has anyone nursed but introduced a bottle on day 1?

[Leanna]

I know that the preferred method is to wait 3+ weeks to introduce a bottle.... but.... I had so many issues exclusive nursing last time that I can barely stomach the idea of doing it again, that's the honest truth. I'd like to try though and give this baby whatever I can and who knows maybe for once it won't be a nightmare that makes me dread every feeding. I think the best way to help myself not get to that extremely-unhappy place is for me to allow a bottle right away so that my husband can relieve me some. I know the problems with doing this, supply, latching, etc. etc. but seriously.... its either allow a bottle on day one while nursing or forget nursing altogether because I don't have it in me, just thinking about exclusive nursing breaks me into a near anxiety attack. So don't try to talk me out of it, unless you want me to just forget it.

Has anyone successfully done this and went on to nurse? Has it ever happened to anyone?

Just curious , sorry to sound so defensive in advance but I've found its necessary with nursing-- people are not nice

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

You realise saying this goes against everything in me when it comes to giving advice on breastfeeding?... But...

My daughter was given formula in the 1.5 days between when she was born and when we went home on more than one occasion by the hospital staff (against our wishes). We went on to have a very successful breastfeeding relationship to where after that I then nursed her exclusively until 6 months and then continued breastfeeding until she was 25 months.

So yes it can be done. And if giving Josiah (that's the name I'm rooting for for your little boy ) a few bottles of formula to keep your sanity while you try to give breastfeeding another shot is what it takes then go for it!

 

[AJ29]

I will start by saying that I am very pro-breastfeeding...

BUT...

If breastfeeding was such a negative experience for you the first time, do you really want to try again?

Your mental health and well being is crucial at a time like this, so if breastfeeding is going to shatter that, then is it really worth it at all?

You know what they say - what is good for mum is what is good for bub. Maybe starting out with bottles is the best way for you to go!

I am new here, so I have no idea what hurdles you faced the first time, and I would love to try and help you have a more positive breastfeeding experience this time, so if you want to give it a go, feel free to PM me and we can discuss problems, possible solutions etc... or I can just reassure you are doing a fantastic job of raising your little ones!!

 

[pmcleanj]

Basically, yes. And I did it precisely because I am a strong believer in moderately extended breast-feeding and in breast-milk ONLY for babies until their teeth start coming in. (I say "moderately" extended because while I think twelve to twenty-four months is a good normal period for breastfeeding, I do think it's a little weird to breastfeed a child whose contemporaries are learning to read. JMHO)

I knew that I would be going back to work full-time when my baby was only six months old, so right from the beginning I began expressing and freezing breastmilk. I didn't express much at first, as let-down and expressing are both learned skills. As soon as I had two ounces, Dean gave Anne her next night-time feeding and I got to sleep through it. By the time she settled into once-every-three hours as a nighttime feeding schedule, I was routinely able to sleep six hours at a stretch because of this practice.

I could never bottle-feed Anne. She smelt me and the milk in my breasts and wanted the breast. But she took the bottle easily from Dean. He always bottle-fed her by holding her very close and holding the bottle, so that the emotional benefits of breast-feeding were maintained, and it gave him a chance to bond more closely than many fathers ever get a chance to bond.

So, when I went back to work, I was able to take breast-milk in bottles for the nuns to give to Anne. They held her the same way for feeding, and never had any trouble with her fretting or rejecting the bottle.

I was careful always to use silicone nipples because they don't smell or deteriorate as latex nipples do; always to use the orthodontic nipples and keep them scrupulously clean, use the smallest available holes in the nipple to keep the sucking reflex strong, and to use the kind of bottles that support a little plastic-bag insert that collapses as the baby suckles and therefore don't introduce any air into the baby's stomach. I froze the expressed milk right in those little plastic bags, so that there was just the right amount in each frozen package (I kept one of the "bottles" in the freezer and added expressed milk little by little until it was full and frozen, then tied it off and popped it into a zip-lock bag. This way the frozen lumps fit easily back into the bottle and could thaw slowly in the fridge at the convent until needed -- write the date on the bottle-liner.)

 

[Neenie1]

I have never done it, but as others said - it can be done.

I am pro breastfeeding, but I too get annoyed with everyone being negative about bottlefeeding.

I would say give breastfeeding your best shot but try not to get stressed out about it if it isn't working for you 3rd time around. I mean really..... your other 2 children turned out OK with bottlefeeding right?

 

[GolfingMom]

I did With YS. He was given a bottle at night so I didn't wake to nurse him. I nursed on and off for a few weeks and gave it up.
My sister di also and nursed for 7 months or so...
I had a terrible experience with nursing OS. DH and I decided I would nurse YS when/if I wanted to. It was sooooo stress free and a great experience.

