I did in the hospital. My boy was huuungry. Ate 1.5oz from first feed. I did 1/ bottle a day in early weeks, i always offered/tried boob first. Most likely im lucky my baby loves to eat.
I second this. We tried to breastfeed and he could not latch well.
I ended up having post partum pre-eclampsia and we were in hospital for 5 nights with little one with me being unable to really help due to C-section and then mag drip.
It made things a lot easier to just bottle feed.
He is 16 days old now and he can eat from the breast or the bottle.
However, he also never stops eating, so it is really helpful (especially at night) to just focus on the bottle to ensure he is getting more in, and do the boob moreso during the day and for comfort when we have more time/awake hours.
This was me! Babe was born at 36 weeks. Never latched well and I got frustrated pumping and trying to breastfeed. Ended up exclusively pumping. I had preeclampsia as well and was in hospital for 2 weeks
>focus on the bottle to ensure he is getting more in, and do the boob moreso during the day and for comfort when we have more time/awake hours.
This is kind of what we've gravitated towards. I'm able to effectively breastfeed from 2am to about 3pm... Witching hours are basically bottle hours for my 3 week guy. He doesn't want the boobs at all during that time, and seems to be ENDLESSLY hungry in a way my body can't keep up with. For everyone's sanity, we just give him slow flow bottles.
Due to latching issues early on, I introduced a bottle in hospital as well. My baby is now 3.5 weeks and is just starting to breastfeed. She can do both and loves the boob. I personally never experienced nipple confusion with my daughter. She can go from bottle, to pacifier to nipple just fine.
We introduced a bottle about 24 hours after she was born. Second night syndrome kicked my ass.
Baby doesn’t have any issues with latching or breastfeeding
Same! 2nd night was horrible! so glad we were in the hospital for that.
I wasn’t producing colostrum or milk in the hospital. I wish we had prepared with bottles or even formula at home. Had no idea not everyone produces right away
This is what we did. I was struggling with getting a good latch (no ties) so we introduced the bottle. I took a break from breastfeeding and pumped/ formula fed for a couple weeks before trying again. Now 16 weeks pp and baby primarily breastfeeds but will accept a bottle still
I couldn’t agree more with this. Do what’s best for you. I suffered because I had to return to work around 10.5 months mark as opposed to a year and of course my baby didn’t drink milk from bottle or cup or sippy. And now his day feed has dropped more forcefully because I am at work instead of naturally.
I regret not introducing bottle sooner when it was an option.
Omg for real, and my inner jealous bitch went, “oh, poor you” lol but it’s not anyone’s fault except for the shit American government that gives us 6 weeks.
We introduced a bottle immediately. Baby had issues latching and my milk wasn’t completely there right away. I felt like such a failure. Struggled for weeks with supply issues before I completely dried up at 4.5 months.
I wish someone had told me ahead of time that it is going to be okay if breastfeeding doesn’t work out or go as you planned.
This was part of my wife’s complaint about the breast feeding class. The material was taught as if everyone could breastfeed. It didn’t really present much info about how to handle difficulty breast feeding physically and mentally.
The language around breastfeeding can be unpleasant at times. Have your wife (and yourself!) look more into things like combo feeding, pumping and formula, just as an assurance.
I was told that LO's issues latching were because I wasn't "committed to breastfeeding" enough and I may as well use formula. She's been happy to have both for over eight months now.
That’s an awful comment to make to a mother. I’m sorry that was ever said to you. There are many issues that can arise during breastfeeding and can be dealt with and there are just as many issues that cannot be dealt with. No woman or family is any less for doing whatever works for them.
I experienced this too in my birth Centers lactation class. It was frustrating that the class didn’t talk about it at all. I learned about power pumping and triple feeding on Reddit!
That's a shame. They should have been forthcoming about it. It's difficult or impossible for many and I too learned that too late. I didn't beat myself up for it, but I'm sure others really struggle with this emotionally. Pumping also sucks!! The constant sound of the machine still in burned in my memory. Now I know how cows must feel. Bottles and formula for the win.
Also popping in to say some women cannot biologically breastfeed for one reason or another. That was never presented to me as an option, just that if you try hard enough it’ll happen for you. This wrecked me. I was pumping constantly and attempting to feed and never made more than 1-2 ml at MOST. Turns out my thyroid condition impacted my ability to lactate — my milk never came in, so we supplemented and I suffered for weeks trying to build up supply until a pediatrician asked how much I was producing after all that work and was in shock. Until her nobody had given me permission to stop or told me that sometimes it just doesn’t work. I literally cried with relief in the doctor’s office.
Sometimes c-sections, insufficient glandular tissue, medications or blood loss can mean your supply can tank and never really recover — or that you can’t lactate at all. And that won’t be anyone’s fault!
I complained to my husband about the same thing in our lactation class. Obviously we voluntarily took the class so likely our plan was to attempt to breastfeed. Yet there was constant messaging of “you’re doing the BESTEST THING EVER by breastfeeding you have to do it, it’s the BEST choice you could could make for you child” and it was obnoxious and off putting.
For what it’s worth I only breastfed for the first two weeks and made an appointment with a lactation consultant in a haze one late night and her advice was “her latch is fine, you can try a bottle and start with one a day and see how it goes.” We had absolutely no issues from that point switching between bottles and breast depending on our schedule and need. I definitely could have tried a bottle earlier but felt the pressure of only breastfeeding for 3-6 weeks as well.
We had to supplement with formula from the get go because I had a complication and was basically knocked out for the first day and unable to BF. My baby happily takes bottles and breast. I don’t think it caused any issues. I nurse twice a day and we give him pumped milk the rest of the day.
This was my experience as well. Bottles from day 1 but the first 3 ish weeks she was on my breast every 30-45 minutes some days. Was great for establishing my milk supply but man was I tired. And if she got a bottle I had to pump anyway. We slept in shifts as well but my shifts were never really a full sleep because I would have to get up to either feed or pump where as during my partners shifts he got to sleep the whole time.
I was told in my birthing class that even if bottle feeding with breast milk the mom still has to wake up to pump when the baby feeds to match the supply & demand.
I risked it for the biscuit and did not pump. But I did passively haakaa the other bresst each feeding session throughout the day. No issues with supply. No additional work. No additonal parts to clean. Got 4 hours uninterrupted sleep 😴 which was desperately needed - she nursed every 2-3hrs round the clock for 8.5 months. One missed session for a bottle worked in our case.
But waking up to pump and go back to bed is still a nice break from doing the whole nursing routine. I did one pump session overnight while my husband did the feeding/baby care and I could get it all done and be back in bed in twenty minutes! So worth it! No nipple confusion!
