need advice on bottle breastmilk while still bf!

[deailedlace]

Edited by deailedlace - 2/25/13 at 12:00pm

[LLQ1011]

I tried it. Froze 80 oz after more work than I ever thought possible. I was going to need gal bladder surgery i thought. Or maybe bf would like to feed him... None of that ever happened and I cried for an hour wheni had to dump it all because it got too old. Baby will go longer between feedings and you can get a hair cut. Most meds are fine while bfing you can call the infant risk line. As for husbands feeding as long as he dowsnt mind heating it up getting it ready. Burping. Deling with a fussy baby and washing it after (my bf never did because he wanted me to get itready for him and by the time that haphappens I could have nursed him 3 times by then.) Its nice to have but don't put too much work into it because if you don't use it it will be so sad to see all the work go down the drain literally.

Also the infant risk line helps with med information while breast feeding.

[MichelleZB]

There are other ways to bond with the baby rather than feeding him, and it's not selfish to want to nurse instead of bottle feed. Nursing is your job--it's what you're supposed to do. You don't have to force bottles onto the baby if you're not into it.

When your baby is 2 months old, you're nursing a whole lot and it can feel overwhelming for everyone. But it doesn't last like that forever. In two months, you'll probably be able to go get your hair done by nursing the baby, then going, then nursing when you come back a few hours later.

Not that I'm saying you shouldn't give the baby a bottle! Just that it's okay if you don't. It really is.

[MeepyCat]

In my experience, getting a reluctant baby to take a bottle is a headache, a heartache, and a pain.  It may be worth it in some circumstances (we stuck it out because I was starting grad school and needed to send DS to daycare).  If you are going to do it, you cannot do it for "just a couple times a week."  If you give bottles that infrequently, you're basically starting the adaptation process over with every bottle.  Either there is at least a bottle at least daily while you're establishing this, and most days once it ceases to be hard, or you hold off and cope with the process when you really need to do it. 

Your best bet for introducing a bottle, IMO, is for you - Mom - to leave the premises.  Or send Dad and baby elsewhere, like to Grandma's house.  If you're there, the baby will smell the milk on you, and be really unlikely to settle for the bottle.  Dad should settle down someplace comfy that isn't a place where you frequently nurse (so the bed and the nursery rocking chair are out).  And then Dad just has to be patient.  Offer the bottle, let the baby reject the bottle, put the bottle back in the warmer, hold the baby and pat his back, try and murmur soothing things, offer the bottle again.  It's really important that Dad stay as chill as possible, so if Dad chooses to approach this with earplugs, a good movie, the internet at hand, or anything else that will keep him soothed and entertained through the process, that is fine.