 

[heart of peace]

pmcleanj, I guess I'm must be a full blown freak to you as my son is 3 and is still breastfeeding

I will preface this by saying that I struggle with threads like these because of my own personal issues but I wanted to agree with the others who said that it is important that you do not resent or feel panicky about any aspect of your parenting. Many people have grown up to be very successful adults and were FF from day one (me included ). Also, like A2J, I had to use a bottle with my son a few feedings in the first week because of latch issues and he was not receiving any milk. Actually, it was a bottle that helped my son with his latch, believe it or not. The bottle was specifically made for preemies and although my son was not a preemie (at nearly 10 whopping pounds), he struggled with his latch like a preemie. So, I guess my point is that it is possible to use a bottle from the beginning and establish a decent breastfeeding relationship. I'm proof positive, he ended up developing a champion latch after I endured toe curling pain of course for like a month or so and here we are 3 years later nearing the end of our nursing relationship. I would never had thunk it back then!

 

[virtualgirl]

I did with my first son. He was 4# 2 oz. at birth and the doctor wanted me to supplement with a bottle. It worked out well because I had a hard time getting into the swing of BFing at first -- trying to get that tiny mouth to latch on properly was very painful for me. Both mommy and baby faired well with this arrangement.

 

[pmcleanj]

pmcleanj, I guess I'm must be a full blown freak to you as my son is 3 and is still breastfeeding

I manage not to obsess over the weird choices that other people make. I have friends whose four and even five-year-olds were not completely weaned -- and friends who weaned at six weeks. I'm going to assume that those who do practice early or late weening are sufficiently confident in their choices that they can advocate on their own behalf. I'll stick to advocating for what I DO strongly believe in -- which is moderately extended breastfeeding.

 

[Jilly123]

I did! ...for a little while at least.

DD had to be given supplementary feeds from day one in the hospital because of breastfeeding problems. She latched correctly and I had no problem with supply but the milk just struggled to come out. Unfortunately they couldn't even give her breast milk in her bottle because I would pump for 30 minutes and only 10ml (that's not even 1oz) would come out

I stopped when she was around 3 months and just formula fed because I found it much easier on both of us emotionally. Being forced to give her bottles from the beginning made me feel like a bad mother and comments from other people didn't exactly help. I remember crying in the hospital saying "I'm such a bad mother because I can't even feed my own child" etc. We were both far more relaxed when she was completely weaned. I just got to the point where I didn't really care what other people thought

I have a friend who introduced a bottle from the start and still managed to breastfeed for a year, so it definitely can be done.

 

[heart of peace]

I manage not to obsess over the weird choices that other people make. I have friends whose four and even five-year-olds were not completely weaned -- and friends who weaned at six weeks. I'm going to assume that those who do practice early or late weening are sufficiently confident in their choices that they can advocate on their own behalf. I'll stick to advocating for what I DO strongly believe in -- which is moderately extended breastfeeding.

Apparently my sense of humor was lost here. Forgive me for trying to be silly.

 

[pmcleanj]

Apparently my sense of humor was lost here.

Well, lost on me anyway. Sorry: colour me dense.

 

[heart of peace]

 

[JulySheMustFly]

Yes. I knew I'd have to return back to classes to finish my degree with Bear and we needed her to drink from a bottle for Nan and Daddy without argument on those days and nights that I had class. She was an awesome breast feeder unfortunately because I had such long days when I did have class the pain from being engorged without the opportunity to pump became too much and at 5 months I stopped breastfeeding all together. I also had accepted a full-time job where I was on the road all day with a co-worker so again I had not time or place to stop and pump when needed.

 

[Green Orchid]

I'm pretty sure my MIL introduced a bottle every night to her 3rd baby from the start and she nursed successfully until 6 months. She kept trying to convince me to do this but she's finally given up, seeing I'm still bfing my 8 month old very gladly.

 

[Singin4Him]

I'm very non-traditional as far as breastfeeding goes. We had to give Elijah a bottle a few days after he was born because my milk was taking too long to come in and he was jaundice so he needed to flush all that out of his system. He had no nipple confusion and latched fine when my milk did come in, however I had problems so we had to use a nipple shield until about 3 months but he did great after we got rid of it. Then at about 7 months we went to formula and breastmilk. I hated pumping so I decided when I was out with my husband I would allow my parents to give him a bottle of formula. He never had a problem with switching back and forth, we're still nursing almost 16 months later!

 

[jgonz]

Leanna,

It totally depends on this particular baby whether he/she will be able to switch back & forth from bottle to breast. Many babies Can, but a few Can't. Nipple confusion Is a real problem for some babies. The only way to find out though, is to try it.

The worst that can happen is that the baby refuses the breast completely because his/her latch is all messed up from the bottle nipple.

Another option would be to pump and give the baby breastmilk in the bottle...

 

[seamonster]

I honestly can't remember when I gave my son a bottle for the first time, but I know my mom gave him a bottle when he was about a week old and I still managed to breastfeed him for 7 months or so. When I did start giving him a bottle, it wasn't regularly, but he did take one from DH when I was at school.

 

[gracepaints]

Just wanted to give you a hug. I think it's great that you are even thinking about trying to breastfeed again in any capacity since you had such a hard time previously. Good for you! Hopefully, whatever you decide will be much easier on you this time around.