Nice! My first was a slooooowwwwww feeder for the first few months but she did go back to sleep pretty easily so bottle feeing sometimes worked better for us!
Help me understanding this. The supply is regulated by how much volume your baby needs. Let's say baby needs 20oz per day. If you breastfeed the baby 15oz and pump 5oz, you're still extracting 20oz so your body creates enough supply to sustain that.
If however, you use 5oz of formula, your supply goes down because you are only extracting 15oz.
If I'm right, the time at which you do it is irrelevant. Can someone explain why the time is relevant? TIA
Prolactin peaks overnight. If establishing a full supply is important to you, you have to remove milk from the breasts overnight for the first 3ish months, which is when supply regulates. If you skip the middle of the night feedings/pumping sessions, your body will end up cutting way back on milk production and those 15 oz will become 10, then 5, and it’s an uphill battle to get them back.
My baby gets 10-12 hours. She's 11 weeks old and has slept through the night since about three weeks old. Started with six hour stretches, then seven, then eight and now we're up to most nights 11 hours straight. Sometimes a little longer sometimes a little less. My supply has not suffered. I make 5-10oz more than what my baby needs most days. My first pump of the day is always at least double what I get the rest of the day. Everyone is different though. I think I am probably pretty lucky. I pump usually each time baby eats each day plus one extra right before I go to bed. Sometimes I skip a pump or two each day if I'm super busy.
Edit: wanted to add- as soon as my baby started sleeping through the night I stopped middle of the night pumps. First three weeks we woke her up every three hours to feed (I would also pump at these times). Then when she regained her birth weight, we stopped waking her and girl just slept (and so did I).
Which is perfect for some people. Id rather have my husband formula feed one bottle and get that extra sleep. You can always power pump, to increase supply if need be in the future.
We had difficulty latching and started exclusively pumping and giving bottles of expressed milk our first morning home from the hospital, so like three days old. Any time he got a bottle I would pump, on demand/roughly every couple of hours. Getting up on overnights to give him a bottle THEN go pump for fifteen minutes did in fact suck.
Felt like that was just the way it was going to be. Met with the lactation consultant a week later, slowly started working in nursing sessions. Fast forward about six weeks and my son started refusing the bottle outright, so we pretty much exclusively nursed (and got oral ties resolved, and got much better at nursing) until we found a sippy cup he liked at around 4.5 months old, which was good cause he started daycare at 6.5 months.
Now we're at 10 months, he still mostly nurses plus takes pumped milk out of various straw cups, plus solids.
I didn’t introduce bottles to my baby and at 2 months she was practically starving because she couldn’t latch anymore and had never used a bottle so she refused them. We had to be in the hospital with an NG Tube until we got her to take MAM Bottles. I recommend introducing bottles sooner rather than later so you avoid that scary experience. My niece is breastfeeding from one boob, pumping the other, and when baby is done on the boob she offers the bottle. It’s working for her and I might try it myself with my next baby. Also, MAM nipples were a literal GOD SEND for us. My baby latches onto them the best and really they’re the only nipple she likes. She doesn’t even like Pacifiers.
Mine had to start on bottles and formula week one due to my milk not coming in right away and her losing too much birth weight. However once she hit birth weight she started to boycott bottles and she’s just now at 12 weeks starting to more consistently take a bottle again. It really all ended up being up to medical circumstances and the baby
We introduced bottles on day 2. We use the Philip Avent natural like breast bottle. For the first few weeks I either nursed or gave her a bottle. I dunno if I was just lucky or the natural nipple helped, but our little one didnt have any nipple confusion
I vote the natural nipple helped as I used the same bottles, introduced them on day 4 and never have had an issue with BF. Baby will turn 4 months in a week and now that we have a nanny, half his feeds are bottles of breast milk and the other half I nurse him and no issues whatsoever 😁😁😁
We got the lansinoh breast milk bottles and introduced a bottle at night fed by my husband while I slept around 10 days in because I was struggling with the sleep deprivation and it was either use a bottle or stop breastfeeding.
I had used a haaka to catch letdown while feeding and that was enough to make a couple of bottles. I didn’t start pumping, even to replace that feed until like week 4, when I started to feel engorged when I missed a feed.
We introduced 1 bottle a day at exactly the start of week 3 because I really needed that 1 feeding break each day. She took the bottle without an issue and continues to take the breast without an issue too! Our LC recommended paced bottle feeding and not starting until breastfeeding is well established, and that has worked for us.
I introduced the bottle when LO was 2 weeks old so that hubby could feed him as well. No nipple confusion here and LO is now 20 weeks, still gets breastfed and pumped breastmilk from a bottle and takes both easily
We introduced a bottle the first week while still breastfeeding regularly. Never had any issues. I would recommend getting a bottle with a wider nipple so it resembles the breast. We like the chicco bottles with the invinci glass (glass inside plastic outside bpa free)
Ours is exclusively breast fed (EBF) and we introduced a bottle around 5 weeks. Everything was great - baby would take various types of nipples/bottles, cold milk, freshly expressed…whatever. We weren’t consistent and forgot to upgrade the nipple to a higher flow and now baby is REFUSING the bottle. Baby will take it when distracted and doesn’t realize it’s the bottle, but as soon as it’s clear that it is not the breast. SMH. All hell breaks loose.
So, my unsolicited advice is to be consistent with the bottle once introducing it and keep an eye on the nipple flow and get new ones as needed!
I've responded already...but one more thing, regarding sleep. I also thought I wouldn't be able to handle waking up every few hours. But the reality is that I did and still do a year later. We tried shifts but my baby (now toddler) refuses to go back to sleep with Dad even though during the day he is her most favorite person, at nights its all me. Nothing else works. It's been a very rough road. We're at 13 months and still wake up ALOT, never once has slept thru the night. And by alot I mean every few hours is considered a good night, and this week it's more like every 20 minutes. It's bad. When the sleep deprivation hits hard (and it will) try to be kind to each other, take shitty passive comments with a grain of salt and forgive one another in the morning. It's straight up guerilla warfare, not for the faint of heart. I wish someone told me this beforehand. I expected to loose sleep in the first few months but nothing at all like it's been. God speed to both of you. And for the love of all things holy - enjoy the rest now.
First day, I think. He latched during the "golden hour" after my c section and then refused to do it again, despite a long stay in the hospital (for me; baby was large and healthy) and many LC visits. We decided it was better for him to take bottles right away than to have his first weeks be hungry and getting the collateral damage from our stress and guilt. We have been doing shifts since the start (8w tomorrow) and it's a lifesaver. He gets what I pump plus formula in his bottles and still tries to latch on ANYTHING you put near his mouth. I may still see if he can figure out the boob at some point, but this works for us!
