's the same as everything with pros and cons. When breastfeeding you don't have any bottles to sterilise, it's always handy, but you can feel trapped as some babies can take a while to feed particularly in the first few weeks. If you're expressing make sure you get a fully electronic breast pump. Hand helds are ok if you're going away but the combo ones are a waste of time. The great thing about breast milk is you can freeze it so if you've got a good supply you can save it for a night out. If you are feeding breast milk from a bottle you don't need to use a steam steriliser but the Milton tablets. Fifteen mins in cold water and you're away to go. Also the bottles give you a bit more freedom for example if you're nervous about feeding in public.
My son is almost five months and I've been giving him a bottle of formula every so often. It means I can go out for a few drinks and not have to plan it in advance, but I have to boil the bottles. I'm planning to breast feed until he's 12 months nad then I don't need to sterilise anything!
Whatever you do, make sure it suits you. Don't be bullied into doing things you're not comfortable.
Good luck

Answer 3

It is perfectly okay, and does allow the baby and daddy to form a bond that is sometimes lacking if they don't interact. It isn't necessary but it won't hurt either. Remember when a baby is newborn he may have a problem with nipple confusion. Meaning that babies suck one way for a breast and another way for the bottle. If he has to work too hard with one to get the milk, he might give up and refuse to go back and forth. Check your bottle nipples and try to get one for newborns and that says it has the most "breast-like" nipple, although that doesn't guarantee that the problem won't happen.
Also, by "expressing" I hope you mean using a breast pump. Expressing by hand not only takes considerable time, but because their is no "pull" on the nipple, your breast will stop producing milk (the amount of pull that a baby uses tells your body how much milk it needs to produce to satisify needs). If you use a good breast pump, it is not only a lot faster, but it provides that pull that tells your body to continue to produce the needed supply.
Breastfeeding can be difficult sometimes, but mostly it is wonderful. My first child had a hard time latching on, and got so hungry when we were home that he cried and cried and would not latch on at all. I solved that problem by giving him about an ounce of formula, so he wasn't so upset, and then helping him latch on. I never gave him formula again. :)
My second child latched on like a pro, right in the hospital and never wanted to let go. Make sure that you have a good talk with the breastfeeding coach at the hospital (they should offer one to you and she will probably come the day after the baby is born to your room to see how you are doing). Don't be embarrassed to let her see exactly what you are doing, if she corrects something you are doing wrong in the hospital, it will save you months of pain later.

Answer 4

just get breastfeeding down before you start fooling with the pump....it is not a mgic invention that works EVERY time...for some women, it doesnt work very well at all.
Nurse the baby every time the baby cries for at least 3 - 4 weeks...then try pumping whatever you can...if you dont get much...remember, the baby gets more than the pump can. Around 3 - 4 weeks is a good time for baby to have her first bottle....and remember, babies LOVE bottles, its easier for them get milk from a bottle than it is a breast.
One or two bottles a week shouldnt cause too much 'nipple confusion' . If your husband changes every single diaper and gives the baby every single bath, and your daughter reads a book to the baby (even if she makes it up as she goes along) they will feel more involved

Answer 5

Pluses are that your husband can feed the baby - but your still going to spend the same amount of time expressing as you would breastfeeding. I would suggest having your husband be responsible for other things to allow him time to bond/feel involved. Giving your child a bath, getting her ready in the mornings, or ready for bed at night - or the million and a half other things.

Everyone has given you good advice on the nipple confusion though - a bottle is WAY easier to get milk out of than a nipple, so there is the concern of nipple confusion.

Congratulations and good luck!

Answer 6

For the first few weeks you will want to avoid using a bottle. At least until your baby is good at breast feeding. The best thing to do is when your body has excess milk express on side while you feed your baby on the other. This way you can take advantage of the let down and you can store your milk. It is not bad to get your husband involved by letting him feed your baby just be sure that you nurse enough to keep your supply up. Good luck nursing!!

Answer 7

Yes it is Just fine!!! Congrats on even attempting breastfeeding! When my baby was born, I exclusively breastfed him for the first 2 weeks. When the doctor saw him, she told me to supplement with formula. He had no problems with it whatsoever. I did occasionally hand pump my milk for some occasions, but it worked out fine.
I expressed some milk sometimes so others could feed him, but not often. Oh, don't listen to the other poster either. Breastfeeding does NOT come Naturally.. it has to be LEARNED. The first week for me was the hardest. It hurt actually for the first week..but after that.. it was fine.

