Declan still isn't at his birth weight and hes 18 days old. Dr wants me to pump and top him off after.he breastfeeds. Anyone do this? When did you pump? I'm afraid to pump and then he will want to eat right after.I pump and I won't have any milk to give him... Also how did you supplementt without your lo developing a bottle prefance?
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@stargal: in the beginning i wasnt allowed to let lo breastfeed for more than 15 minutes. Afterward he was supposed to have 2 more ounces, or as much of that as we could get him to eat. So after he nursed i would pump as mich as i could and dh would feed a bottle. We used bm first, and then whatever we didnt have in bm we made up the difference with formula. Once my milk came in i was able to pump enough to make up the difference. This went on for the first couple weeks until the drs told us it was fine to let him nurse for full feedings.
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@Mrs. Lion: thanks for responding! How old was you lo when you gave him a bottle? I worry about nipple confusion.
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I didn't supplement with Tor so I can't weigh in on that level personally but I am not so sure that I buy into the whole nipple confusion thing. My son took a pacifier from birth and was never confused. He took a bottle of pumped BM at 10 days old too. My good friend Sarah supplemented her daughter and she was always and continues to be a champion nurser at 12 months. I think you'll do great!
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Do you have a lactation consultant? I would get one ASAP and develop a plan with her! You can use a SNS to supplement At the breast if you want to avoid bottles.
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@stargal: he had to have them immediately. He was a preemie. There was no confusion but nursing was never easy for us. His mouth was very small when he was born and I had to use a nipple sheild. I gave up nursing at 4 month s in favor of eping instead. And I would ep all over again before I did no bottles. Having other people able to feed lo is non negotiable for me.
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The breast is never empty! It might just flow slower. I never had to supplement but if I were going to pump, I'd do it 30-60 minutes after a feeding. I think given that he's slow gaining weight, I'd consult a LC to help you through this.
I don't think you can control the bottle preference thing so try not to worry about that. (Use slow flow nipples is all you can do really). But, you also don't need to use a bottle necessarily. There are many other ways to feed baby without a bottle.
At the end of the day, what's most important is getting your baby the nutrition he needs. Good luck, you're doing great!!
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Ditto what @daniellemybelle said about looking into an SNS. I used one for several weeks (months?) in order to supplement my daughter.
I would nurse her on one side, use the SNS on the other side (with pumped milk), then once she was done eating I would pump both sides and use that milk during our next feeding. It was hard, but it worked! Wall me if you want to talk about it...I'm convinced it's what helped me BF her until 16 months.
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My son was early, so even though he was only ever fed breastmilk, he took breast and bottle from day one. I was told to only allow him 10 minutes on each side (so that he didn't burn too many calories/energy eating from me) and then my husband would give him a bottle of pumped milk to top him off. I pumped after every.single.feeding. (Ugh- BUT it built my supply up really quickly.) Whatever I pumped right after his last feed was used for the next feeding. So since I pumped right after each feed, I was always ready for when he wanted to eat next. He also had to take a pacifier right away (for being on lights, etc...) and he has not developed nipple confusion.
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thank you everyone for your advice and experiences, sorry I would reply to each of you individually but I am so exhausted from this schedule of bfing, pumping and taking care of two kiddos.
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We supplemented from one month on. DS would eat from each side (there wasn't a lot of milk!) and then take a bottle. I tried to pump after feedings at first because you're "supposed" to, but at least for us it was a big old waste of time. Should have used that time to nap
It looked like the bottle did affect his latch after a couple of months, but we had a lactation consultant come and show us some exercises. They're real simple - just a cheek/jaw massage and putting a finger on the baby's lips like you're saying sssh so they stick out their tongue. Hope that helps!1
It looked like the bottle did affect his latch after a couple of months, but we had a lactation consultant come and show us some exercises. They're real simple - just a cheek/jaw massage and putting a finger on the baby's lips like you're saying sssh so they stick out their tongue. Hope that helps!1
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