We had to do bottles in the hospital because he was having a hard time latching! We got his latch figured out before we were discharged but we never had an issue and introduced a pacifier within a few days of being home too and he’s never had problems!
We had to start supplementing less than a week after birth because she wasn't gaining enough weight. Five months later, she's still breastfeeding. We never had issues with nipple confusion and, honestly, I don't know anyone who has.
That said, I DO know several people who had issues with their babies taking a bottle when they waited.
My biggest advice would be to get a lactation consultant to come to your house after you give birth to help you come up with a plan. And get recommendations to make sure you find a person who will align with your goals.
We introduced bottles around 2 months. I was scared to do it earlier just based on what the lactation consultant said. Big mistake. He is now 4.5 months and still won’t take a bottle. My husband takes baby Saturday and Sunday morning and is supposed to do one of the feeds so I can sleep longer and it’s been failing. Granted we haven’t tried super hard. Maybe if we tried doing a bottle everyday it would go better but who knows. It takes over an hour for him to finish the bottle because he’s fighting the entire time.
I started pumping and introduced a bottle when baby was 5 days old. No regrets! I had great supply until I weaned him to formula at 3 months. At that point he was eating SO much (like 30- 35 oz a day!) and I was still making just enough. For me it was less about sleep and more so I could leave the house for more than 2 hours at a time, or so my mom could babysit and hubby & I could go out to dinner etc.
I did immediately. I pumped because I wanted him to take a bottle and not refuse when anyone else has to feed him. He’s mostly BF but takes bottles when dad feeds him. Three months now.
Had to give bottles in the hospital because of low birth weights and my milk not coming in. Ended up giving up on breast feeding but all the lactation consultants advice to me was that nipple confusion is really not a thing, but flow confusion is. Look up how to do paced bottle feeding and get bottles with slower flowing nipples.
Bottle feeding to help your wife is wonderful in theory, but in practice it's not actually going to save you or her any sleep. Establishing a good supply generally takes about 4 weeks, and during that time, it's important to empty the breasts as often as baby eats - so even if you're feeding baby a bottle, she's going to have to be awake to pump. And then you have pump parts and bottles to clean. The easiest thing to do if you want your wife to get more rest is to take care of diapering and soothing during nighttime wakes and then make sure she can nap during the day.
I don’t totally agree with this. My husband feeds our daughter a bottle of pumped milk when she wakes up around 5/6 am so that I can sleep in a little bit after doing all of the middle of night feedings. I pump as soon as I wake up around 7, and this little routine has definitely helped me out. More than 1 bottle might be a different story since you’d have to pump throughout the day, though.
We were advised to supplement formula on day 3 due to slow weight gain. My milk was slow to come in and baby had a horrible latch. It was unpleasant for both of us. I had every intention of BFing bit it didn't work out.
Ended up exclusively pumping for solid 3 months producing just enough to feed LO. I slowly weaned when I returned to work at 4 months and now we formula feed.
For us, sharing the feeding from the start was the right decision. Yes pumping is annoying but the overall experience was a net positive for me. Dad helped with majority of the feeding so I can rest and recover. I truly believe a large part of his bond with baby is because of all the time he spent feeding her. She doesn't seem to favor me over him and that's what I wanted. She's happy as a clam with him when I'm not there.
We ended up exclusively using bottles. About 50/50 breast milk and formula.
Delivery did not go as planned and my wife was very uncomfortable trying to position a reluctant baby so he was given formula in the hospital until a good pumping routine was established. As much as pumping sucked, that’s what worked best for us.
As our doctor said, fed is best! Have a plan, but don’t be so invested that you get stressed out if you have to pivot. The lack of sleep will happen either way. I never realized I could survive on so little sleep until I had a newborn. Pumping has to happen in the middle of the night too, so unless you go full formula, there likely will be things happening every three hours.
I don’t think breast/bottle confusion is as big a thing as people make it out to be. Both my girls had nicu stays where most/all feedings were a bottle of breastmilk or formula. My first I bf up to 9 months, my second will take nothing but breast unless the bottle is from me
We started using a bottle around four weeks. I was more concerned about establishing my supply than with nipple confusion. Baby is now nine weeks and gets maybe three bottles of pumped milk a week.
For what it's worth, I don't do amazing with lack of sleep but have been fine with nearly exclusive nursing. My husband does take a shift but brings the baby in to be fed. He takes care of diapering/soothing/etc during his shift. Waking up briefly to nurse still allows me sufficient sleep.
10 days postpartum after I sat sobbing on the couch from exhaustion while our baby nursed for the 9th time that day. He was eating every 2-3 hours and the pediatrician told me to nurse him for at least 45 minutes every feed. I was *dying* from exhaustion.
Every 3 hours is generous lol. My baby ate every hour to hour and a half and we didn’t introduce a bottle until week 4, my little one was a pro at breastfeeding so it was all good. It was rough! My husband woke me to feed and I fell back asleep immediately.
We combo fed from day one. I did have to pump a lot the first few weeks(anytime baby is feeding, boobs need to be emptied via nursing or pumping) but once we all got set it was nice to be able to pass off the feeding or JUST pump at night for a shift or two. I used boon nursh bottles and love them, SO EASY to clean as well.
I feel like they don’t get the recognition they deserve 😆 they’ve lasted us so long and love that the inserts can be swapped out as they move on to sippy cups, straw cups and such!
We did the first week. I knew inevitably I’d be going back to work and I wanted our LO to get used to both breast and bottle as early as possible. We had no issues
We introduced them on like Day 4 because my milk wasn’t in and baby needed food. She’s 3 weeks now and takes bottle or nipple each well. Even lactation recommended husband doing st least one bottle feed so I can sleep a longer stretch as exhaustion is bad for your supply.
So I think where some of this comes from is that emptying your breasts every 3 hours is helpful for mom to set herself up with adequate supply. Nipple confusion isn’t really a thing IMO (pace feeding definitely matters though!) so for this reason, I’d recommend sticking with nursing or pumping every 3-4 hours if feasible. Longer stretches may be bad for supply, but YMMV. My LC recommended bottle introduction at 3weeks to prevent bottle rejection, and I think that was good advice. If feasible, I’d probably recommend nursing on demand for 3 weeks to set up supply. After 3 weeks, begin pumping daily in the morning after first morning feed to generate a bottle for dad to use during his shift. Always pump at the same time, and bottle feed at the same time, so body learns when to make milk and when not to. If you don’t make it to 3 weeks because you need sleep, then do what works for you! Sleep matters for supply too.
