EBM and Breast feeding??

[Angelmist♥]

Hi, I have currently got 6 wks to go with my 3rd child and REALLY want to breastfeed. My hubby (and 2 kids) on the other hand would like to be able to feed bubs as well.I have bought a breast pump but I was just wondering if anyone has successfully done both? Or is it too confusing on bubs? Any tips and advice would be great. Like do you start both as early as possible or leave the EBM til breastfeeding is well and truly established?

Thanx heaps
Nara


dh Kurt 28
ds Cody 5
ds Dylan 4
edd 08/11/05

[JanetF]

I love breastfeeding and did from day one! :D It's really nice that your dh and other kids want to be involved in the baby's life and there are lots of ways to do this other than bottle feeding of ebm. Babies, as you know, need to be changed, bathed, cuddled, burped, carried around, held while sleeping, popped in a sling, and just generally loved and none of that needs boobs :D There's also more washing and housework to be done while you're out of action and tucked up in bed getting to know the newbie and getting the bf down pat. Ah the bliss of a babymoon! Pumping if you really need spare milk around is great but it isn't necessary to enhance breastfeeding. What bubs and you really need is to be together and supported in this by the people around you. Later (after the first few months) when you are old hands at bf maybe then you can pump a bit and go out for the afternoon and leave bubs in capable hands. Those early weeks are crucial to learning to bf for both of you so I really recommend that you encourage your eager family to pick up all those other myriad of jobs and pleasures with a new babe and just get the bf right yourself. If you go along to an ABA meeting now, before bubs arrives, you will get lots of support and information and not be new when you go back for more info! It's attachment and position that really matter.

I hope you have a beautiful babymoon and begin a lovely new breastfeeding relationship that lasts a long time!
*hugs*

[Nickster]

Hi nara,
I really have to ditto everything JanetF has just said - she puts it all so well every time!
The most important thing to do in the early stages is to breastfeed your bub yourself, because the direct nipple stimulation helps with the establishment of your lovely milk supply in a way that expressing via pump can't (because there is no nipple stimulation). Ditto to everything else JanetF said.....
Enjoy the last few weeks of your pregnancy, how lucky you are to have a family so excited to meet their new baby!! Take care,

[xkwzit]

Hi Nara
It can creat nipple confusion if you try to introduce a bottle too early. My lactation consultant suggested waiting until 6 weeks before introducing a bottle and then get teats that are as close os possible to a human nipple (long and round in cross section - not othodontic type). Strictly, that should go for dummies as well if you plan on using them.

Having a baby that will take EBM is great, as you can get away for more than a few hours at a time, or continue bf when you're back at work. I'd see a lactation consultant for advice if you have any serious questions.

Cheers

[nemosmum]

I started expressing and introduced the bottle at about 3 weeks, I know it sounds very early but I needed a break (DS was feeding every 2 hours day/night) and I hated BF for the first 4 months! My DS took to the bottle with no problems and it never caused any nipple confusion, he still wanted the breast and it didnt effect my milk supply either. But I only did it every so often as I found it too time consuming to express and ended up preferring to just BF myself. Do what feels right for you and bub, listen to the experts(ABA etc) but follow what you feel to be the right decision for you and bubby.

[Artemis]

I think that it is really important to establish a supply first before introducing a bottle. We introduced one at about 2 months after we were well and truly in the swing of things, and my husband would do the odd feed. It is wonderful that he wants to be involved, but perhaps discussing with him the amazing benefits of breastfeeding and how important those initial few weeks are will help him understand. His job is really supporting you at those times.. my husband would always change our daughter and bring her to me. At night he would read us a book while we had a feed.. so all three of us snuggled on the couch or in bed.

[Trix]

Hi Nara,

I don't have personal experience with it, but I also have the same question for when my baby is born.

I have two friends with new bubs. One of them has a 3 week old that does bf at home and and ebm when she is out - she doesn't seem to have problems - the other friend has a 8 week old, who was 5 weeks premi, and she too had no probs with both!

I guess it all depends on your baby!

[Angelmist♥]

Thankyou everyone for your advice, I suppose we will just see how we go! As you do with all babies I suppose! I think feeding is such a bonding time for everyone involved (either breast or bottle) so I really do want to be able to express, not only for immediate family but hubby's parents and my sister loved bottle feeding both my older boys. Once again thanks everyone

Love Nara


Dh Kurt 28
Ds Cody 5
Ds Dylan 4
It's a girl woohoo edd. 8/11/05

[TwoBlue]

Hi Nara

I would just like to add my experience...
While i agree with others that those first days / weeks are very important, i was in a situation which meant i was NOT able to breastfeed my son for almost 10 days. The reason was because he was unwell and hooked up to all sorts of doodahs. He was being feed EBM from the very start until i was able to start breastfeeding....

the result of this was

* a GREAT breastfeeder from day 1 of starting
* NO nipple confusion AT ALL
* A GREAT supply of milk due to hand expressing and then using the pump (i was sucked dry each time hense creating a HUGE supply)
* a healthy wonderful little boy

I was happy with my breastfeeding but i continued to express extra milk after feeds so that i could let my DH feed him (as we had BOTH missed out on so much cuddle time with a sick bubba i felt it was important for us BOTH to be able to feed him) and also eventually so we could leave him with others.

It was a very successful process for me and if you would like to ask me anything else please feel free to drop me a PM.

