introducing the occasional bottle of ebm

My daughter is seven weeks old and feeding well - ok, it often still
hurts quite a lot, but that's definitely getting better, and she's
healthy and growing. I want to keep breastfeeding her exclusively for
some months to come, but it would be nice to *occasionally* be able to
get away for two hours or so. I let her feed on demand, and she hasn't
settled down into a predictable rhythm yet: anything goes between one
and seven hours (although I do wake her up if the breaks get too long
during the day). So how do I go about introducing a bottle, so that DH
or a babysitter can feed her when I'm away and she gets hungry earlier
than expected?

I am collecting milk from the other breast at almost every feed using
breast shields. These things are great. Completely painless (the nipple
I pumped from in week 2 is still sore) and I get a yield of 100-200 ml
(4-7 oz) a day, which is quickly filling up the first drawer in our
freezer. Obviously this is foremilk, so it won't be as filling. So how
do I go about introducing this? My idea is to nurse from one breast and
collect from the other as usual, and then fill the collected milk, which
is still warm, into a warmed bottle and offer it to her as a second
course. If she accepts that, next time we will try defrosted milk to
start with and the breast afterwards, to keep the supply going. Any
thoughts?

Thanks,
Karen

Karen wrote:

I am collecting milk from the other breast at almost every feed using
breast shields. These things are great. Completely painless (the nipple
I pumped from in week 2 is still sore) and I get a yield of 100-200 ml
(4-7 oz) a day, which is quickly filling up the first drawer in our
freezer. Obviously this is foremilk, so it won't be as filling.

If you are compressing the other breast and
milk comes out at first, that's foremilk, the
milk that's been "in storage". But, if it's
the milk that is coming out on its own after
the letdown, that's hindmilk. My guess is
that you're getting hindmilk.

So how
do I go about introducing this? My idea is to nurse from one breast and
collect from the other as usual, and then fill the collected milk, which
is still warm, into a warmed bottle and offer it to her as a second
course. If she accepts that, next time we will try defrosted milk to
start with and the breast afterwards, to keep the supply going. Any
thoughts?

A few things:

(1) Mama should not give bottled milk, only
other caregivers. It's easier to drink from
a bottle and baby should associate working
harder with being held by Mama, the ultimate
reward.

(2) Don't worry about the warmed fresh milk
thing. Just go ahead and put whatever you
get in the freezer, as you have been doing.

(3) Sometimes baby drinks from a bottle
better if Mama is not around. My suggestion
is to just go ahead and try it. So, take a
couple of hours when your husband is home
and you just hide in the bedroom doing
whatever. Let DH and baby figure it out.

(4) Make sure to warm the milk by putting
the bottle in warm water. Microwaving can
cause hot spots that burn.

-- Anita --

On Jun 28, 7:01?am, Karen wrote:
My daughter is seven weeks old and feeding well - ok, it often still
hurts quite a lot, but that's definitely getting better, and she's
healthy and growing. I want to keep breastfeeding her exclusively for
some months to come, but it would be nice to *occasionally* be able to
get away for two hours or so. I let her feed on demand, and she hasn't
settled down into a predictable rhythm yet: anything goes between one
and seven hours (although I do wake her up if the breaks get too long
during the day). So how do I go about introducing a bottle, so that DH
or a babysitter can feed her when I'm away and she gets hungry earlier
than expected?

I am collecting milk from the other breast at almost every feed using
breast shields. These things are great. Completely painless (the nipple
I pumped from in week 2 is still sore) and I get a yield of 100-200 ml
(4-7 oz) a day, which is quickly filling up the first drawer in our
freezer. Obviously this is foremilk, so it won't be as filling. So how
do I go about introducing this? My idea is to nurse from one breast and
collect from the other as usual, and then fill the collected milk, which
is still warm, into a warmed bottle and offer it to her as a second
course. If she accepts that, next time we will try defrosted milk to
start with and the breast afterwards, to keep the supply going. Any
thoughts?

