Introducing a bottle

knottie44e00149a095e1c0

My newborn is 10 days old and my plan was to introduce a bottle and continue to breastfeed at 3 weeks old but I’m so sore and feeling so stressed being the only one to feed him. As anyone ever introduced a bottle this young and continued to breastfeed? I’m panicking that too early will make him want to take the bottle over me. 

knottied8db2918b117c594

I would recommend talking to a lactation consultant. Mine recommended not introducing a bottle until 4w to give both me and baby time to get the hang of breastfeeding first but that was just if I had the luxury of waiting that long. While I'm sure there is always a risk of nipple confusion or preference, a lactation consultant can probably help you navigate that and reduce the risk

knottie815e258771f83d89

The first 2 weeks of breast feeding is so hard but trust me its gets easier. I would wait til babies at least 3 weeks old before introducing a bottle. I have an 11 week old who is breast fed and I give him expressed milk bottles too, I waited til breast feeding was established and then introduced a bottle and we have no issues. Is it your nipples that are sore or your breasts from engorgement?

knottie44e00149a095e1c0

My nipples are sore, not breasts. They’re cracked and the latch looks fine so I’m not sure what the issue is, but it makes me dread feeding him especially on my left side where it’s the most sore.

flikyerbik

I had no choice but to introduce a bottle because my baby lost too much of her birth weight. I had to supplement when she was 4 days old, so I chose to pump because I didn't want to do formula. It worked and she gained the weight, and we are still breastfeeding at 11 days old. I did the lansinoh bottle that came with my pumping kit because it was supposed to be for breastfeeding newborns