Nurse/Bottle/Pump?

Re: Nurse/Bottle/Pump?

• elsa1688 member

  July 2014

  In a different boat but just wanted to give you some support! You are doing amazing things for your girl. Hang in there mama!

  

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• lynkat member

  July 2014

  Nursing, pumping when I can to build supply for when I return to work, and introducing a bottle this week. DS took his first bottle today and it went okay. I know there is a BFing/pumping thread but it's pretty long... Any suggestions for making the intro to a bottle smoother? Also, I read so many conflicting things on the amount I should give in a bottle. Does anyone have a good resource for that? I know every baby is different, just looking for a starting point.

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• katekat8721 member

  July 2014 edited July 2014

  Me.
  
  It's the trifecta of awesome (sarcasm). I nurse but they're not that efficient so they're hungry very quickly afterwards. So I give them expressed milk if I have it and formula if I don't.
  
  Right now I've found its easier to give them expressed milk, nurse for comfort, then give formula as needed. I doubt I will ever be able to EBF. I don't make enough milk and I like DH being able to help with feedings and being able to be away from the kiddos occasionally.

  
  

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• babygabe614 member

  July 2014

  Hang in there, mama.
  
  We are pumping and supplementing with formula so I am in a similar boat, but nursing wasn't working out for us so we've pretty much eliminated that piece.
  
  This shiz ain't easy.

  

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• thomas1501 member

  July 2014

  Hi. I'm usually a lurker but thought I would post because I am in the same boat and know how sad and frustrating it has been for me. My LO is almost three weeks old and due to medical issues ( retained placenta, pp hemorrhage, pcos...) my milk never came in. Baby lost about 12% of body weight by three days so started supplementing and trying everything under the sun to get my milk to come in. At this point I pump about seven ounces total a day with eight or nine pumping sessions.
  
  At this point though I think we may start cutting out the bf step even tho it makes me very sad to do so. He just gets so frustrated and his feedings take so long.
  
  One thing I did try based on advise from LC is the medela supplemental nursing system. It cuts out the bottle step as baby gets formula or bm at same time as breast feeding. It's a lot of cleaning and setup though. Kind of a pain but might be worth it if you really want to bf.
  Sorry for the novel. I feel your pain and hope it gets better for you.

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• chickpea912 member

  July 2014 edited July 2014

  I've been in this place before with M, so the what if's have gotten out of hand in my head.  Have I somehow brought this situation about because of past experience - if I'd been more open in the beginning, maybe it would be different now?  What if I could have done more, etc.

  
  

  In the end, my milk actually came in this time (yay!), and so I started to nurse S exclusively around the end of week one - and she lost weight.  Trigger lack of confidence regarding my continued low supply.  So we've been doing the nurse/bottle/pump routine - bottle usually being formula, but maybe once a day it's expressed breast milk.  I've done cookies, water, fenugreek, a hospital grade pump after ever nursing session, oatmeal, etc.  In my head, I'm telling myself that doing even a fraction of all of that should have made my supply decent, that if I've had to work this hard for a meager 1.5 oz at any non-nursing pump session (ie after 3 or 4 hours since last nurse or pump), that I couldn't do more.  But the "what if"s still pop up every so often.

  
  

  I do lurk around the BFing and FF threads, so it's not as if I'm without those resources.  I was just curious how many others out there were doing this torturous trio tango (go with me... I like alliteration every so often).

  
  

  What's annoying is how much I like nursing her, and she seems to adore it.  So we keep doing it, but my supply has started to tank (no fucking idea why), so it makes me wonder why I bother.

  
  

  Thanks to everyone who answered.  Huge hugs to all the ladies dealing with any of the associated frustrations with nursing/pumping/bottling
  
  

  And @snuff9861 - pretty sure you're NOT supposed to be a cheerleader, meanie (you have a trophy to proove it, right?!?!)  Thanks, hon.

  :-*

  

          

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• katekat8721 member

  July 2014

  @chickpea912 it's hard, but you're really doing an awesome job!
  
  For me, I love nursing but it doesn't seem to be the most effective way to feed my girls. So I give them the bottle and then nurse if they're still wanting to snack or need a little comforting. By that time they're not starving and it's much more enjoyable for all of us.
  
  I think one of the hardest things about our trio of torture (lol) is that there isn't a set schedule. Like, I'll pump now, then give a bottle of expressed, then nurse next feed, then formula next time. .. a lot of the time it's more fly by the seat of your pants. The babies are hungry, do I have time to pump? No. Ok we'll do I have expressed milk ready? Yeah but only a little bit. Ok I can give them that, then then a little formula, then go pump. Or I could just try to BF right now, but they're super hungry so I better get that expressed milk ready too... ugh.

  
  

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• TakeMeAway55 member

  July 2014

  I kept it up for one week, and then switched to exclusively pumping. It's a lot of work, but it's so much less stressful than the "trifecta." I religiously pump for at least 20 minutes every time she feeds, and I have luckily not seen a drop in my supply (and it's been 2 weeks). I've also been drinking a ton of water and Mother's Milk Tea. Good luck with your supply, and great job on getting as far as you have!