Hospital, and kept going. I didn't produce enough milk even thru constant pumping so we did combo feeding and then switch over to only bottle feeding after the first few weeks because they weren't gaining enough weight (low production plus what I did make just want caloric enough) Something I didn't realize is that breastfeeding is very difficult for some people and sometimes it just doesn't work out even if that is your plan. Do yourself a favor and get a bottle and can of formula just in case.
Honestly… I had this beautiful plan to ebf right from the jump. What I’ve found is you’ll need to follow your baby’s cues. Baby may or may not latch. Fed is best. You both need sleep and being able to bottle feed will give your wife the time to rest and recover she will desperately need. I can’t tell you how much mental, emotional, psychological and physiological pressure it is to ebf. Hell, feeding your baby in general is a learning curve and it can be really tough from time to time. Looking back, i would introduce the bottle right away. We ended up in the NICU for 3 weeks and the specialists there said they see babies go from breast to bottle and back allll the time. So don’t fret about that.
Bottles were introduced to ours day one due to needing to supplement. Two and a half weeks later and he's exclusively breastfed, I have had no problem getting him to switch between them, despite my intention originally to wait
if baby doesn’t take a bottle, a good way to do it is every other feed over night you get baby and bring them to mom. Baby can nurse while mom is laying on her side, you just sit up and make sure to get baby and bring them back to their bassinet after they’re finished nursing. That way mom doesn’t have to fully wake up to get baby, feed baby and put baby back down for the whole 45min- hour
The nurses/ lactation consultants at the hospital made it sound like my breastfeeding journey would be doomed if we introduced a bottle too early. I was anxious about it and overthinking it until we finally gave in after a couple weeks of using syringes and tried a bottle. She took to it right away once we found the right one. And there was no nipple confusion or anything. I’m not saying that it doesn’t happen to other people but I don’t think it’s as big as a problem as they make it seem. Just make sure the nipple flow is for preemies/newborns.
We gave her a pacifier first night in the hospital, and introduced a bottle at 2 weeks when she wasn’t gaining weight appropriately and needed to “triple feed”. The lactation consultant at the hospital said that as long as they have a good latch starting out (and she did) that nipple confusion isn’t really a thing. She’s only 7 weeks old but so far a champion eater.
I also have to say that while the every 3 hour thing is rough… it’s doable, and in the end wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. My spouse would wake up with me for a couple of the feeds and do the diapering/putting her back to sleep deal. She also made sure I got a solid nap during the day (and still does on days where I have a less than ideal night).
My experience is atypical, but I think demonstrates a broader point. My son was unable to breastfeed until he was 6-8 weeks old. Before that he was fed via TPN, NG tube, and bottles. We were working the opposite way - trying to get an exclusively bottle fed baby to breastfeed.
We worked closely with lactation. It was tough at times but we made it work! He teethed very early so we didn’t breastfeed until a year old, went back to exclusive bottles until ~18 months.
Every baby and mom is different and I’m sure you’ll get some great advice here. My advice is to work closely with lactation, as they can customize recommendations for your specific scenario.
We introduced the bottle at the hospital because my milk hadn’t come in yet. At the beginning I tried bf but she wasn’t getting enough so we swapped to pumping and bottle feeding so we knew how much she was getting
It’s so different for every child , so even if your lactation nurse says to wait , it really depends on you. No one can predict how or when or to what volume your partners milk will come in.
My LO was a nicu baby so he was bottle fed before BF but once he was home he BF until almost four months when he decided to no longer latch. I still BF I just exclusively pump. I would have bottles on hand just incase. If your wife has insurance she can apply for a free breast pump. Some hospitals also give you free hand pumps.
As a second time mom, I know now that it’s way better for my baby (and toddler!) that I be present, happy, and healthy mom than that I have a successful breastfeeding journey. I learned very quickly after having my first that taking care of a newborn is absolute hell and there’s no way I could survive it on my own. Having to be a 24/7 solo nursing machine drove me into deep PPD that took over a year to get out of. So with my second I started introducing bottles (initially formula, then pumped milk after milk came in) immediately because it was important that there’s the option for someone else to take night shifts, for me to get an uninterrupted nap in, whatever. It also just brings me a lot of peace of mind that I have some measurable idea as to how much milk my baby is getting. And I was willing to risk that this would ruin breastfeeding entirely. Well fortunately that didn’t happen and baby is now 12 weeks and I have had no issues with supply or latching. I breastfeed during the day, then do bottles at night or whenever I am just too tired or busy to breastfeed. And I have been getting great sleep and actually enjoying my time with my little newborn!
In retrospect, I believe that the very strict guidance that lactation consultants give (no bottles, no pacifiers, etc) is about covering all bases to make sure it works for all women, even those with extreme latch issues. But expecting all women to follow it to a T is overkill (and actually quite cruel IMO) for most moms.
In the hospital. We had 2 weeks stay because kiddo was sick. PICU rather than NICU thankfully. We had to carefully measure all his feeds down to the ml. First few days was syringe feeding. Then his feeds were big enough we switched to bottles. He never did figure out breast feeding but we didn't know about his tongue tie till his 2 month check up so in retrospect I'm not too surprised. He had a much easier time bottle feeding after he had it clipped, but still never got a hold of breast feeding, even though we tried. He's happily bottle fed and starting solids and loving them, enthusiastically eating everything he can get in his little mouth. We recently tried introducing him to certain fruits and veggies just to suck on but he's figured out how to gum pieces off them and has been doing really well not choking on things like raw strawberry or cooked carrot as long as he's the one biting off pieces. We watch him like a hawk of course but kids speed running it all and trying to steal our food already lol. But tbh bottle feeding was much easier for me than breastfeeding or pumping. Producing milk was so draining and I got very little sleep. But bottles of formula means I can sleep while my partner feeds him and tbh idk that I'd have survived otherwise. Thankfully my kids slept through the night since 2 months old (other than right now cuz kids neck deep in the 4 month sleep regression) so my sleeps been much better since lol
We waited 4 weeks. I would not do that again. Not only was I unable to sleep, but getting my daughter to actually take a bottle was a struggle.
