Well, I will say that we are shooting for breastfeeding. I hope and pray that everything will work out for this to actually happen. We will attend a breastfeeding class in January, and I'm hoping that all our questions are answered.
However, I still have a question for y'all. They say not to use any type of bottle the first 4 weeks of breastfeeding to not confuse the baby. But, what are the best bottles to use after that point if I pump and still breastfeed?
Can't wait to hear y'alls advice! And any pointers that worked for y'all.
Dr. Browns for sure!!! They prevent the babies from swallowing a lot of extra air so they burp/spit up less and have less gas. Collum did great with them without any nipple confusion.
ReplyDeleteI breast fed for 9 months and Barrett would only take tommee tippee bottles. We tried several before he found one he would take.
ReplyDeleteI was only able to breastfeed a short time. It was really a hard thing for me to accept, but in the end, I pumped exclusively and it was fine. I used the medela bottles the hospital gave us, and then we had some Dr. Browns.
ReplyDeleteWell...I would say I lucked out. I had some issued feeding Bird, and had to use the ever so pleasant nipple shield... she had no problem making the transition to bottles! I started pumping and went back to work after 8 weeks. Although she had reflux, she could use the regular Gerber bottles as long as we fed her sitting upright. I have heard to buy a few different kids - all babies are different! Keep them packaged - keep receipts/gift receipts. I know BRU is really good with exchanging or refunds as long as you have a receipt.
ReplyDeleteI would highly recommend using a bottle for one feeding right away. I exclusively breast fed E and when it came time for a bottle she flat out refused. So frustrating. Took us almost a month of trying to get her to take the bottle. She uses the Playtex Vent Aire bottles which are AMAZING!!!! Very few air bubbles and have slow flow nipples like the boobs. Don't register for bottles because you don't know which ones she'll like. I registered for Advent and E hated those. Just get a few singles of bottles and try them out. Give her a bottle for one feeding and let hubby give it to her. That way she will get used to someone else feeding her which will be so good for your sanity down the road. Hope this helps!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAvent not Advent :)
DeleteI just got finished with a 4 day breastfeeding class through WIC and am a certified Breastfeeding educator now so I can tell you ALOT about breastfeeding! hehe :) My instructor recommended the Tomee Tipee (I think that's how you spell them) or the Avent Natural Flow ones. There's also a certain way you should feed breastfed babies to make the flow more like the breast. If you you tube it you can definitely find some videos. Most breastfeeding people will tell you to not give a bottle for atleast 4 weeks to not cause confusion, but honestly, if you can get a good bottle and find one of the you tube videos that shows the best way, I think this will save alot of frustration later on when you try to give a bottle and she won't take it. Alot of it is education too for whoever is feeding her with the bottle! If you have any questions, let me know! I pretty much do prenatal education all day every day!
ReplyDeleteI'm a HUGE fan of the Medela bottles. Carter loved them and they worked for us. A lot of people may say Dr. Browns because it helps with reflux. We got those bottles and used them once and never again. There's like 6 parts to one bottle and washing them was WAY too time consuming when you have a newborn. Here's something else though-your comment about not using a bottle the first 4 weeks...I disagree. I know this is what most people say to do and I get the logic, but I know a TON of people that did this and they ended up with babies that refused the bottle because they were addicted to the breast. That makes for a HUGE inconvenience if your baby goes to daycare or if you want grandma or grandpa to watch the baby for a few hours while you and Terry have some much needed "mom and dad only" time. We gave Carter bottles almost immediately for three reasons: 1) Justin wanted to be able to feed his son, 2) So that Carter wouldn't get addicted to the breast, and 3) Carter struggled with sleeping those first several weeks, and we noticed that he slept much longer off formula than off breastmilk-so that middle of the night feeding was always a formula bottle. The remainder of the feedings in the day were from the breast. The other reason you may want to reconsider strictly breastfeeding for 4 weeks is because it will confide you to your house all day every day. Those first weeks, baby will want to feed on demand. You'll want to do a schedule of course, like every 2-3 hours...but sometimes, babies just want to eat-even if they ate a mere hour ago. You won't be able to run errands or leave your home if you choose to breastfeed only for 4 weeks. I speak from experience when I say that if you stay in your home for that long and never leave, it may develop a more severe case of baby blues or even worse (like it was in my case), post-partum depression. Also, I would imagine (and I don't have statistics on this-it's just my opinion) the moms that try to do this 4 week rule are also the ones that end up stopping breastfeeding faster because of the inconveniences it creates. I was a big fan of Carter having both bottle and breast, but keep in mind, when you feed a bottle, it doesn't have to be formula, it can be a breastmilk bottle. About 99% of the bottles Carter got were breastmilk. We only gave him formula in the middle of the night because he slept longer. I breastfed Carter for 8 months and the only reason I stopped at 8 months was because the pumping became an inconvenience when I was working at my client's offices. All that being said, do what's best for you. It's great to post these blog posts asking for opinions since it's your first baby. Lots of people may be telling you things you didn't know. But at the end of the day, YOU are the mama and YOU will know what's best. Follow your gut.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap that was so long...sorry!!
ReplyDeleteGirl, this is probably going to be the hardest, most frustrating part for you. (Well, and the sleeping. :)) I pray your breastfeeding journey is smooth and easy, but just be prepared for roadbumps. We found that Grace went back and forth between breast and bottle best using Tommee Tippee (but the Dr. Brown's ended up being our "permanent" bottles once I stopped breastfeeding because they helped so much with tummy issues, even though they are a pain to clean).
ReplyDeleteI think, as everyone else pointed out, there are plusses and minuses to introducing a bottle early. I think it'll come down to priorities for you (for us, we didn't have a choice because Grace was losing too much weight and needed the formula), but I think I'd probably lean in favor of introducing the bottle at least in the first two weeks. My only other tip would be that, if you do end up giving a bottle, pump right afterward (or before) to keep up your supply. I think the only way to succeed in breastfeeding is to TRULY feed on demand for the first several weeks to establish a supply. I'm pretty darned sure that the reason I never ended up making enough was because of all the formula we had to give Grace to help her gain weight again (which I wouldn't have traded for the world -- a healthy, formula-fed baby was more important to me than a severely underweight breastfeed baby). With the next baby, I'll be attached to that pump like my life depends on it if we end up having to supplement with formula. :)
It's so hard in the beginning to know what's "right" (spoiler alert - there's almost never a universal "right" way!), and you want to do everything to keep that little girl happy and healthy. Just know that there's always help if you need it!
We had such a hard time finding something my boy was willing to drink from other than me! Finally, we ended up with Avent brand bottles. THe nipples are a completely different shape than other bottles. They are flatter and I guess it felt more realistic to him, I dunno. What I do know is that we spent a fortune finding bottles that would work. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it depends on your baby when it comes to the bottle choice. I pumped while working and needed a bottle that he would take to help confusion. I tried Dr. Browns, Avent, Tommee Tippee, & Nuk but he wouldn't take any of them. The thing that ended up being the best for us was the Mam bottles & pacifiers.
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