Pumping to replace feeding to practice bottle feeding

[@llli*sb]

Hi all, my son is 14 weeks old and 18 pounds. We have had many BF challenges but are finally in a great groove.

I return to work in 6 weeks. My son won't take a bottle. I have left the house and someone else has tried but after a few sucks he cries and refuses. He just waits for me to come home and we nurse. I admit I haven't been working hard to get him to take a bottle because I really enjoy BFing and during the day there isn't anyone who can give him a bottle. I don't like waiting until my husband comes home because that's my son's pre bedtime feeding.

My questions are:
1. If I want to pump, should I be pumping to replace a feeding? For example, if we are going to feed at 3, should I pump and feed him that milk?
2. Should I pump everyday at the same time and practice bottle-feeding daily?
3. Would pumping to replace a nursing session decrease my supply?
4. Since it's not possible for anyone else to give a bottle but me, I suspect he will refuse it. If he refuses it, would nursing afterwards be counterproductive?
5. If replacing a feeding with a pumping session isn't recommended, should I just pump after my morning feed? Since my son is now sleeping longer stretches at night, I am super engorged (usually only nurse one side per feeding as I have oversupply). Can I pump before I go to bed and use that milk as the bottle feeding practice milk or would this make problems worse at night?

Thanks for your help!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

If you just want to build a bit of milk int he freezer, which is all you need for your return to work, try just picking a time of day and pumping then. Many moms find in the morning to be a good time, when baby is happy and they have plenty of milk. Others just pump when they get a minute. Others nurse one side and pump the other at the same time.

Dont pump and feed. That is not needed.

Pumping isn't as good as nursing for your supply, so you don't want to replace nursings unless you have to.

Feed the baby. And don't worry if he won't take it. It may take him a few days, and you might need to try various bottles -- I bought like 10 different brands trying to find one my third kid would use -- but he also might reverse cycle, which is OK, and I would nurse if he refuses a bottle.

It's very common for a baby to refuse a bottle if mom is around.

You only need 1 to 1.5 ozof milk per hour of separation stored before returning to work. And then you will pump the next days feedings while at work