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• katekat8721 member

  July 2014

  Amy I have a question and I'm not sure how to word it.
  
  We're doing nursing, expressed milk and formula occasionally (usually like 2 feeds/day now). When I give them the BM bottle I keep it to 3-4 oz. I'm not going over 5oz. Is there a certain amount of formula I shouldn't go over?
  
  I've also been giving 4 oz or under of formula because I was thinking that anymore could stretch their tummies and then they wouldn't find satisfaction at the breast or with a BM bottle.
  
  Am I doing that right? I don't want to starve 'em lol! But I don't want to screw up BFing/pumping.

  
  

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• lynkat member

  July 2014

  Thank you @AmyG*‌

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• CherSomething member

  July 2014

  I'm in this group. I'm trying to nurse primarily, but like @Katekat8721, baby isn't too efficient at it. I  pump a few times a day when I can, and when the breast isn't cutting it for her, we give her a bottle of ebm. 

  I feel like all I do is give milk one way or another all day long. I have maybe 10-15 minutes of time at a time to do anything else. 

    
  

  Baby GIRL born June 12

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• Taymiller member

  July 2014

  I have taken a 4 day break from BF and am just pumping. I would love to go back to bf but my nips are not cooperating and I can usually only do it on the left side so I feed left and pump right and then pump left. I finally think my supply is not an issue and I haven't had to supplement for the last 2 days.
  
  I don't mind the pumping except for at night. My family has been in town so it has been easier to pump but they are leaving today so we will try the boob again. Wish me luck!

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• fsumom member

  July 2014

  I was but now I rarely nurse as DS just doesn't nurse well.  

  ~Jessica~ 

  
  

  
  

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• fferreiralynn member

  July 2014

  I know I don't post much but I really need help. I'm back to work in a month and have been giving LO bottles with half formula and half breast milk once or twice a day so she would be used to it because I knew I would need to return to work eventually. Now I am increasing the bottle feeds with the same ratio of breast milk to formula and weaning her off the breast. I'm attempting to work up to 8 hours of bottle feeds. She would take the bottle without any issue until recently. Now she acts like its poison. I'm pumping so much to build a supply but only getting an ounce each breast. When she refuses the bottle I try 3 times. Then I do something else with her (walk, sing, ect) for ten minuts then I put her to the breast. She begins to suck but then gets so little from my breast she becomes frantic. I try the bottle again and she refuses. I don't know what to do.

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• chickpea912 member

  July 2014

  fferreiralynn said:

  I know I don't post much but I really need help. I'm back to work in a month and have been giving LO bottles with half formula and half breast milk once or twice a day so she would be used to it because I knew I would need to return to work eventually. Now I am increasing the bottle feeds with the same ratio of breast milk to formula and weaning her off the breast. I'm attempting to work up to 8 hours of bottle feeds. She would take the bottle without any issue until recently. Now she acts like its poison. I'm pumping so much to build a supply but only getting an ounce each breast. When she refuses the bottle I try 3 times. Then I do something else with her (walk, sing, ect) for ten minuts then I put her to the breast. She begins to suck but then gets so little from my breast she becomes frantic. I try the bottle again and she refuses. I don't know what to do.

  I'm not sure how much help I'll be - what kind of bottle are you using?  She took them fine and now she isn't?  Maybe try a different bottle?

  
  

  Hoping someone else might have some advice for you.

  

          

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• fferreiralynn member

  July 2014 edited July 2014

  @chickpea912‌ Dr. Brown. Going to buy different bottles and formula tomorrow and try different combinations. The real issue now is pumping enough milk to mix in. I have a feeling that I'm going to waste what little supply I have or can produce trying. I even tried other people or leaving the house while she is being fed. Thanks.
  
  ETA DH even tried to use a dropper hoping she'd get mad ( not the exact word I want but I think I pumped my brain out) enough and take the bottle. Nothing. Just spat it out.

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• chickpea912 member

  July 2014

  Is it the regular Dr. Browns or the wide nipple?  I find LO doesn't do as well with the smaller nipples, so I usually get the wider ones - they seem to reminder her of the breast?  

  
  

  In terms of pumping, check out Kelly Mom - lots of good resources there for improving supply and getting the most of pumping

  

          

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• fferreiralynn member

  July 2014

  Wide neck.

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• b48kate member

  July 2014

  I actually did BFing, pumping and formula supplementing simultaneously for two weeks and found it absolutely crazy making. LO is getting a 50:50 ratio of expressed milk and formula (that is all the milk I am able to pump despite every intervention known to man). You are stud chickpea!

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• fferreiralynn member

  July 2014

  Okay so DH gave LO just formula this morning and she took it. When I got up I gave her a bottle of just formula and she took it! I missed two feeds so I pumped and got 4 oz total. That's a lot for me. I'm so confused.

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• fferreiralynn member

  July 2014

  If LO only takes formula from a bottle and I want to contain to nurse when I'm not at work I'm going to pump to keep up my supply but I don't want to waste the milk. Is their a minimum that I need to donate?

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