October 2012 Moms
kTedesco10
member
Lots of questions. Please help. :)
kTedesco10
member
I am 29 weeks pregnant with our second child. I did not try breastfeeding at all with baby number one. And would like to this time around, I think.
I would like some advice about all aspects. Questions to ask, things I need to know.
Is it possible to only pump and feed breast milk via bottle?
Sorry I am very new to this whole aspect, pardon my dumb questions. 
. Thanks guys
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Re: Lots of questions. Please help. :)
People go about providing breast milk to their babies various ways. I BF for 6 months. I didn't pump and feed DD with a bottle until about 4-6 weeks, which is usually what they recommend when introducing a bottle. Some people pump only and feed the baby via bottle, some exclusively BF and some will BF and/or pump. There are a lot of issues that come about with BFing, like positions, when to start pumping if you start out BFing, storage of milk, etc.
At any rate, like the previous poster said, the Breasfeeding board would be able to answer a lot of your questions and it would be a good place to lurk.
Check and see if the hospital you are delivering at offers a Breastfeeding class. If not, you could go to a LaLeche League meeting. Also, check out the book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding", it was a great resource for me.
To answer your question you can pump and bottle feed. You can also pump and spoon feed, dropper feed or use a nursing supplementing system, it has a very narrow tube that is taped to your nipple allowing baby to nurse from the breast and the tube/bottle at the same time to increase LO's intake. I used this with DS #2 to supplement the amount he was getting but not introduce a bottle so that I wasn't risking hurting my supply. GL!
I don't want to overwhelm you with info, but I can tell you a few things that surprised me about bfing, kind of as a heads up:
-I didn't realize it would take 4 days for my milk to come in. This seems so unfair, because exactly when you go home from the hospital and feel overwhelmed, you still have to wait a whole day before they are actually full-on getting milk! Until then they are getting colostrum, which is great, but it doesn't really fully satiate them!
-Anyone who says that bfing doesn't hurt is a big fat liar. Your nipples will feel like they are being wrenched from your body when the baby is first latching, EVEN IF they are latching correctly. (At the hospital the LC said it would only hurt if they were latched wrong...that is eventually true but not at first) I used to cry when he was first latching. But, I also want to throw out there that this doesn't last that long. Your nipples get used to it. So I think it's important not to give up just based on that!
-They eat every 2 hours, but at first, newborns can feed for a long time! So it does feel like you are always bfing at first!
-I personally smelled different to myself while breastfeeding, which I hated. It was a weird smell.
-It's nice that you can eventually breastfeed with one arm because then you can do other stuff, which you can't do while bottlefeeding.
-You must pee and get yourself a drink before you settle down to breastfeed, because you will eventually need to pee and also drink as soon as the baby gets the perfect latch.
-One day you will look down at your baby and they will be covered with food because you were eating over them while they were feeding, haha!
Is it possible to pump and bottle feed? Yes it is possible, but it is VERY time consuming. I always hated pumping personally. For me it always took longer to pump then to BF because my boys were very "efficient" eaters. And don't forget you will need to pump ever time they eat, so say it takes you 20 minutes to pump and 10 minutes to feed, that is a full half hour devoted just to feeding and early on, they eat every 2 hours start to start, so after that 30 minute process, you will need to start again in 90 minutes.
It is very possible, and people do it but I would think it would be easier later on once they lengthen their feed times so if you could BF in the beginning and pump later on that might be easier.
I BFd both my boys for a year so I could answer most questions you may have so feel free to ask.
Haha! So true!
Pumping was like an even bigger chore for me. I had to pump since I went back to work when DS was 5 months, and it definitely messed up my supply and I would get extremely stressed about filling bottles and getting enough for him. It was clear I wasn't pumping enough- DS didn't gain any weight between 5 and 6 months, so I knew my supply tanked from trying to pump. I know there are exclusive pumpers out there that can help you though if that's really what you want to do, but I'm hoping this time, now that I am a SAHM, I can BF for longer and not have pumping affect my supply.
Just remember that pumping is double the work. It takes a lot more time to get the same amount of milk pumped into a bottle as it does to nurse a baby. A baby is much more efficient than a pump! And then after you've taken the time to pump enough, you also have to feed the baby the bottle.
Definitely ask for help on the breastfeeding board. They are all really knowledgeable. And check for local breastfeeding support groups. The one I joined after I had DS was a lifesaver! GL!
I just wanted to add that kellymom.com is a GREAT bfing resource especially for more complicated matters like scheduling pumping at work, going on trips and storing up milk, adding food to the mix, eventually weaning etc.
Also, as pp said, bfing is hard at first, and painful. Just be prepared. If its hard for you that doesnt mean you are not meant for it or cant do it etc. it means youre normal. If you do want to do it, push through and stick with it and it WILL get easier, much much easier. Keep with it and see experts when necessary.
I think one of the biggest disservices experienced moms do for new moms is to act like everything about new babies is magical and amazing and filled with joy...and that includes breastfeeding...because then when you struggle, you feel inadequate and like youre doing something wrong or not cut out for being a mom etc. By and large, having a newborn is really hard and a lot of things about it suck, including sore nipples and sleepless nights. But it gets better.
I EBF'ed for 6 months and continued to BF until DD was 13 months. I did not have any nipple pain. I'm not a big fat liar, either!