No bottles or pacifiers

Katiemsm · December 2012

I am a FTM and I plan on only breastfeeding my LO. I do not plan on introducing bottles or pacifiers until after the first month. Is anyone else planning on doing this? Or am I a crazy person? Thanks for your feed back!

jovencita1224 · December 2012

Not crazy at all. I didn't let DD have a bottle for the 1st month because I wanted to establish my supply. We used a pacifier sometimes but she was not a paci maniac or anything. She preferred to use me as a pacifier so I felt like I was always nursing, but I was able to BF for over a year so it was worth it to me in the end.

this decaf life · December 2012

I don't plan on introducing a bottle for 6 weeks and honestly I hope to skip the pacifier completely.

zonagirlie · December 2012

Sounds like our plan. I don't want any nipple confusion or anyone giving him anything that's not my milk. Mil already asked about bottles so she can give him water.

I'm not a pacifier fan due to teeth issues and all but we got several as gifts and from Motherhood.

jjgal · December 2012

Same here, although I'll probably introduce a pacifier sooner. With DD once she started gaining weight - which was basically right away, the pediatrician said to go ahead and introduce the paci. She never really took to it, though. She preferred to use me as a pacifier! She was a frequent nurser.

pitterpatter129 · December 2012

I don't want to do bottles for awhile either. With DS, my milk didn't come in until day 10 though, so we ended up supplementing a little to keep him alive. Hopefully, since this is round 2 and I hope to not have another csection, milk will come in faster and we can avoid bottles until I return to work. We did give DS a pacifier because he loved to suck (and still does!) and was already sucking his thumb anyhow. I don't have anything against them and some research says they both prevent SIDS and don't really cause "nipple confusion". Just be prepared for your plans to possibly change, anything is possible with birth and babies!

sscurry7212 · December 2012

Plan on definitely nursing and hopefully not introducing any other kind of nipple to baby but my issue is that DH is so into wanting to be able to feed him...so maybe some pumping? Argh all that sounds like lots of work though lol

We shall see! Great idea though.

this decaf life · December 2012

zonagirlie:
Mil already asked about bottles so she can give him water.

Water is pretty unsafe to give babies because it can lead to water intoxication & mess with their sodium levels. They get enough water from breast milk or formula. [Just pointing it out incase you weren't already aware]

this decaf life · December 2012

TarHeelMomToBe:
Plus, it can reduce the risk of SIDs, so I'm not going to be anti-pacis.

Wow! Thanks for mentioning that, I had no idea. I'll rethink my position on pacifiers and probably introduce one when I introduce a bottle.

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sudden-infant-death-syndrome/DS00145/DSECTION=prevention

Todd&Laura · December 2012

You are smart, not crazy. My son never had a paci and only was given a bottle, with pumped breastmilk only, when he was several months old. It's just not worth it to introduce things that can make it more difficult to establish breastfeeding.

poppyann · December 2012

I usually introduce a bottle sometime between 4-6 weeks. I waited too long to introduce one with my second baby and when I went back to work it was hell on her. I go back to work at 12 weeks so I typically give a bottle once or twice a week just to get them accustomed to it before I go back. Paci's can be nice at times but I prefer to not use them at all. I prefer for my kids to suck a thumb or finger instead of a piece of plastic. Some people don't...to each their own.

bearkatjen · December 2012

I'll be waiting 4-6 weeks to introduce a bottle. I'll play it by ear with the paci.

JennV514 · December 2012

I love binkies.

janecanadian · December 2012

I felt the same going into it but then alas, plans change. DD was born with Spina Bifida and was in pain, she needed a soother. She was in the NICU for two weeks and was primarily bottle fed while she was in there. Thankfully we didn't have any issues breastfeeding after she got out of the hospital. She kept using the soother and we continued nusring. We continued to feed her one bottle each night as a "dream feed" and it worked out really well for us. I would recommend being open to plans changing!

jessrenee11 · December 2012

I literally cried my eyes out in the hospital when they were trying to get me to give her a supplement bottle of formula! We intro the bottle at 4 weeks but we will be doing it sooner this time as I am going back to work sooner then last time.

I am totally open to it though. If i have to bottle feed or supplement I am down for it. as long as DS is getting fed

dclsboo235 · December 2012

Katiemsm:

I am a FTM and I plan on only breastfeeding my LO. I do not plan on introducing bottles or pacifiers until after the first month. Is anyone else planning on doing this? Or am I a crazy person? Thanks for your feed back!

the hospital when b was born had to use bottles to feed him. I didn't get to see him for 24 hours. We didn't have a binky though and he sucks his thumb. With this one im going to wait to introduce any bottles (if possible) and def introduce a binky. My 2 years teeth are already starting to change (my mom works for a dentist). Soooo thats what we are doing. I don't think you are crazy at all though I just know through my experience that i want dd to have a paci rather than her thumb (my poor boy has a saliva rash from sucking it and I can't figure out a humane way to stop it!)