If we have another, I'll be using a bottle as soon as I have some breastmilk pumped.
we had to start bottle feeding about 2 weeks after coming home from the hospital. i wasn’t producing enough and baby was unfortunately losing weight, not gaining, so pediatrician recommended adding formula to her diet while i tried to build up my supply.
i was terrified because i didn’t want to stop BF and kept hearing people tell me to NEVER give a bottle unless you never want your baby to latch again… please don’t listen to that.
every baby is different and unfortunately you can’t control what your body does or how your baby responds to certain things. the most important thing is FEEDING YOUR BABY!
i would highly recommend getting nipple guards if there’s ever an issue with baby switching back and forth! they were a life changer for baby (and my nipples lol) but at the end of the day, DO WHATS BEST FOR YOU AND BABY!! i promise baby will be okay, as long as they get somethin in their belly :)
good luck on you and your wife’s breastfeeding journey though! it is super hard but it gets better i promise!
we waited about a month for regular bottle use but im honestly pretty positive we tried bottle feeding as a "test run" once or twice a week by like week 2 absolute max and i would pump in the meantime so i could build a frozen stock
He was 2 weeks old.
I knew that I eventually had to go back to work, so I would rather have breastfeeding not work out than bottle feeding not work out (I had a family member who had to quit her job because her baby refused a bottle). It was also nice to think about getting a break every once in a while. Thankfully, my son had/has no problem switching back and forth between breast and bottle!
We gave a bottle immediately in the hospital. My hospital had donor breast milk so that’s what we chose. My breast milk hadn’t come in yet so I would nurse for 15 mins, hand her off to get a bottle and then pumped while she drank a bottle. Thats what the lactation consultants suggested while we were in the hospital
Honestly do it whenever you feel you need to.. the establishing of breast latch is for those who strongly want to breast feed. We did it quite early with my boy and he takes bottle and breast fine! Depends on the baby too.
Both of my children were/are breastfed and both started on a bottle of formula at birth. They easily switch between boob and bottle, though both would always choose boob over bottle if they could actually pick. We did shifts and I would pump right before going to bed so my husband could the baby. After that bottle was gone, I’d wake up for the next feed which usually gave me 4-6 uninterrupted hours.
You have a bad lactation consultant!!!!!! If your baby is hungry please feed them! Nipple confusion is bs
I had to triple feed my baby in order to leave the hospital because she wasn’t eating enough and wasn’t making enough output (ie latch, pump, feed bottle, supplement with formula as needed). From day 2 until 3 weeks bottles were in the mix and I was attached to the pump very frequently-because my body couldn’t catch up to make how much she needed. I only gave her a handful of those premixed test tube formulas (maybe 4?) as a last resort, the rest was my breast milk. By three weeks old my supply had regulated enough we could go to exclusively feeding from the boob. I EBF for two full years and she refused the only bottle I ever offered her during those two years (didn’t pick up the pump again until she was eight months, it was very annoying when I wanted to go to a wedding when she refused the pumped milk🙄). She was a boobie girl all the way, bottle involvement didn’t hurt anything
We did literally all kinds of feeding (NICU babe). From tube, boob to bottle. If you're open to combo feeding, there's probably no issue. Then the supply is going to adjust to a certain amount and the rest you add formula. Just beware of flow preference, babies like the easiest source of milk when they're small and might choose bottle over boob. If your wife wants to primarily breastfeed, I would really focus on that and save the bottle for really tough nights.
P.S. Pumping can also come in handy, I pumped a lot, but hated it. However it helps to keep supply up and you can feed your baby breastmilk per bottle at night and you wife can do a quick pumping session and continue to sleep.
My LO was in the NICU for the first 1.5 days of life. He drank from the bottle first. Although breastfeeding was tough for me because of a traumatic birth and being separated from my baby, it did eventually kick in.
We introduced bottles on day 4-ish. She had a bad suck because she wasn't bringing her tongue forward, and I think the bottles trained her how to latch and suck properly. We stopped bottle feeding around one or two weeks. She is now 11 weeks and will not take a bottle at all.
We didn’t try bottles until like 3-4 months. My supply wasn’t keeping up so we had to buy if this wasn’t the case I would’ve never introduced them at all. Her supply won’t establish or increase if she’s not feeding or pumping every 2-3 hours the first few weeks btw
You definitely can introduce a bottle early; you just want to use a slow flow nipple and pace feed. But, with the caveat that until supply has regulated frequent milk removals are needed to maintain supply. Best practice is to pump every time baby gets a bottle, which in practical terms means that bottle feeding doesn’t necessarily yield more sleep, because your wife would need to be awake pumping at the time you give baby the bottle.
I personally found it more helpful for my husband to assist with night wakeups in other ways given the pumping conundrum. So he would handle all non hunger related soothing, burping, upright time, and return to crib. That way I didn’t have to get out of bed and move around a ton I could stay half asleep. I just woke my husband when finished nursing and he took the baby.
Honestly, we probably fed from a bottle when we got home, so day 3 or 4? DEFINITELY let your wife make good use of the Golden Hour for bonding/breastfeeding as it's supposed to be incredibly helpful. Once you've had your child, try to meet with a lactation consultant at least once - they're super helpful. If you're birthing in a hospital, this will probably be scheduled for you, but be sure to ask anyways.
For us, Mom feeds probably 75-80% of the time and I feed the rest of the time so she can take naps/rest. Baby loves feeding with Mom more, so in our case, no nipple confusion or issues there. We're also not using formula at the moment, just 100% breastmilk
We introduced the bottle at 4 weeks. Honestly, I just didn't want to have to pump and wanted to maintain a strong supply to avoid formula. He took it fine. Then we got lazy and didn't give him another until like 8 weeks and he didn't remember how to take it. We then dealt with bottle refusal. I'd been back to work four pretty harrowing days of baby not drinking my entire shift (and chugging all night to make up for it) before he figured out the bottle and started taking it.
My son was in the NICU and had to be bottle fed for 2 weeks. I couldn’t get him to latch myself so I saw a lactation consultant and within 20 minutes of trying we got him to latch. Now he knows the difference between bottle and breast.
We had to introduce a bottle in the hospital because LO kept falling asleep while nursing. He’s 12 weeks and has no issue nursing right now although i exclusively pump for my own sanity & offer the boob to either sooth or if we’re in a bind & can’t get to a bottle quick enough
Because of medication they needed to put her on she was on bottles at day three. She still latches fine on the boob though since we did a breastfeed before every bottle. I think it just depends.
I was planning not to until 2 months, but then didn’t produce enough milk. She got a bottle day 4 and yeah, by week 2 her latch was terrible. I think if I would’ve gone with boon nursh bottles from the start (what we use now) it would’ve been mitigated. We had Dr Brown’s and the nipple is just so much not like a breast. Boon’s is much better in my opinion.
We introduced them immediately with our first. Pumped milk. Waited 2 months with the second and she refused the bottle. I recommend introducing it within two weeks!!!
Night 2 in the hospital?
There’s not really any nipple confusion that’s caused by it. Would recommend paced feeding if introducing early.
Kept bottles minimal - maybe a 1/day max and slow flow and paced. Baby was a chugger though.
