Breastfeeding Question

Can I start pumping right away and feed the baby from the bottle with breast milk?

My husband will be home with me for the Maternity leave, so he can also feed the baby and feel more involved.

If I can do that how does it work???

Would I pump on a schedule? Has anyone done this before???

Re: Breastfeeding Question

Are you planning on nursing too or just pumping? I started pumping at about 2 weeks and always did it first thing in the morning after her morning feed. I would always get about 4oz and that is all my kids ever took by bottle no matter what their age. You just have to make sure to pump the milk the baby doesn't eat when s/he is bottle fed. Otherwise your supply will drop.

Re: Breastfeeding Question

I think it depends. I waited to a few weeks to give DS a bottle until I was confident in his latch. If you have a problem with the latch than you may not want to use the bottle or you can confuse them.

As far as pumping, I started about a week or 2 after DS was born. The only real reason I did it was because DS would only nurse from 1 breast each feeding. He was an efficient eater. I would have to pump out the other side after every feeding to maintain my supply.

I think it really depends on your DC. Hope that helps!

Re: Breastfeeding Question

Honestly, I would wait until 2-3 weeks before giving a bottle (or paci). The nurses at the hospital will all tell you there's no such thing as "nipple confusion" but they're full of sh!t!!! DS latched perfectly the first couple times I nursed him and he was brought to the NICU and we had to supplement with formula & what I was pumping. His latch got totally screwed up and we had to start all over again when he came home. Then at 2 weeks I introduced the pacifier again (after his latch was finally corrected and my nipples were healed) and it screwed up his latch AGAIN!!! We started the process all over again and I got the Tommee Tippee pacifiers so it wouldn't confuse him again (I waited another 2 weeks before introducing them).

Re: Breastfeeding Question

I waited until my supply was fully established and DS was nursing really well to pump or introduce a bottle. I started pumping once a day at 6 weeks. I would have loved some help feeding DS, but was too worried about supply issues or nipple confusion.