Breastfeeding/Bottle

[@llli*pvallejo]

Hi mommal!

I am not worried about making breastfeeding work for me. I am just open to it possibly not working and am completely fine with this.

I have ZERO tolerance to pain and have heard from many mom, nurses that I work with that breastfeeding does HURT and this is why I state that I will try my HARDEST to deal with the pain for the good of my newborn. And hope that it works out!

[@llli*mommal]

People love to scare moms-to-be with their birth and breastfeeding horror stories, don't they! "Oh, I had a 23 day-long back labor and then breast-feeding hurt so bad my nipples fell off, etc."

Don't worry about pain too much, mama. A lot of women get it right from the first minute and never have a lick of trouble, or any pain. For other women there is some pain, but that's why there are lactation consultants, to help you fix what's going wrong and nurse pain-free. One thing that you might want to do now is look around for a good lacration consultant, preferably an IBCLC. That way if you do run into trouble, you'll have her phone number available.

[@llli*pvallejo]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@llli*lllmeg]

mommy2lilah said

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. But there is a tone that babies don't need bottles - and they certainly don't need to be bottle fed for bonding. My DH rarely fed either of my babies bottles and I am at work full time.

But if she wants to know what kind of bottles are good and everyone is saying don't use a bottle - then I think it is a valid question if the ONLY reason she would use them would be for bonding. I know that my recommendation to a new mom regarding bottles would be different if she was going to stay at home or if she was going to go to work. If she was going to stay at home I would say - forget about them entirely. If she's going back to work my response would be different.

I was not offended, I just wanted to clarify the point because I did not want the suggestions here dismissed out of hand by moms who need to give bottles due to work, school etc. as irrelevant to them, because in general I think they are good suggestions, which of course any given mom could modify as neccesary for her situation. I did not see the responses as you did, that one must avoid bottles entirely. I also think this subject hit a nerve with some of us because it is such a common perception that babies need to be fed bottles in order to bond with family and this may (depending on the situation) cause breastfeeding issues.

And I agree, in my case it would have been much better to ask for clarification about what the specific concerns were than to just pile on. As a Leader I am trained to talk to moms on the phone and in person, and when I am talking with a mom looking for help, I ask many questions & try to do a lot of careful listening to the answers before giving my thoughts. I find online communication much more difficult. I am well aware I get carried away on the forums here sometimes and try to cram lots of info in, sometimes far ranging info, rather than being more patient with this mode of communication and asking questions as I would on the phone. I am still learning how to handle this type of communication, so please feel free to let me know when I am missing something.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Every one of my babies has needed a different bottle. This is really why I tell mamas to not bother registering for them. You also never know...I thought for sure I'd be returning to work, but I ended up quitting FT work.

We also limited their use to the occasional sitter -- I work very PT -- and never ever at home. DH didnt give our okder three a bittle, but instead bonded by doing other things. He says, actually, he bonded better by doing other things that were only his, not sharing with me. Limiting bottle use to sitters only also goes a long way toward preventing bottle preference by the baby. You do not want to get trapped into a situation where you are stuck pumping full time.

Mama, I will be honest. Every time I have a baby, it does hurt when baby latches for that first week. But...it's not for forever. It means something is not quite right. In my case, it is because I have super sensitive skin -- everything irritates it -- and a teeny baby with my slightly larger than typical nipples means baby has a slightly shallow latch, and once baby grows a bit, it's fine. But it is just for a short time. I thought I couldn't handle any pain until I had my first baby too, and you might be pleasantly surprised that it's not as bad as you feared, baby might have a great latch...and if you learn as much as possible before baby comes, by reading messages here, lining up an IBCLC (and NOT relying on the hospital LC's, who are usually overworked and can't give you enough time, if you are choosing hospital birth) and doing things to maximize your chances of success, such as skin to skin right after birth, etc., you are setting yourself up for success.

It is not easy, but it is always worth it in the long run. It will be one of the first of many decisions you make for your child where your desires and needs are last on the list.

[@llli*cliffey]

My baby has hit the one month mark and we have bought a Medela Calma in preparation for introducing a bottle at around 6-8 weeks (just for occasional feeding and outings--I'm still going to be mainly bfing). The Calma is supposed to mimic the breast somewhat in that your baby has to suck to get the milk out, it doesn't just dribble out. It has some really good reviews and others say the baby has to work too hard to get the milk. We haven't tried it yet but it might be worth looking in to.