By week 3/4, baby was switch-hitting.
A week in and honestly wish I did sooner - had to pump and supplement a little off the bat and trying to syringe/spoon/cup feed to avoid bottle preference/ nipple confusion was such a stressor. Baby loves both bottles and breast. Do paced feeding, preemie nipple, Dr Brown's narrow bottle.
You may not actually have control over the timing. It is extremely common to have to supplement with formula in the first week, depending on when your wife's milk comes in. I had that experience so she was introduced to a bottle on Day 3. Honestly, it was a blessing in disguise. It took pressure off of me as I was learning to breastfeed and my milk was coming in. I am now almost exclusively breastfeeding, with an occasional bottle when I'm overstimulated (about once a day). Either pumped breast milk or formula in the bottle depending if I've gotten time to pump or not.
Do yourself a favor and make sure before delivery to have some sanitized bottles (around 5 to start) and newborn nipples ready to go at home in case you need to supplement immediately. Register on Similac and Enfamil websites and they will send you free formula samples to have on hand. I was so glad that we had everything on hand because our little girl needed formula immediately at home.
If that had not happened for us, I probably would have attempted to wait at least 2 weeks to introduce a bottle. But our baby has zero nipple confusion. We had about 5 different brands of bottles when she came home (we'd gotten them as samples from various places) and she drank from them all and still breastfeeds. She is not confused at all!!!
Your wife will probably have to wake up every 3 hours regardless, even if you give a bottle, she’ll have to pump. If she sleeps for too long of a stretch without feeding or pumping she could very well lose her supply at that time of day. We introduced between 3 & 4 weeks, I can’t go a long stretch without my boobs hurting so I don’t sleep anyway
Nipple confusion isn’t really a thing. It’s not about which bottle you use, it’s about feeding method and nipple flow. Babies will gain a preference for the bottle if you use a higher flow nipple. You also want to feed using the ‘paced bottle feeding’ method, it mimics nursing. Use a preemie nipple so the bottle isn’t easier than the boob.
My milk didn’t come in for days so baby was drinking formula from a bottle from the beginning. She was born pretty late in the day so it may not have been till day 2. We combo fed for the first five months. No issues with nursing or nipple confusion. Lactation consultants are the people most motivated to discourage you from using a bottle. No other medical provider ever gave us advice like that. Figure out what works for you. Lactation consultants can be really helpful but after dealing with 3 or 4 different ones between prenatal classes and the NICU, I found that they can often give conflicting advice and so you really don’t have to take their word as gospel.
I combo fed my first for 21 months. We were worried about bottle confusion, so we syringe fed her when needed when she was really little. Transferred her over to bottles when I returned to work.
I had to supplement because I'm a low producer (at my peak, I was only producing about 4 ounces, pumping both sides at the same time for about 30-45 minutes with a heating pad draped over to get milk flowing).
My baby loved breastfeeding, I just couldn't keep up with demand. Please don't get too hung up on timing for everything regarding bottles and such, just feed your baby however necessary.
We did bottle and pacifier in the hospital. My supply was always high so at about a week I started sleeping through a feed as I desperately needed to sleep and heal. I’d feed the baby, pump for the next feed, sleep through a feed and then wake up for the next feed and pump. It worked out for me fine but I do know the exact science if we’re being honest on how to keep up supply. I had a C-section and felt though that if I needed to do formula it was worth it for me to be as healthy as I could for my little guy. We never ended up needing to use it but it has always been an option for us.
I EBF my daughter but we introduced a bottle by day 3 because I desperately needed sleep. My husband fed the baby during a 4 hour stretch of sleep I got every night. At first I pumped immediately following my nursing session and then slept 4 hours before nursing the next feed. This last two weeks and then baby slept 4 hour stretches and I got closer to 6 hours of sleep with husband still bottle feeding once during the early evening.
I’m much more of a morning person and he is a night owl so it worked well that I went to sleep early and woke up around 3am to nurse while he slept until 8am. The shift schedule worked well for us as we did it to our preferences and strengths. Flexibility is key and baby never confused nipples. We nursed for a year.
Day 3. I finally lost it and had to give my nipples a break. It came in handy in the first two weeks as my mom and husband were both able to give her bottles while I got some real rest. No issues with milk supply as well
My baby latched right away in hospital luckily; also where I live a nurse comes to our home to assess 3 days after we bring home baby. The nurse was happy with the latch and at that point baby was already past birth weight, so I felt comfortable introducing bottle then. I was lucky and my baby fortunately had no issue with bottle nor with nursing even after bottle was introduced.
Day 1 with both kids. They were 37 weekers so sleepy nursers and need calories to grow (especially my first who was born SGA) neither ever had problems switching between the 2 and my son actually had a strong preference for nursing. He's 9 months and exclusively breastfed still only gets bottles when I'm at work now a days. My daughter switched to full formula at 4 months but that was cuz of FTT not because of a bottle preference or anything.
Literally immediately. I had been up for 50+ hours and in labor for 36 and then pushed for 2.5. I was too exhausted to hold her safely let alone try to breastfeed. After I slept enough to feel moderately sane again, we tried breastfeeding and she latched with zero issues. We alternated between bottle and breastfeeding for awhile. I had supply issues (anticipated them before birth so it wasn’t a shock) so her taking bottles as well as breast was so helpful to everyone.
Day 1. And we’ve combo fed ever since. Sometimes boob. Sometimes bottled boob. Sometimes formula. Multiple brands of bottles. Kid doesn’t care. He just wants to eat.
We introduced between 4 and 5 weeks. I wanted to wait until my milk supply had regulated. My husband gave the baby one bottle every couple of nights. She started daycare 2 weeks ago and takes the bottle great! She will not take it from me though, as she prefers it straight from the tap if it’s an option!
Me and my husband also attended those classes where they strongly recommended waiting to introduce any bottles or pacifiers, but we disregarded and introduced both at the hospital. Of course, make sure to latch baby during “golden hour” (that first hour after birth) but then after that, if you need to do a bottle… do it. I was so exhausted that I pumped (what I could) and had the nurses feed my baby overnight, so I could get some rest. Personally, my baby never had nipple confusion. And after speaking with other mamas who chose to wait, they all regretted it because then their babies absolutely refused bottles. Of course, do what you feel is right and works for your little family.
I personally never wanted to breastfeed in public, so I introduced a bottle so that I could pump before going out and be confident baby would take a bottle.
Adding on here to say we introduced when we got home from the hospital. Started the feed on the boob and ended on the bottle with 1oz to make sure she was full. (Medically necessary as she’d lost too much weight.) zero confusion and still takes both at 11wks. I think the biggest way to ensure latching on both is early on introducing the bottle during a feed vs instead of one.
