expressing and nipple confusion

My midwife told me not to express this early (Charlotte is 12 days old) because it will cause nipple confusion. Then she may not take the breast as it is easier to get milk from a bottle.

Is this a load of crock? I really want her dad to be able to feed her now and then but don't want to compromise breastfeeding for good.

What do you think?

Hi,
I can understand your situation, its always hard to know if they are going to take better to the bottle or not. Some babies even refuse it. Depends if you want dad to do a whole feed or not. You could try expressing a little and let him do say 20 mls first with the bottle or after your feed. You could try it and just see how bub takes it

1 of my twins was fed with both as he would feed off me first and then have 30-40 mls in the bottle afterwards, only as he needed to gsin a bit of wait and got to tired to suck from me,(premmie) he was fine with the changes, plus also using nipple shields occasionally for attachment.

I first gave my bub a bottle of expressed milk when she was about 2 weeks old, and she had no problem going back to the breast. Though some bub's are fussy and may not take the bottle or go back to the breast (don't know if that has anything to do with when you start the bottle).
You could always start expressing now (because you will have a large supply) and store it in the freezer for later.
As Janelle said, maybe try with a little expressed milk after a feed. Best of luck!!

I had really engorged breasts and damaged nipples when I left hospital (at 3 days) so I bought myself a breast pump to express and store for later and feed my bub till my nipples healed a bit. My little girl (Summer) is now 6 weeks old. I still use the breast pump (I use Avent wide necked bottles/teats/breast pump) and that works well for me.

I switch between breastfeeding and expressed bottles all the time and my bub doesn't seem to mind. Sometimes I even use the bottle for top up feeds after breastfeeding since she doesn't always feed enough and "plays" with my breast if she's not totally interested. I then express the rest of the milk in my breasts to ensure my supply doesn't decrease. It's also helped me a lot during her growth spurt cos I had a good 4 or 5 bottles saved up for her and therefore, didn't stress me out as much as breastfeeding alone probably would have.

I guess it's up to your bub whether or not she takes to the bottle. I've heard you might need to experiment with different brands of teats/bottles to see which one your bub likes best if she doesn't take to the first one you offer her. So far I've had no trouble with my Avent kit. I think the most important part is to get the right teat. If you are able to express easily, then flow difference shouldn't be an issue as long as you get the right "age" teat.

Hope my experiences have helped you a little.

hiya, it probably depends on how well breastfeeding is going for you. breastfeeding can take around six weeks to fully establish so six weeks is a good time to introduce the bottle as your baby will be well used to attaching to the breast and your milk supply will be on the way to settling down. expressing so you have a supply of ebm would be fine now though.

dads can do lots of other things to bond with their babies, rocking, carrying ,singing to them bathing or showering with them. feeding is only one small part of babycare. perhaps your husband would enjoy spending feed times next to you and your baby where he can interact in the special breastfeeding times as well...or support you by bringing a glass of water? my dbf was always handy for that! happy mothering

Be aware that this is only one midwife's opinion! I was told a different thing by each different midwife, they've all got their own experiences. But I think they are generally cautious about expressing early on as you are still establishing your milk supply at that stage. If you express more than your baby drinks in that early stage, you will produce more milk than necessary and possibbly end up with engorgement and the risk of mastitis.

My baby is exclusively breastfed but occasionally takes a bottle of expressed milk from Dad. We've tried the old trick of a night-time bottle of formula to help her sleep through but she flat out refuses it. My MCHN told me to keep giving her a bottle of expressed milk perhaps once a week to ensure she stays used to having a bottle to avoid problems later on when weaning. It's a good idea, he gives her the 10pm feed on a Fri or Sat night, while I express and have an early night.

To keep your milk supply accurate, just express a little of the end of bubs morning feed when you've got more milk than during the day. I just take off about 40mls from the fuller breast and after 3 mornings i put them together and freeze.

Good Luck!