Reyka9 · December 2012

I EBFed DS and he didn't have a bottle until he was 6 (or maybe 8?) weeks old. My pediatrician tried to convince me to give him a pacifier to calm him down, and when I did so, I burst into tears. Thankfully, DS hated it and I never tried it again.

Reyka9 · December 2012

sscurry7212:
Plan on definitely nursing and hopefully not introducing any other kind of nipple to baby but my issue is that DH is so into wanting to be able to feed him...so maybe some pumping? Argh all that sounds like lots of work though lol

We shall see! Great idea though.

There are plenty of ways for a father to bond with a new baby other than bottle feeding it. If the mother wants to EBF, everyone needs to respect that and support her. It isn't fair to potentially sabotage the breastfeeding relationship in the first few weeks by asking the mother to pump and introduce bottle feeding too early.

Tell him he can be in charge of the spoon feeding at 6 months ;-)

PatsyGK21 · December 2012

I'm gonna do 8 weeks on the breast before I introduce the bottle. In that 8 weeks, I will also pump and store a "starter supply" of bottled breast milk in the freezer. I have a whole plan, it's very elaborate and detailed, and I hope it works out perfectly haha. It probably wont, but I'm going to try and stick to it as best I can. lol

financialdiva · December 2012

I gave DS a pacifier on day 2. He was latching fine at that point so I wasn't concerned. Pumped and DH gave him a bottle around 2 weeks. Important to wait a bit on pumping since you do want your supply to regulate. I EBF for 14 months. No issues. Obviously everyone is different but one month seems a bit much IMHO.

Necack · December 2012

I will be a BFAR momma so when to introduce bottles may not be up to me. I want to hold off as close to the 4-6 week mark as I can, but odds are I will not have the tissue to produce enough to meet LO's needs with out supplementing. If LO gains weight appropriately with my supply alone, I will be thrilled! But I'm mentally preparing for that to not be the case. As for pacifiers, my situation is different. Typically, I would have nothing against them. However, nursing for comfort rather than using a paci actually helps boost supply by stimulating the prolactin receptors, so we will just have to wait and see how our BF relationship works out. BFAR is so much more complicated!

MikeF&SarahC · December 2012

My sil tried to do this. But after about a week gave in and used a pacifier because she was nursing almost constantly. And my nephew wasn't actually hungry just needed soothing. We will use a pasifier unless lo doesn't want it.

zonagirlie · December 2012

this decaf life:
zonagirlie:
Mil already asked about bottles so she can give him water.
Water is pretty unsafe to give babies because it can lead to water intoxication & mess with their sodium levels. They get enough water from breast milk or formula. [Just pointing it out incase you weren't already aware] 

yes that's why I was saying it. I am very aware and she is very not.

zonagirlie · December 2012

TarHeelMomToBe:
It was recommended in our breastfeeding class to wait 34 weeks before introducing bottles.nbsp; On the flip side, I have a friend who waited TOO long to try a bottle and now at 5 months they have yet to get her son to drink from a bottle.
I'll also try to wait a month before using pacifiers, but if LO ends up being a sucker, it's better to not let her use your breast as a pacifier when she's not hungry!nbsp; Plus, it can reduce the risk of SIDs,nbsp;so I'm not going to be antipacis.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;

This is your opinion. I believe it's okay to "be the pacifier". And there is no firm research on pacis eliminating/ preventing SIDS. I've looked. It all says potentially or possibly but kids have not had pacis for hundreds of years and they are frowned on in hundreds of countries. There's no black and white. For me they're nasty.

lcunningham · December 2012

That sounds like a good plan. Just remember that things always do not go as planned with these little ones. We introduced a bottle probably around 3/4 weeks with DS. Tip - be consistent once you introduce it if you are going back to work and the baby will be getting the bottle during the day. We did not do this and DS never really took to the bottle. He did have a paci from day 1 in the hospital and there was never nipple confusion. I went on to BF him for 19 months.

stewz · December 2012

Playing devil's advocate here, but I introduced a paci and bottle from the start with dd and had absolutely no issues breast feeding. We may have just been lucky but my thought was introduce early so that later she won't refuse. Hopefully it will work out with DS too. Oh and I second the motion on using the paci instead of a boob as a pacifier, but that is just mho/philosophy.

StarrSquared · December 2012

Bottles definatly. however i think you may re-think pacifiers after the first week.

