Baby not even born & I'm worked up about breastfeeding!

[Sunnyb]

I have a 5 year old son & breastfed him until he was 6 months old & only stopped due to illness. I really want to breastfeed this little one too, but as I have to juggle lack of sleep with school run, housework etc. I am not sure I'll be able to cope.
Joseph would feed for 30-60 minutes every 2-2.5 hours through the night, but if I was tired I'd have a lay in in the morning (which I won't be able to do this time).
My husband has suggested expressing, so he can give our baby the last feed of the night (to allow me to get an early night), but what bottles/teats do I use & will this put baby off the breast?
Another suggestion has been to give formula for the last feed of the night to push baby along longer until their night feed. But again will this interfere with my milk production? Does anyone have any advice or is there anyone who's breastfed baby sleeps longer than 2 hours between feeds at night?
I really want to breastfeed, but if it will impact badly on the rest of family life is it worth it?
I'm soooo confused & not sure who or where to get advice from

Any advice is very much appreciated x

Sunnyb xxx

 

[Piglet10]

didnt want to read and run, i think you are panicking a little hun, every baby is different, my advice (which is pretty useless as i didnt BF) is to take one day at a time, as for the bottles ive heard of lots of people combine feeding am not 100% sure which bottles they wud recommend and its been successful so is totally possible BUT im pretty sure u wud have to wait a few weeks to let ur booby milk settle , i bottle fed madison as i wasnt allowed to breast feed and its a decision u cant go back on, once u bottlefeed u cant really go back to booby BUT if u BF and it doesnt work out u can easily go to bottles! so i wud defo go with the booby first!! xxx

 

[Sunnyb]

Thanks hun. I'll definitely start out breastfeeding & see where it goes. Just not sure about combining with formula etc. If breastfeeding doesn't work out at least I know I tried but I'd really love to express & carry on with breast milk for as long as possible.

Sunnyb xxx

 

[Piglet10]

defo!! my sil tried it was doing soooo well found it fab but her lil boy was STARVED haha wasnt getting enough, its defo not for every bubba but i wud love to try it!! i know my gp will only recommend Aptamil for bottle / combine feedin so i wud look into formulas aswell hun .... u getting excited now?! xx

 

[xxbeckyxx]

You never know, this baby could feed completely differently! When I was breastfeeding Lizzie she only fed for about 10 minutes at a time so it was pretty easy to fit it in between other jobs Now that I have gone onto bottles I find it takes me longer than that to sterilize/rinse/pump etc and it's much more of a hassle! If I was using formula it'd be even more of a job.

If you're going to express, definitely keep your eye out for a Medela swing pump, and I use a Medela Calma bottle in an attempt to keep Lizzie open to breastfeeding (I breastfeed at night and first thing in the morning), but they are expensive!

Try not to panic too much hun

 

[inky]

Don't put too much pressure on yourself hon it may take a while for the routine to develop but you will get there. If you express or give formula in the night then your supply will naturally adjust but should settle so that you only produce what baby needs - ie enough for the other feeds. There must be ladies on here who have combination fed successfully so I'll leave it to them to give you proper advice lol! X

 

[Sunnyb]

I have bought the Medela pump & 2 bottles, so that I can express & bottle feed if I have any issues or problems breastfeeding. How long has everyone elses breastfed babies gone between feeds during the night??
I'll definitely use Aptamil milk if I need to go on to formula, it's what I gave to Joseph when I could no longer breastfeed him.

Sunnyb xxx

 

[inky]

At first cahal was waking every 2 hours for a feed but wold sometimes cluster feed too - that's what did me in because itcwas so unpredictable! He soon settled into every 3 hours though, and was evntually sleep g through with no night feeds st all, but then he started teething and now it's all gone to pot again

 

[Stunned]

I breastfeed my baby and also give her a bottle of aptamil at night and she sleeps through the night. It was very much trial and error to find the routine that works well for us. She breast feeds for about 5 to 10 mins every couple of hrs during the day (on demand) and gets her bottle at 7.30 before bed. I wake her at 11ish for a dream breastfeed and that's it. It takes a while for the boobs to settle into making milk for when she needs it and I'm not too badly engorged in the mornings.
You will find your routine and what works for you.

 

[GemmGirl]

Hiya. I agree with the other ladies that you should try not to worry beforehand cos any unnecessary stress won't help. I was really lucky with lo as he fed every 3 hours (day and night) for the first few weeks. I reckon that bf once established is in some ways easier than formula feeding (I cant imagine the hassle of preparing lots of bottles before a day out, etc). If I were you I would try to bf exclusively for a week or two to get fully established then you can consider introducing bottles with less risk of baby refusing the breast. I use tommee tippee closer to nature bottles and have had no problems. My ds is now 8 months old and I am now combination feeding. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[jodied]

Hi I am breastfeeding and expressing. I use the medela swing breast pump and your body will keep producing milk if you do express as you trick it into thinking that baby is requiring all that you use either through bf or expressing. Hubby is giving Ella a bottle of expressed milk at around 11pm - we are using the tommee tippee closer to nature bottles. Ella has been happy to combine breast and bottle since we came home from hospital when she was 11 days old. Generally she will go about 3-4 hours between feeds and feeds for about 20-25 mins at a time. Hope that helps! Try not to get stressed about it and see where you go with it when baby is here xx

 

[GemmGirl]

He soon settled into every 3 hours though, and was evntually sleep g through with no night feeds st all, but then he started teething and now it's all gone to pot again

I know exactly what you mean Inky. My lo is the same!

 

[jodied]

Ps I was advised to express after feeding as it's easier to get the milk out so I try and do this after the first morning bf x

 

[Sunnyb]

Ps I was advised to express after feeding as it's easier to get the milk out so I try and do this after the first morning bf x

The only problem I'd have would be time. I would guess little one will require a feed in the morning when I'll have the school run to do etc. Maybe I'll have to do it after the second feed of the day? It's all about getting a routine that'll fit into our current routine & not make me too exhausted! I'm looking to breastfeed for 2-4 weeks exclusively & then try introducing expressed milk via a bottle & maybe depending on how long they go between feeds at night, give them Aptamil as their last night feed. I made a rod for my own with Joseph as I didn't give him a bottle until much later & spent a fortune finding a teat that he'd take & it was awful seeing him so distressed, wanting to breastfeed him, but being unable to. So this time I want to combine much earlier.

Sunnyb xxx

 

[Minchin]

Hey
We did bottle of expressed milk from a month, used dr browns bottles, never had any wind problems tih those (more off the boob!). I expressed after first feed of morning but you could try expressing during first feed - may give you more time? Feed from one boob and express from other? Must be hard with your older one to think about but you'll just have to wait and see what kind of feeder the new one is? Owen never fed fro more than 10 mins at a time (used to stress me lol!) and between 2/3/4 hours til 2 months then 3/4 hours. But they're all different, I have 3 friends with babies same age as Owen, all bf and they went through the night practically from 3 months, so you never know!
Good luck and try not to worry (oh so much easier said than done!)