Thanks,
Karen

I just pumped milk during feedings that baby should have nursed. In
the beginning, just getting started, I would pump after the morning
feeding so that I could get a bottle or two worth of milk so that my
pumping time was a replacement to a feeding for my breasts. How do you
know it is only foremilk that you are getting and that it won't be as
filling? The milk I pumped developed the fat content that floated on
the top and was sufficient. I took the pump out and about with me with
a battery pack for it and I would pump in the car during the time I
knew baby would be nursing. My baby had a pacifier, bottles of EBM,
and the breast straight out of the hospital since I had to work so we
didn't have to worry about how to introduce the bottle. I just pumped
down here at work while DH fed the baby his bottle upstairs. If you
are at all sore due to baby's latch though, adding a bottle nipple
could cause her latch to be off, which can cause soreness, so I might
not. But if the soreness is from the pumping, it would be safe to try.
Just keep an eye out for nipple confusion so you can correct the
situation before it gets bad. Some people also recommend freezing only
2-oz. servings at a time so that none gets wasted and unused.

Karen wrote:
My daughter is seven weeks old and feeding well - ok, it often still
hurts quite a lot, but that's definitely getting better

unless you have particularly sensitive skin, it really shouldn't be
painful any more, I'd strongly suggest you get her latch checked, if
you're Karen from m.k.p then breastfeeding clinic used to be 2.30-4pm at
Brookfields Health Centre (down the bottom of Mill Road), the phone
number I have is 01223 723075 - if these are wrong then ask your health
visitor. If you do see someone there, Rachel and Judy are both
excellent, Bridget has less experience and training, but knows when to
ask the other two, I think they do it in rotation.

I would get this checked before introducing a bottle, if the latch is
not good then the bottle could worsen it, leading to more soreness. If
it really is just a case of your nipples just taking time to heel, then
it might be ok, but you'd still want to watch carefully in case it does
decrease in quality and start up more problems.

Cheers
Anne

I'd second what everyone says about checking the latch. Although in ds's
case he had a very strong suck (although he was lazy, get that!) so quite
often it wasn't that comfortable - even months down the line.

FWIW he took a bottle off me fine in the early weeks. We switched from
bottle to nipple to nipple sheilds and he was fine with the changes from me.
It wasn't fun for me as trying to get him in a sheild present a different
challenge from the nipple, but as long as he got his milk he was fine. I
agree there can be problems, but it's not as cut and dried as some have
presented it, sometimes it can work just fine.

Jeni

I
agree there can be problems, but it's not as cut and dried as some have
presented it, sometimes it can work just fine.

Which is precisely why everyone is cautious, not because it will cause
problems, but because it may cause problems and you can't always
reliably predict it, it just seems that where there are already some
issues there are more likely to be problems (such as poor latch) than if
there isn't, the general advice to not offer until 4-6 weeks and only
then if everything is fine is to minimise the chances, it's no guarantee
either way.

Cheers

Anne

Oops, I knew I was bad at writing, but I hadn't realised it's been a
whole month since I posted this. So sorry, everyone, and thank you for
your excellent advice! Hi Anne, yes, it is me from m.k.p. :-).

An update: DD's latch and my nipples are now a lot better. It only hurts
when she's particularly cranky and I don't have the heart (and nerve) to
correct her latch.
My milk also has cream on top. So that's hindmilk? Excellent.

We've offered her a bottle on four evenings now, with variable success.
DH gave it to her, and I either assisted and calmed her or hid in the
room next door. On two occasions, she drank briefly, but clearly didn't
like it. We offered it as a second 'course', after my breast, because
she had woken up crying and wanted to drink immediately, and it takes a
while to warm a bottle. (How do bottle-feeding parents cope with all
that extra crying?? I guess they can't feed strictly on demand.) Now, at
11.5 weeks, she usually only drinks for one long course per meal, so we
have to start her on the bottle and offer the breast as a top-up later.
(I suppose that means I'll have to pump if she doesn't drink - barx.)
We've been really relaxed about the whole bottle thing, but now we'll
have to start more seriously, as she'll (probably) be introduced to
occasional daycare in a couple of weeks. After DH has been on a
three-day trip last week, she's a bit scared of him at the moment, so,
for him to try, we'll have to wait until she recognises him again.

Sorry for my rambling...
Karen