I breastfed my first soen for 13 months exclusively. Now I am due, well yesterday and Im going back to work in one month. Obviously I have to pump. So heres my question. Should I exclusively breastfeed in the beginning and then try to bottle feed a few weeks later, or start both right away?

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Amy,

I believe it's recommended that you exclusively BF for the first 3-4wks and then you can introduce the bottle. You just want to make sure that BF is well established before introducing the bottle.

When I had to return to work 8wks PP I had only introduced the bottle a couple times to my son and he had no problem switching back and forth. I would just be sure that you use a BF friendly nipple with the bottle once you do introduce it.

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echoing the above poster, get bf well established first, then introduce the pumped milk, if someone else can do it instead of you, it usually goes smoother too.

good luck.

:hug :hug s to you for having to go back to work so soon.

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What I did was exclusively bf the first 4 weeks, then I had dh introduce a bottle. Now he'll take a bottle from anyone but me while I'm at work and then nurses only when we're home. I wanted him to associate mommy with nursing and the sitter or dh with the bottle. So far we haven't had any troubles.

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Ditto all previous posters. We introduced a once-a-day bottle of EBM (from DH) at about 3 weeks, once she had regained birthweight (which she was a bit slow to do). It really took a while before she got the hang of it, so I'm glad we started early. She was a pro by 3 months, and though she never would take a bottle from me, she was perfectly happy to have it from DH or really anyone else.

Incidentally, we did the bottle right when DH came home from work 5:15ish, which gave me a nice 15-min break. Sometimes I started dinner or showered, but sometimes I just laid down on the bed for a rest. I pumped the bottle daily either during her first a.m. nap, or after she first went down for the night. I figured the amount didn't really matter that much, the bottle was mostly just for practice. Usually it was only about 2 oz or so, but I would always remind myself that a newborn's tummy is about the size of a ping-pong ball. Hmmm..sounds like 2 oz. to me!!

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Jessica 34
DH 42
Darling Niece 14
Big girl S. born August 28, 2003
Expecting in January 2007!

I'm going to be the small voice of dissent here. If you're going back to work at 4 weeks, you need that bottle skill earlier.

There are ways to do it that don't interfere with the establishment of breastfeeding. You just have to be smart and surgical about it.

I would introduce the bottle when your milk comes in and there's something to pump. Remember, pumping is also a learned skill, and the earlier you start, the better you'll be at at and the more likely you'll be great at expressing milk at work.

Start pumping a full session once a day and storing your milk. That engorgement period is great for building up a quick supply. Don't overdo it, but one good pumping session a day isn't going to throw you too off-kilter in the supply department.

As for the bottles, your goal is to build and maintain a skill. A skill that the baby isn't going to use QUITE yet, but a skill that you want him to be familiar with. So, I would make up a small bottle. And by small, I mean REALLY small. Like 1/2 ounce or so. Feed the bottle once a day. That's it. This way your baby will be familiar with bottles, familiar with the fact that milk comes out of them, and familiar with how to swallow milk that's coming out of a bottle.

About a week before you return to work, start increasing the frequency and the amount in the bottles during the hours you'll be at work. By the time you're a few days out from working, make sure your baby is taking at least one full meal-replacement bottle.

I don't normally suggest this because it takes a lot of self-control to do this in a way that doesn't interfere with the breastfeeding and the establishment of it, but for women who NEED the skill (bottle skill with baby, and pumping skill with mom) I don't hesitate to suggest it.

Remember the key--do not feed full bottles. Your baby doesn't need to know that a bottle can be a meal until much later in the process. He needs to be nursing you for all his meals in the beginning. All you want is for him to be familiar with the idea of it so when you ask him to take a full meal from a bottle, he'll be ready.

Good luck!

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