Cheers ;)

[veve]

Hey :)

I just wanted to quickly say THANK YOU to nara :)

my bubs is due in 6 weeks - and although I definately want to BF- I was also concerned about a) excluding DH , and b) getting an occasional feed break!!!

so thank you for starting the thread and getting all that wonderful info!!!!

xxxxx

[Angelmist♥]

Thankyou Tracey for your story, I definitely do want to both breastfeed and express so it's great to know that it has worked with your bubs and hopefully (fingers crossed) will for mine too. So once again thanx.

Veve,
ha ha no worries it's sorta scary trying to figure out all these little things isn't it!And I have found that I have received SO many conflicting stories or advice I'm about to go crazy!!

[polony]

Being a single mum, I had to express in order to get some time off from bubs! But in my experience, getting the baby onto the bottle as early as possible is the best way to get them used to both breast and bottle, so weaning is a lot easier when you want to stop breastfeeding.
Of course, we all know the benefits of breastfeeding, so I congratulate you on your choice.
Oh yeah, and with the pump. It feels really weird at first, but it is a great invention! Just remember to express a little each feed to feed from a bottle with later. Otherwise you may end up with mastitis or just uncomfortable boobs from them being too full!!
Good luck! I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I do!

[Von]

Hi,

I am the mum of two boys. I breastfed my 2 1/2 year old until he was 13 months old - it was very easy right from the start. We introduced EBM at about 3 months so I could get some 'time off'. At 7 months I introduced formula during the day without any drama as I had to return to work and found it difficult to express enough during the day for the next day's feeds. My son had no trouble going from breast in the morning / evening / over night, to formula during the day. Nipple confusion was not an issue at all because we introduced bottles when he was a bit older. I weaned him totally from the breast at 13 months because he started bighting my nipples every feed and drawing blood...

My husband had his own 'special' time with our son that I was not a part of at all - he did ALL the bathing / showering. This worked well for us.

Unfortunately I have not had such an easy run with my second son and breast feeding. He spent a short period in the Special Care Nursery where they gave him formula for medical reasons - after that he was not at all satiated by the small volume of colostrum I was producing after being used to 30mls of formula per feed. He was also a weak sucker. I was determined to breastfeed so I started to give him EBM as soon as my milk came in. I found the advice from the midwives in the hospital about what I should be doing contradictory and they were too quick to reach for the formula bottle to save themselves time. I was introduced to the lactation consultant only hours before I was due to leave hospital - and she was great.

As soon as I got home from hospital I contacted BESS (Brestfeeding support service next to the RWH). I was lucky to get into a cancellation spot the next day. They provided me with plenty of advice & practical help with how to get my son to breast feed. For the first 5 weeks he primarlily had EBM. It has been quite a long process, and at times it has been 2 steps forward and one step back - it took 7 weeks to get him on the breast 100% of the time, and he has had periods of refusing the breast since then when he has been sick. He is now 3 1/2 months old and is breastfeeding full time (last week he wasn't because he had a cold...).

At times I have wanted to chuck in the towel, but I wanted to give him the best start I could and I want to avoid the inconvenience of sterilizing bottles and preparing formula. Anyway, some tips:

* if you want to increase your milk volume, express every hour during the day (when convenient & not every day) - accoring to BESS this is more effective than expressing off more milk from the same number of feeds (there is a medication you can be given that does this but I can't recall it's name and I have not needed it).
* I used a special teat called an "Haberman Feeder" made by Medela which mimicks the sucking action of breastfeeding. The teat is long and cylindrical and it has a valve that only allows a small amount of milk into the actual teat. You can also make it harder or easier for the baby to suck out the milk - which is useful in training / strengthening weak suckers. The downside to this teat is that it is expensive - two for $50. That said, mine have had a lot of use. The aim of this teat is to prevent nipple confusion in young babies. You can buy them from the gift shop at the RWH, and I got mine from the Fisher & Pykel medical division office in Ringwood.
* Nipple confusion is less of a problem as the baby gets older. It is probably a good idea not to try to give EBM if possible until breastfeeding is well established. Small babies can drink out of a cup - but this is not ideal either.

Von.

[JanetF]

Von all power to you! What a mama and inspiration you are :D

[our little treasures]

I agree feeding baby is such a wonderful thing and I can understand as my dh wanted to feed both babies. He has fed our 2nd and loved every minute my dd wouldnt take a bottle, glad about that in the way she went to cups at early age and I had something that only I could do for her!!! But with ds he did take a few bottles due to hosi givng it to him as he was just off 10pnd and hungry little man so I had to express. So I know they say dont confuse bubs between bottle and boob at early age but it ds took bottle early and happily dd wouldnt take one ever due to not having it at early age!!

Also friend was told due to drugs for heart she had to bottle feed devestated her she then found out that was wrong after baby 8days old she started b/f and baby took to it without hesitation. So do what you want and try to get kids and hubby involved you can bond at the night feeds (I dont think you will have to fight them)

[Angelmist♥]

I would just like to say thankyou to everyone for replying. I now have just over 3 weeks to go and I am determined not to leave the hospital until I am BF properly!

But with everyone's advice I am slowly starting to become more confident that I can successfully both BF and express for this bubs.

So thankyou all again, I'll let you know how we go!ha ha

[cobysmummy]

as we had probs bf from the start.. when i got home from hosp i started expressing my milk (because i really wanted to bf) and feeding it to my son via the bottle... i tried to bf after i expressed but still had problems latching so offered him a bottle... after 3 weeks he was attaching properly and i gave up expressing... doctors and nurses told me not to feed via bottle coz of nipple confusion and that he would never attach properly but after time he did... unfortuantely now at 7 months he has weaned himself onto bottles :(

Mummy: Helen 18
Bubby: Coby James 7 Months