is it possible to bottlefeed with EBM long term?

[MoOaNdLiTtLePoPpEt]

Is it possible to express and bottle feed your bub with EBM?

By this i mean not having them attach at all?? Express and feed from a bottle? and long term - say 6 + months?

[MissMetal]

its possible but would become VERY time consuming :)

[MoOaNdLiTtLePoPpEt]

hmm not necessarily... if it is best for bub then i don't mind spending 10-15 mins expressing and then 10 mins feeding!

But yeh just more wondering if it is do-able?
looking at our options! :)

[MissMetal]

if time isnt an issue for you then i dont see why not then :confused:

[tales]

If you have the determination and the patience, I don't see why not. As long as bub is getting enough to eat and you're producing enough milk (which might mean expressing more often than bub feeds, as quite often, expressing will never be as effective as baby suckling for emptying the breast - babies are just so much better at it!!), you should be fine :)

I'm flat out expressing enough for ONE feed, let alone all of them LOL. Need way more practice I think.

[Team Blue]

Expressing is a lot of work and it actually doesn't stimulate your milk production as well as a baby would.

BUT having said that, if you have the determination, patience, perserverance etc, then go for it.

DS2 was the most lazy attacher in the world, even the LC commented on him being the most hardest bubba shes seen in a long time :laughing:

I managed to express for 8 weeks in total, then my supply simply could not keep up as he wasn't attaching to stimulate milk production for his age.

Good luck :D

[traseal]

I have a friend that did 5 months. I work full time so for 37.5 hrs a week he has ebm and its working ok. It realley depends but good luck and bst wishes

[beck mum to zane and ty]

it is possible my sil did it for 11 months, her baby wouldn't attach

[Stella1]

My son had expressed breast milk for four months and I would have continued if my husband was home for the first feed of the day (so he could feed my son while I expressed - he starts work very early). This was the most time consuming pump session - about 45 minutes in total, resulting in about two bottles or 400ml. The problem was I had to get up before my son did to get it over and done with so I could then feed him and it just became too much to juggle.
I was generally 24 hours in advance. It was challenging staying ahead of growth spurts, but I got into the rhythm of it. It's definately doable.

[~Bec~]

I expressed for the first few months and found it incredibly time consuming (not that that was an issue - it was my compromise because I was struggling so much to bf and didn't want DS to not get any bm). I would sit for up to an hour at a time expressing approximately 4-6 time per day. I wouldn't have been doable for me if I had a toddler to also look after or a baby that insisted on being held all the time etc.

[SammieSnail]

I had a similar experience in that I was too time poor to keep it up.

Please don't bank on the fact that you would express for 10-15 minutes, I don't know many women who could pull off a whole expressed feed in 10-15 mins. More like 20-30 mins up to an hour.

I would suggest hiring an electric pump and trying that out over a manual.

[naiwen]

I did it for about 5 months I think (he had EBM for six with the freezer stock) as my boy was tube fed.

But it was a long hard slog, I hired a hospital grade pump and pumped every 2-3 hours for the first month 24/7 to get my supply up and then at least 6-8 times every 24 hours after that to maintain supply.

Pumping can take anywhere form 10 mins to 40 mins and to get let down you need to be in the right frame of mind, double pumping can speed things up though.

If your baby cannot take the breast them of course pumping is next best but I would not reccomend it if you can just feed straight from the breast.

JMO

[MoOaNdLiTtLePoPpEt]

thanks everyone for the experiences and opinions...it is great to hear!

trust me i would prefer to BF than use EBM in a bottle...but yeh just wanted to see my options...:)

thanks again! given me lots to think about!

[BabelFish]

I had an awful lot of trouble breastfeeding and used EBM part time and breastfed part time for six and a half months. It can be done - it's time consuming but if it's your first baby you have the time to do it, and I think it's worth it if you can manage it.

[Teegzie]

I would suggest hiring an electric pump and trying that out over a manual.

:iagree: When I first had problems BFing my MW suggested hiring a hospital grade pump from our local medical good hire place (the same place that hires wheelchairs etc) and it was a godsend! I had a good quality electric pump, but the hospital grade one was more efficient and effective!