Help! Moving from exclusive expressing to breastfeeding!

[Laur_250]

Little Reggie was 4 weeks early and the special care unit had to cup feed him for the 1st 2 days as he wouldnt latch on and suck long enough. We made the decision to start bottle feeding the formula so we could take him home and i was still trying to express my milk as not in. Whe it came in we started giving him only this and have been for aout a week now, occasionally put him to breast but he's used to teat so too lazy to stay on and we have to resort to bottle.

BUT..........bought nipple shields today as someone suggested it as like a teat and just now he fed on my breast for about 5 mins!!!! So success, but now what do I do as I had been expressing every 4 hours and getting 2x 50ml bottles (one each side) and have about 6 built up in fridge at a time which shows how well its going. He drinks about 50ml a time and sometimes has more from a bottle but how do I know what he's having now if i breastfeed?? But now obviously he will take what he needs from me which may not be as much as I was expressing so should I still express??? What about the fact I was expessing both sides every 4 hours but now he will be feeding only one side and the other wont be active for alot longer?? I like to still have some bottles for if if go out, etc so may express in future still but dont wanna lose any of my supply now so what should I do?? Thanks sorry for seeming clueless I wasnt expecting it to work!!!xxx

 

[clarey]

Well done you!!! thats brilliant! I havent got a lot of experience with breastfeding as this is my first baby but I would have thought that if you switch to full time breast then LO might be feeding a bit more often than 4 hourly anyway at least to start while he gets the hang of it so you prob wont need to worry too much about your supply reducing, but you could always express after a feed once or twice a day if you want to store some up? I used to wait till Eva had finished, start expressing off the same side to make sure it was drained well then do the other side as well.
It might be a good idea to freeze some if you arent already too, you can get milk bags in boots or mothercare or just use ice cube trays.
Good luck for the continued success! BFing takes such determination and it sounds like you have plenty, well done so far

 

[Laur_250]

Thanks both of you, I am determined to give him just my milk however he takes it and hated it that in hospital I was forced to give him formula so feel really happy now he's just having mine its just so hard to know how much he needs when you cant measure it out! But I guess you're right he will tell me if he's had enough/wants more. I still expressed at my last slot and will do it again before bed as its easier during the day but then gonna have a go at getting him to just breastfeed through the night as this is when its gonna be hard work getting up to both pump and feed him! Fingers crossed he takes it well but it seems those nipple shields are just what we needed as he thinks its still the teat!xx

 

[Squiglet]

Lil miss had bottles of formula which is slightly different... as formula is a different taste completely to boob milk... You can try nipple shields.. When I dropped the bottles (basically the minute I walked out the SCBU door...I dropped it down to one or two a day, then dropped them too) I just got comfy on the sofa and just fed and fed and fed... If she got ratty, I'd pop her in the sling and go for a walk with her...I also co slept so she could latch on and off at will in the night... Co sleeping is meant for breastfeeders because the freedom the baby gets really encourages breastfeeding, and the closeness of your baby all the time, stimulates your milk supply... It was hard though because lil miss loved her food... but she eventually got the hang of it.. You will too.. its just perseverance...

 

[Laur_250]

Just had the midwife round and when I told her how much milk I was producing she said I should of had twins as its loads so no worries of losing it! She said its ok to put him to breast then have a bottle of expressed after if i dont think he had enough so may carry on doing 50/50 express and breastfeed.xxx

 

[abcd1234]

He'll take what he wants, as the others have said, if hes searching for more you'll know and id recommend giving him boobie again.
You'll need to watch out for confusion with teats etc with swaping too.

I feed Tally off one boob in the morning and then express out of the other, then in the afternoon i do the same, she has one bottle of EBM a day to try and get her used to taking it for when i leave her. When shes awake she feeds for hours.

I'd just take midna and morags advice, just spend a few days in bed feeding him and gettin used to it.

 

[purple13]

well done you

as has been said, just bed in for a couple of days and let your LO feed whenever he wants. express a little off if you become uncomfortable. you'll soon get the hang of how much he's had/needs and there won't be any need for expressed top-ups, just let him take it from your boobs if he finishes on one, offer him the other - your boobs will respond to how often he feeds and produce milk accordingly.

i use shields and swear by the mam ones, especially for co-sleeping and feeding at night cos they don't come unstuck too easily

 

[Laur_250]

well done you

as has been said, just bed in for a couple of days and let your LO feed whenever he wants. express a little off if you become uncomfortable. you'll soon get the hang of how much he's had/needs and there won't be any need for expressed top-ups, just let him take it from your boobs if he finishes on one, offer him the other - your boobs will respond to how often he feeds and produce milk accordingly.

i use shields and swear by the mam ones, especially for co-sleeping and feeding at night cos they don't come unstuck too easily

Thanks everyone I will persevere but just happy he's getting my milk whatever way. And will look out for those mam shields as you say they are good purple13, thanks, the only shop I found with them only had one pack of avent ones so next time im somewhere with a bigger boots will look out for those!xx

 

[purple13]

i've only found the mam ones in jojomamanbebe, but i know you can buy them online too... i definitely prefer them to the avent ones. i haven't tried the medella ones but i don't like the fact that they cover half your boobs. the mam ones are £5 for 2 but they last me quite a while