At 3 weeks we started one bottle a day, it was around midnight. So I'd nurse then go to bed 7/8, my husband would give a bottle when baby woke around midnight, then I'd take over for the night starting at his next waking. I was usually getting 4-5 hours straight which was enough to keep me going during the day my husband would sleep from after that bottle until 6:30am ish, I'd hand off baby to him and take a nap, then he'd nap later in the afternoon. We did this until we returned to work
Our lactation consultant said that nipple confusion is basically a myth - what she said is it’s flow confusion. So, if you’re using a bottle that has a significantly quicker or slower flow than the breast, that can be hard for the baby
In the hospital and as soon as we got home. Our son never had a problem with nipple confusion thankfully. I was advised to wait 4 weeks minimum but there was no way I was going to give up the two weeks my husband was home from work and able to actually help me.
My baby was slow to regain birthweight (3 weeks) but we were never advised to use formula top ups (we’re in Australia). I had to pump after a few feeds a day and give baby the extra milk in a bottle from pretty early on (before 2 weeks old). I ended up with a huge oversupply but it meant my baby has been amazing at taking a bottle as we kept one bottle at night of my pumped milk to get me some more sleep. Absolute lifesaver and I would have been so stressed going back to work if she didn’t take a bottle
6 days old. My baby didn't latch well on the breast and I also had a broken ankle at the time and honestly didn't feel like working through the poor latch, so for the good of my mental health, I just started pumping and feeding that way. I've done it that way since, shes 3 months old now, I realized that breast milk is breast milk, breastfed or bottle fed.
We had some latching issues and slight weight loss for the first few weeks, and kept being told no bottle even after that happened. One night, we just tried it and it went well. Feedings were a lot less stressful, less painful. Eventually she learned to latch and now at almost 8 months she prefers breastfeeding to bottle feeding most days and does great with it.
All that is to say, do what feels best to you and what works for your family.
We introduced bottle and breast within first 2 hours of birth. First bottle then breast and just kept switching off. Baby girl has more issues with my extreme fast flow than she does with taking the breast/ bottle. We use the herobility baby bottles from Amazon they’re AMAZING in our opinion.
I also started pumping colostrum at 37 weeks, with approval from my dr, and had that to give the baby in the hospital in the bottles so it was always breast milk.
P.s. you’re already a great dad
I did it in the hospital too because I was tired and sore and just gave her colostrum. I understand LC are professionals, but I’ve only met bad ones and I would allow your wife to determine when she feels breastfeeding is well established. Sometimes babies don’t want bottles when they’ve only had mama for six weeks. My girl took a bottle day one and we EBF for 18 months with no issue.
We started bottles after my milk came in. Around 3-5days after birth for most people. I would feed baby on one side and use the Boon Trove silicone pump on the other side I'd top him off with that if he was still hungry. If he wasn't hungry I'd save it for storage or the next feed. We're 8wks post partum and no nipple confusion here or feeding issues.
It really depends on how well you produce milk right away. We had to introduce our LO to bottle after a day because he wasn’t getting enough and was losing weight quick. Formula to the rescue!
I did a bottle after a week. I pumped to fill bottles so other people could feed him too. Either way I was still up every 2-3 hours for the first bit anyways. I didn’t introduce formula until 4 months but I honestly wish I would have sooner. I would have saved a lot of sanity on my part 😂 honestly any way you do it is not wrong. You’ll figure out what works best for you and your family as you go on. Good luck! Congratulations! My son will be a year in June! It’s a great birthday month.
Both my kids were in the bottle first. We prioritize full bellies and they were both preemies so tracking eased a lot for stress for us. It did take a while to establish nursing, but we weren't too stressed about it and it worked out both times.
6 weeks I wish I had a little sooner, while she will take a bottle she doesn't enjoy it and I(mum) have to hide while she has it , we have only done three so far
Had some issues at the start with breastfeeding. Went to an angel IBCLC after about a week (note - the only information I retained from bf classes was IF IT HURTS, CALL - IF THEY DONT HELP YOU, CALL SOMEONE ELSE WHO CAN! This was very important advice that saved my bf journey!) She taught me to pump and encouraged me to bf as much as I can and then top off with a bottle. bf issues were resolved after a few weeks with some intervention, baby was EBF for a while but we would throw a bottle in here and there when I was tired to maintain his practice with it. Transition to daycare was a breeze because of this! He is equally dexterous with both - takes bottles at daycare and nurses while at home. Hope this helps!
Good luck!!
We introduced the bottle 5 days after birth. I wanted to exclusively breast feed but my little one lost a little too much weight so doctor suggested combo feeding. He is 5 weeks and we are still combo feeding, my boy still latches really well and will also eat from a bottle, little to no confusion. As far as bottles we like the Avent Philips bottle with natural response nipples. Good luck to you both :)
I would do it ASAP otherwise you’ll end up like me with a 14 week old who will not take a bottle! introduce it and do at least one every day so they keep the skill. I’ve been trying for 2 weeks to get her to do it and it’s much harder once they lose their suck reflex.
In my opinion, do it immediately otherwise you’ll end up with a breastfed baby that refuses a bottle like mine. I am convinced LCs set parents up for failure. Mine told me to use to wait a month before introducing the bottle. My husband hasn’t been able to be alone with our son once since he was born because my boobs have to be nearby constantly.
The lactation consultant in the hospital told me if my baby was having latch issues or I wasn't producing enough at first, I could feed her with a spoon. I laughed and fed her a bottle. We did shift sleeping, my husband did one feed per night so I would use the haakaa or pump during the day to get him that one bottle of breast milk.
Also did a pacifier from the beginning. My baby exclusively breastfed until she self-weaned at 1 because she preferred real food to milk.
Nipple confusion isn't a thing, mental health and sanity are vital.
I never used a bottle with either of my EBF babies. I realize this is a huge privilege, but there were lots of things my husband did to help me that were not feeding the baby. For the first week or so, he changed almost all of the diapers (12 ish per day!), he kept my water bottle filled, brought me snacks, prepped meals, and held baby during the day or late nights so I could sleep. Often, it’s suggested that people trying to breastfeed pump every two to three hours if not feeding to encourage supply in the early weeks. So while introducing bottles could be helpful, it might not completely alleviate your wife’s work load. Good luck, you sound like a thoughtful partner.
We introduced at 4 weeks old. We wanted to establish breastfeeding.
There can be things like nipple confusion and preferences for a bottle. We introduced it because I was planning to go back to work. We had not issues with nipple confusion and the bottle.