With DD i didnt want her to use paci for the first month either but when she decided that she needed to nurse every 15 minutes because of the comfort of suckeling and my nipples started to get raw from over useage i broke out my paci's and was quite happy that i did. i had no issues breast feeding with introducing paci's at 1 week she did great.

pghctwife · December 2012

from my research, introducing the bottle around 4 weeks was/is pretty good timing. Too early and you risk the baby refusing the breast (because it can be easier to get milk from the bottle, esp if you have a slower or normal letdown) and too late and you can have issues with them taking a bottle (this happened to my mom with one of my sisters - wasn't an issue really for her other than babysitters etc since she was a SAHM but for those of us who work this can be a real problem). Assuming everything is going well with nursing, 4 weeks seems a good spot.

We did not use a paci intentionally. I don't like them. IMO the baby SHOULD be using me as a pacifier early on. That is what the suck desire is there for - nursing. It helps get your supply established and gives the baby comfort and nourishment. And when push comes to shove I would prefer the thumb over a paci too. Feels more natural to me, and allows the baby to self soothe without needing help etc. And I just don't like the LOOK of babies with a paci in their face lol.

While many can certainly be successful with nursing and using a paci or intro'ng a bottle early, nursing was something SO incredibly important to me that I wasn't willing to chance anything. We are still nursing now and it has been a wonderful wonderful experience.

Alexandra0223 · December 2012

TarHeelMomToBe:
It was recommended in our breastfeeding class to wait 3-4 weeks before introducing bottles. On the flip side, I have a friend who waited TOO long to try a bottle and now at 5 months they have yet to get her son to drink from a bottle.

My class said the same thing. I dont want to wait past 4 weeks for fear of our baby never taking a bottle. I would like DH to handle one of the late night feedings, so i plan to pump a little after daytime feedings and have him take either the late night or early morning one.

Alexandra0223 · December 2012

I would also rather have my LO sucking on a paci then their thumb... so we will introduce it as needed. And then hopefully take away by month 6.

Chocodoxies · December 2012

TarHeelMomToBe:
it's better to not let her use your breast as a pacifier when she's not hungry! Plus, it can reduce the risk of SIDs, so I'm not going to be anti-pacis.

How is it better NOT to let them use your breast? Nursing is about so much more than mere nutrition, it is about nurturing them and soothing them. You absolutely SHOULD be using your breast as a "pacifier". Mommy is supposed to be the soother and a hard piece of plastic is not the same thing, though it may seem a helluva lot easier in a moment of exhaustion. And the "pacifiers reduce SIDS" comment would only be effective when you are NOT a breastfeeding mother, as breastfeeding itself lowers the risk of SIDS, however there are no studies proving pacifiers do.

For the record, I find nothing wrong with a pacifier, and when they are past that first month they can be a godsend, but this is total misinformation.

pghctwife · December 2012

yeah I also totally disagree that you shouldn't let the baby use you as a pacifier (which is a phrase I don't like anyhow because like PP said, it is about so much more than that... that is why I prefer the term "nursing" over "breastfeeding").

And not all kids will take to their thumb if not given a paci anyhow. My son never did - and we saw him sucking his thumb in utero! Especially if you are nursing on demand.

snowkiwi · December 2012

stewz:
Playing devil's advocate here, but I introduced a paci and bottle from the start with dd and had absolutely no issues breast feeding. We may have just been lucky but my thought was introduce early so that later she won't refuse. Hopefully it will work out with DS too. Oh and I second the motion on using the paci instead of a boob as a pacifier, but that is just mho/philosophy.

This 100%.

And DD got her paci in the hospital on night 3 because I wanted her to feel soothed when under light therapy for her jaundice. Her eyes were covered and she couldn't be held except for brief feedings. My DH fed her with breastmilk in a bottle from week 2 and he loved the experience and bonding with her. Absolutely no nipple confusion here at all.

Katiemsm · December 2012

Thanks everyone for their input. I feel much better about my plan!

zonagirlie · December 2012

Chocodoxies:
TarHeelMomToBe:
it's better to not let her use your breast as a pacifier when she's not hungry! Plus, it can reduce the risk of SIDs, so I'm not going to be anti-pacis.
How is it better NOT to let them use your breast? Nursing is about so much more than mere nutrition, it is about nurturing them and soothing them. You absolutely SHOULD be using your breast as a "pacifier". Mommy is supposed to be the soother and a hard piece of plastic is not the same thing, though it may seem a helluva lot easier in a moment of exhaustion. And the "pacifiers reduce SIDS" comment would only be effective when you are NOT a breastfeeding mother, as breastfeeding itself lowers the risk of SIDS, however there are no studies proving pacifiers do.
For the record, I find nothing wrong with a pacifier, and when they are past that first month they can be a godsend, but this is total misinformation.

This. You said it so well.

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