Answer 8

I hope you' re not living in Australia because I was told and I quote "it is evil to bottle feed a baby".They are totally obsessed with breast feeding and make no allowances for any mother who for any reason cannot,or does not want to breast feed.At the ante natal classes they are brainwashed week after week about it.I am all for breast feeding,if it works but think it is wrong for a Mother to be persecuted if she can't make it work.To answer your question,what you are suggesting sounds like a good idea.Best of luck with it.

Answer 9

Breast feeding is def. the excellent for many motives (no longer purely nutrtional even though it additionally creates an excellent bond), yet once you elect formula this is thoroughly ok. Even quite of breast milk is greater helpful that none, regardless of in case you're able to do it completely for the 1st week. this is rather stressful. Im uncertain what you advise by using your unlikely to be homestead inclusive of your infant very lots, yet while this is the case everywhere your are you could might desire to pump each and every couple of hours to maintain your milk producing. you will make regardless of determination feels surprising for you and your infant gets the nutrition she desires! stable luck

Answer 10

I went back to work for a few hours a week and didn't want to stop breast feeding,so i expressed and my mum gave baby his feed.I didn't like the battery operated ones personally,nearly pulled the nip of me lol so i stuck to the hand pump kind,i had loads of milk and was leaking heavily at work so i bought these wee kind of cup things in boots,which you put into your bra and they had a wee tiny spout an my milk dripped away into it while i was at work then you just tip it into a bottle when you get home,that sounds a bit disgusting but my sister in law is a midwife and she recommended them,waste not want not lol...well done on deciding to breast feed,once you get the hang of it its great...good luck

Answer 11

It is okay to do this. However, there is something called "nipple confusion" that is a true and real problem. The baby gets confused b/w the artificial nipples and the breast and ultimately favors one and rejects the other. Usually they will favor the artificial one and reject the breast.

This does NOT mean that you cannot share the responsibility with your husband to include feeding. However, in order to avoid nipple confusion, you want to wait until AT LEAST 4 weeks of successful nursing BEFORE introducing any artificial nipples. Once baby has 4 weeks of constant, successful, problem-free nursing under his/her belt, they usually can switch easily b/w a bottle and breast.

So, I'd recommend that you nurse your baby only at the breast until he/she has reached this milestone. That doesn't mean until he/she is 4 weeks old. For most moms and babies it takes at least a week to 10 days before nursing is "problem-free" and that is the best case scenario. It's an art and takes time and practice and repitition, which is why it can take awhile to "get down pat." Some babies catch on quickly, others take awhile. So...once you feel like your baby has gotten the hang of it, then count 4 weeks...after that point you would be safe to introduce a bottle.

It is also important to be religious about pumping once you do start to give bottles. You'll want to be CERTAIN that you pump every single time your baby would nurse 24 hours a day. So if your baby nurses every 2 hours 24 hrs a day and you want to physically nurse her from 6p-6a but give bottles from 6a-6p, during that time you'd need to pump every two hours while still giving a bottle. Does that make sense?

And if you notice a decrease in your supply once you start pumping, the best thing to increase supply is to physically nurse baby. That will ALWAYS increase supply better than pumping will.

Personally (and I did the whole pump/bottle thing for a bit before going back to only physically nursing) physically nursing is SOOOOOOOOO much easier once you get the kinks ironed out that pumping and bottle feeding. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but really it is so much simpler to just physically nurse.

There are LOTS and LOTS of ways dad can be involved w/ baby that don't involve feeding. My husband bathed our daughter, he would tuck her in his shirt against his skin when she just had a diaper on, he'd walk w/ her, he'd talk and sing to her, he'd read to her, he always brought her to bed for me, he always changed diapers at night, he put on her lotion after bath (they even called it "lotion time") and he massaged her. They are VERY close and they had LOTS of bonding times none of which included feeding. And he was a HUGE help even though he couldn't feed her.

Best of luck to you.

PS: Pumping too much cannot decrease supply. What can decrease supply is physically nursing too little.