how often do I give 5 week baby a bottle

ltmacs · June 2014

My baby will be 5 weeks tomorrow and so far only breastfed. Over the past week and a half I pumped 5 times and have been trying to give her pumped milk so that she will know how to take a bottle for when i go to work at 12 weeks. She refused 3 of the bottles, but drank 2. I want to start pumping for work. I work 24 hours per week and will be returning at 12 weeks post partum. How often do I offer her a bottle of the pumped breast milk? Should I pump 2 times per day and save one for my go back to work stash and one to practice bottle feeds? So far I am pumping once a day or once every other day and all the milk I pump goes to her to practice bottle feeding. What do you recommend?

Lauren

TheBorg7of9 · June 2014

Just keep trying. DS2 did not like bottles. We made it part of our routine every day. Eventually he got used to it

jenn43 · June 2014

Definitely offer a bottle every day. If you stop for a few days, babies may start refusing the bottle again. I have DH give a bottle for one of the night feedings so I can sleep a bit longer

Jennpjc414 · June 2014

My lc said atleast one bottle a week, so that's what I've been doing since I really dislike pumping! LO always takes the bottle pretty well, but I guess if she didn't I would try to give her a bottle more often.

ltmacs · June 2014

Thanks for the advice! So at this point I need to pump 2 times per day, once for the baby's daily bottle and once to store.

CLLDLL · June 2014

I think it depends on your kid. Mine liked his bottles and we only offered one every two to three days. Also are you the one offering the bottle or is it someone else? We had much better luck with my DH offering while I was in the other room.

Finally all you *have* to have as a stash is enough for the first day. After that you'll offer what you pumped at work the day before. I killed myself pumping once or twice a day from 4 weeks Pp to 11 weeks when I went back. I didn't need anywhere near the 150 oz I saved. I regret the time I spent pumping it.

littlefroggy · June 2014

I agree with pp. You may want to let DH offer the bottle. My little guy more or less refuses if I offer the bottle but does pretty well when someone else gives it to him. When we first introduced the bottle we did it after a nap so he was well rested and happy. When he's fussy or tired he needs the extra boob comfort.

ltmacs · June 2014

Thank you for all the information. I switched to pumping only once per day, which is fine because I pump 1.5-2.5 oz. and baby only drinking 0.5 oz.-1 oz. per bottle feeding (but usually refusing completely). I am relieved because I feel so busy as it is, I didn't really want to pump 2 times. Also started nursing while pumping, which I thought I would never accomplish! So now I need to get this baby to drink from bottle...

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