am i doing the right thing

[maldives]

I still feel unirganised and exhausted in BF...I had to travel with my LO and we're back where my OH works now..the thing is ..I had many occasions where i expressed and give him in the bottle as he takes it much easily than my boobs...
I nearly gave up on him having enough from my boobs. coz he REALLY never have enough...what i do now is try and out him on the boob for a little while then give him my expressed milk..but still..my milk is not enough for a whole day so i mix feed maybe nearly 5 formula bottles a day..but i find expressing much better than giving up totally even if i could reach a year...
is this ok??

 

[Sherlock]

What midna said

FWIW its advised to not express milk and/or bottle feed to babies till they are at least 6 weeks old to ensure breast feeding is well established as many babies get confused between bottle and breast if you start using a bottle so soon. They call it 'nipple confusion'. I only expressed occasionally on advice from my HV after 3 weeks breastfeeding and then very reluctantly. However my LO was well and truly fine with breastfeeding and feeds well and had no problems on my boobs. Hence my HV saying it would be ok to express the occasional feed so I could let OH feed him and get some sleep.

Babies do have to suck harder to get milk from your boob but this helps establish a good supply having them do so. Once established its easier for them as they have learnt how to suck properly and your milk supply is established.

If you are expressing and then giving it in a bottle to your LO it may be he is taking it easier because you have teats that allow the milk to flow out really easily so he does not have to suck hard. Therefore this can make him lazy to suck properly when he gets back on your boob. He's gotten used to the milk just flowing without having to work for it. Which of course would mean he'll not suck as well and not get as much as he would if he were sucking properly.

I would guess by expressing and bottle feeding he is maybe confused and not sucking on your boobs as he should and has not had the time to learn how to really either. If you want to breast feed then you need to give him that time over the coming few weeks.

I'd consider ditching the bottles and letting him have time solely on your boobs. A day in bed might be good, just feeding and so on to get your supply going and giving him time to get used to it. Even if you think he is not getting enough, persevere as it will happen. Close contact with him should help stimulate your milk and having him latch and suck properly should encourage him to feed from your boobs better.

As midna said it really is a constant feeding thing in the first 6-8 weeks and the more he is on your breast the better. He will get the hang of it I'd think if he is given time to learn

If you do continue to bottle feed him formula and breast milk I'd look to getting teats that have a slower milk flow out of them so your son has to really work to get his milk. Then when back on your boob he'll be more keen to feed there also. And maybe get the teats that are designed to be closer to the nipple shape. Link below to show you what I mean

http://shop.nukbaby.co.uk/products.aspx?pid=31

You'd need a bottle to go with it also from them. Or whatever make you fancy with that kind of teat.

But I'd really try with the breast first for a few weeks to ensure he gets the hang of it. The more you let him feed the better it will flow

Good luck

 

[maldives]

Thanks girls...
Sherlock I am using those teats...They adviced me to use them as they don't let air in...
any way he is sucking from my breast but its never enough for him...
i think i am really short in my supply
when i express i can get a max of 4 oz and he is taking it all soon he'll need more and i really don't know what to do and how will my milk increase in supply...i know u'll say let him suck and it will increase ..i am doing that and expressing as well so i am doing the maximum i can but at the end the max i get is 4 oz!!!
just wondering how will i be able to increase it more for later when he'll need 6 or 8 oz

 

[Sherlock]

Thanks girls...
Sherlock I am using those teats...They adviced me to use them as they don't let air in...
any way he is sucking from my breast but its never enough for him...
i think i am really short in my supply
when i express i can get a max of 4 oz and he is taking it all soon he'll need more and i really don't know what to do and how will my milk increase in supply...i know u'll say let him suck and it will increase ..i am doing that and expressing as well so i am doing the maximum i can but at the end the max i get is 4 oz!!!
just wondering how will i be able to increase it more for later when he'll need 6 or 8 oz

Why not let him feed from your other boob as well then? If he totally empties one, let him go over to the other. The key is to let him keep feeding as the more he feeds, the more your milk will increase. I'd just keep going with the boob if you are able and all being well your supply will increase. Have a day in bed with lots of skin on skin and so on to help stimulate your supply and encourage him to feed. Don't express or use formula, just concentrate on your boob feeding. I swapped boobs in the early days if I needed to. They soon adjusted to the demand and increased supply.

 

[kalia]

4oz is more than I was getting at your stage I think. Now, a month and a half later I'm sitting here expressing and so far I have expressed 15oz (nearly 3 feeds) That's because it's morning though, I have less in the afternoon and evening. I express 36oz a day now which is a little more than DD is drinking. She seems to have levelled out now as it's been weeks since I increased the amount.

I didn't express enough one weekend (I only express as although she will breastfeed I don't like it) and it is alarming how quickly your body adjusts to produce less milk! If you want to build your supply you'll have to spend longer either breastfeeding or expressing. Empty one breast, then the other, go back to the first and keep swapping between them. After the weekend I didn't express enough it took an hour and a half to get 5oz. That was 2 weeks ago and today in a bit less than that time I have expressed 15oz. If you want to cut out the bottles of formula I recommend (with the support of OH as someone will need to look after baby while you are expressing if LO is not sleeping) trying to express one extra bottle one day, 2 the next and so on. If you express every 3 hours you will build your supply more quickly than if you do so every 4 or 5 hours. Express after feeding LO so you have some milk for him.