Expressing

junior j · Jan 26, 2011 6:14AM

Hey ladies, wondering how you all got on expressing and giving the LO the bottled Breast milk?

i tried it for the first time at the weekend, it took my 20 mins to express 3oz, which seemed little for the time? also made my boob quite sore after, anyhoo i then got hubbie to try and give him the bottle instead of the boob, but he didnt want to take to it, and im terrible i gave up and just put him on the boob instead.

i had to leave the room when hubbie was trying as i started crying!! too emotional seeing LO getting his feed elsewhere!

anyway i think im just being too lazy to stick with it (ive got a wedding coming up so wanted expressed milk just incase) and im also worried he wont want me after trying the bottle, silly i know.

how long did it take you to get LO to take the bottle? and any tips on how to do it?

thanks x

WoWbabies · Jan 25, 2011 6:32AM

hi, 3oz is actually really quite good...i can get 5oz out of one boob with my electric pump, but that takes a good 30mins+ and depends on time of day, if i express first thing in the morning i get loads mre, faster, than if i express mid afternoon....also remember that ur lo can always get a darn site moreout than a ppump, as no pump is as effecient as a baby, although electric pumps do tend to be better than manual pumps...how old is ur lo, how easily they tae to the bottle depends on their age, i think. the longer u leave it the harder it can be as they know they like the boob lol...ds was 3weeks when he first had a bottle and he had no problems, dd was 4.5weeks and she was slightly more fussy, but by the third time she was fine (although she does always want a bf afterwards, regardless of how much milk she's had or if she's full, i think she likes the comfort of the boob-she's 6 weeks- soemhtig ds never did)and she ahs a bottle of ebm every night before bed, so if u perservere i'm sure she'll come round...also depends i think on what bottles ur using, we're using the tt closer to nature bottles, which we used for ds too and they've helped with the whole breast and bottle thing enormously, we tried an avent bottle once with ds and he did not like that. x hth xx

Eyper · Jan 25, 2011 9:19AM

That's a good amount for a first try. I expressed loads and froze it, but never really perservered with a bottle. My dd would take one at around 5 weeks, but when I had to go out for the day when she was almost 6 months she decided that she didn't want to take the bottle. Luckily she was already on solids by that point and would drink out of a cup so my hubby wasn't tearing his hair out too much!

I think if you want to use a bottle as well as boob you have to offer it regularly, otherwise they will refuse. However, my dd now drinks well from a cup so all is not lost.

junior j · Jan 25, 2011 12:40PM

thanks for your replys DS is already 12 weeks so mayhave left it late to get him on it? but it was only really to see if i could use it for emergencies -i.e when i have to leave him for a few hours for this wedding which im panicing about, incase he falls out of his routine and demands to be fed when ive nipped out.

think i shall try again,maybe do it for a few days and see what happens.

Good to hear too that 3oz was alright i felt like i was there forever doing it not getting very far!

Moomin-mama · Jan 25, 2011 2:32PM

Jemcol, i think that you may struggle introducing a bottle now, we have been trying for the last 3 weeks to introduce a bottle without any success and a lot of truama - if you check out my thread "switching from breast to bottle" on the BIO forum you will see that there are a couple of us having the same problem at the moment xxx

Gail1977 · Jan 25, 2011 3:44PM

How long will you be at the wedding for? Feed him and leave some expressed milk in a bottle or cup. If he is hungry he will take it. Especially if you are not there. He's not daft, he wont starve himself. It won't put him off feeding off you either. He is old enough now not to get the two confused. I had the same problem as you with my daughter and by 6 months I put it in a sippy cup for my husband to feed her. At 3 months my husband would spoon a little into her mouth until she got the taste and wipe some on the teat of the bottle. Try that each day until he gets the hang but make sure he can't see, hear of smell you! Good luck x

junior j · Jan 26, 2011 6:14AM

some great advice here thanks ladies, shall check out that other thread too.

thought that i might have left it abit late to introduce it, i was going to give up BF at 6 months so half way there already but ive now just started thinking that when i do start weaning and going onto solids he would then be on formula milk? will i have trouble with that too? so should i keep on trying the bottle now to get him ready for it?

im not planning on being out without him anyway for the next few months, it was really just the wedding and my 30th!! that i was thinking of seeing if he would take the bottle instead so i could perhaps have a cheeky glass of champers to celebrate!

but also when we are out and about for the day, as im quite shy and not very good at feeding in public - i know its a natural thing and nobody bothers but im just paranoid.

Expressing

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