(BTW, one thing to watch out for... don't forget to test your milk for too much lipase! I started pumping to build up a store and luckily read about it before I'd pumped too much. I do have too much lipase, so my milk tastes awful if I don't scald it before storage.)

Edit: follow-up on lipase here for anyone worried about it. http://forums.llli.org/showthread.ph...-freezer-stash

[@llli*kst.7399]

I wasted so much money on bottles with both of mine. My daughter at first would only use Avent and then only wanted a Nuby cup. Due to latch issues with my son he was bottle fed for 3 weeks and would only use Avent. Now he won't take a bottle and will only use a Nuby. Oddly they were both exactly the same.

I agree about holding off if you can. Or registering for only 1 of each. I was grateful for friends who passed on their bottles for me to try. I can see your thinking that if breastfeeding doesn't work you will still need bottles but even formula fed babies have bottle preferences. Most people I know have tried a few, even if it wasn't all rejection from the baby. Sometimes it's as simple as you not being comfortable with the shape to hold or parts to wash.

[@llli*molly.b]

As I sit here pg with my fourth, it is so hard to put myself back in the place of a first time mom-to-be! And yet there is so much I would tell my first time mom-to-be self that I wish I had known…
I have breastfed all my children and they all received bottles of pumped breastmilk after I went back to work. DS was weaned to formula at 6 months; the other two never had a drop and were much healthier babies/toddlers in terms of fewer ear infections/croup/etc. So that is my experience and here is what I have to offer:
1. So many moms say they will “try” but give up at the slightest challenge. Don’t try to breastfeed. Commit to it. If you don’t commit, you are more likely to fail. I suggest setting a firm benchmark, such as “I WILL breastfeed this baby for 2 weeks come hell or high water.” I say 2 weeks because those first two weeks are often the most challenging. It’s kind of like starting a new exercise program. You buy the DVD and try it a couple of times, and your body is sore and it is hard. But if you stick with it for two weeks it starts to get a heck of a lot easier. Don’t let your baby be a dusty workout DVD. This is way more important.
2. For at least those first two weeks, don’t worry about cleaning or cooking or anything but resting and taking care of baby and yourself. Accept help.
3. Now on to your actual question: you’ll want a wide-based nipple, slow-flow; examples are Playtex NaturalLatch nipples or Breastflow. READ THE LINKS for how to bottle-feed a breastfed baby that LLLmeg posted earlier. Best to wait 4-6 weeks to introduce the bottle at all, but I’d say no later than 1-2 weeks before you have to go back to work.
Congratulations and I hope that helps!

[@llli*mumtothomas]

As I sit here pg with my fourth, it is so hard to put myself back in the place of a first time mom-to-be! And yet there is so much I would tell my first time mom-to-be self that I wish I had known…
I have breastfed all my children and they all received bottles of pumped breastmilk after I went back to work. DS was weaned to formula at 6 months; the other two never had a drop and were much healthier babies/toddlers in terms of fewer ear infections/croup/etc. So that is my experience and here is what I have to offer:
1. So many moms say they will “try” but give up at the slightest challenge. Don’t try to breastfeed. Commit to it. If you don’t commit, you are more likely to fail. I suggest setting a firm benchmark, such as “I WILL breastfeed this baby for 2 weeks come hell or high water.” I say 2 weeks because those first two weeks are often the most challenging. It’s kind of like starting a new exercise program. You buy the DVD and try it a couple of times, and your body is sore and it is hard. But if you stick with it for two weeks it starts to get a heck of a lot easier. Don’t let your baby be a dusty workout DVD. This is way more important.
2. For at least those first two weeks, don’t worry about cleaning or cooking or anything but resting and taking care of baby and yourself. Accept help.
3. Now on to your actual question: you’ll want a wide-based nipple, slow-flow; examples are Playtex NaturalLatch nipples or Breastflow. READ THE LINKS for how to bottle-feed a breastfed baby that LLLmeg posted earlier. Best to wait 4-6 weeks to introduce the bottle at all, but I’d say no later than 1-2 weeks before you have to go back to work.
Congratulations and I hope that helps!

The first few weeks are the hardest, but once they've passed, it gets easier. We had good experiences with all the bottles we used--Evenflo, Breastflow, and Playtex drop-ins with Naturalatch silicone nipples (slow flow). We used the Playtex most, and they were easy and convenient to use and to clean (we don't have a dishwasher).

ETA: Just remembered that one bottle didn't work well for us, the Avent. We were never able to get it not to leak. But that could have been user error.