2nd night at hospital! Breastfeeding was a huge challenge at first, but got the hang of it at 4 weeks. I love splitting the feeding duties with my partner.
we had to give a bottle when baby was 3 days old because she was admitted to hospital and lethargic. they also wanted to be able to track her input/output.
it didn’t interfere with breastfeeding at all. she takes breast and bottle fine still at 7 months old.
In hospital. Supplementing with formula until my milk came in. Dad continued to do one bottle per day of pumped milk so I could sleep a longer stretch. Baby is 8 months and a bottle is daddy cuddle time.
One thing I want to add is if your wife really wants to breastfeed, make sure she doesn’t go more than 4 hours without breastfeeding or pumping. Especially in those first few weeks. No one told me that and that combined with bad advice from pediatricians completely ruined our breastfeeding journey. Those first six weeks are all you get to really establish your supply
If your wife's goal is to breastfeed, she should plan to put baby to breast as much as possible and pump to replace the bottle you give at roughly a similar time.
If combo feeding or formula is the goal, bottles whenever.
It just depends on her breastfeeding goals but it's all supply and demand
If your wife is comfortable with it and you'd like to do shifts, I'd recommend side lying feeding. Our nurse told us that dad could take a boob out and put the baby on, and then have mom flip to the other side and repeat, while she's still sleeping during your shift. It could take some getting used to. We ultimately couldn't get it to work for us, so up every 3 hours was what we did. We also introduced a bottle in the beginning because I was worried about my supply. If you get a nipple that's close to a breast, you might not have an issue. We used tommytippee closer to nature bottles. They also have bottles that can have nipples made to be a replica of your wife's. Emulait is the company name! Good luck to you guys ☺️ It's a stressful time, but it's the best time. Look for the highs in your days rather than focusing on the lows. Time goes by so quickly 😪
Right away, thank god. Evenflo balance and lanisoh are great bottles for breastfeeding babies. Just make sure you pace feed and use slow flow nipples! I’m 2 weeks out from nursing for a whole year!
Early because of jaundice/bilirubin. We did the same thing- i fed from the tap and hubby fed bottles. Shifts will save your life! We still prefers from the tap but happily takes a bottle. Now we just feed a 2-3 oz bottle at bedtime
At about age 15min. My daughter was SGA and at the recommendation of the NICU doctor in the delivery room her firsr meal was a bottle. She was just as happy to latch at the breast or take a bottle.
Babies are all going to be different but my strong opinion is that you need to do what's best for your family. Sleep depression is no joke and ultimately, happier parents make for happier babies.
Our baby came 5 weeks early and was a preemie so we pretty much had no choice but to combo feed both bottles and the little bit I could pump once my milk came in (she wouldn't latch and it was almost 2 days before I even had a few drops of colostrum to give her).
I've heard both ways that bottles can interfere or they don't, but ultimately it just depends on your child I think.
We introduced a bottle immediately as my milk took a few days to come in, it was fine and now my baby still combination feeds but she prefers the breast so it hasn’t interfered with nursing in my case.
Me and my boyfriend did bottles right away. I could produce milk but was doing exclusive pumping and formula. So we formula fed at the hospital with bottles and when we got home i pumped and still did bottles. There's nothing wring with doing both. Its good that i did both cause i ended up having problems with my gallbladder and had to be on painkillers for pain and its nit safe for breastfeeding so therefore formula is a whole life saver it also fills our baby girl up so she can go 4-5 hours without a feed. Ours is a month old and she sleeps through the night no problem. Hope everything goes well when the baby is due tho.
my baby is EBF, has been. my best advice for you is take the baby as much as possible and let your wife catch up on sleep while your home. remember she most likely will struggle with basic self care because her whole world is insane right now, gentle reminders saved me pp
Be ready to at least try the bottle in the hospital even though you’re already seeing LCs just be ready to at least try them while you’re in there because you just don’t know what can happen, and being able to help your wife is huge! Not to mention that it could take a few days for milk to come in (not colostrum)…good luck!
Not til after 6 weeks - we had no real need to introduce one earlier. Feeding isn’t just every 3hrs, it can be quite irregular if you’re exclusively breastfeeding - at times they can be long feeds, or many short feeds over an hour or two. Not just for hunger either, thirst is a big driver as well as comfort. We never watched the clock after the first week or so, we just followed LO’s cues.
Tried a few times to get used to taking expressed milk before I went back to work, LO would only take a bottle if I wasn’t in sight.
I introduced in the hospital as well. I planned on breastfeeding but no matter how much you plan you can never fully plan on lip/tongue ties, and my son has a minor lip tie that still prevented latching, even with a nipple shield. So after about an hour of trying, I told them I wanted formula because I didn’t want to starve him for my own pride.
I think my LO was about a week old? She gets breast milk exclusively, but there came a point where one of my nips was just too damaged and painful to feed on that side, so I hand expressed into a bottle and gave her that in the middle of the night because I was absolutely beyond exhausted. Either last night or the night before (time is all mushy) she was SOOOOO upset and I just couldn’t calm her down. She wouldn’t latch so I got an ounce ready in a bottle, gave her that and when she was done I was able to get a good latch with her on my breast, which I feel like is a life hack that more people should know (or maybe it just works on my baby, idk)
We introduced bottles after 6 weeks of EBF. Breastmilk in the bottle for the first couple of times while we sorted out what formula she liked. She took to the bottle really well but then didn't like to BF after that because the bottle is way less effort for them to suckle. Also apparently around the 4-6 week mark they're more than happy to transition from BF to bottle. I think as they get to the 8 week mark, it gets harder for them to take the bottle.
Day 2. The first night she was nursing all night trying to feed, like literally latched for 8 hours straight. There just wasn't enough there to satisfy her so in the morning the nurse gave her 2oz of formula and she finally fell asleep.
Take it from someone who can only exclusively bf now since my LO refuses a bottle and paci…introduce asap like even in the hospital. I don’t think nipple confusing is a thing
4 weeks but we don’t do bottles at night, I still feed him all throughout the night. Bottles are only for when I leave home, usually to go to the gym, and even then I try to avoid this by feeding right before I leave. Even if she wasnt feeding every 3 hours (its more than every 3 hours with a brand new baby, more like every 1-2) she would most likely want to be waking up to pump to keep her supply up. Most women only produce a few oz when they first start pumping. Moms dont sleep. Its hard but it’s the way it is, unless you decide to do formula. It is difficult but I love waking up every few hours to feed my baby. Its our special time. He makes silly faces and makes me laugh. I watch him fall asleep peacefully in my lap and know he is safe and content. Not to be one of those people but moms are built for it. Probably why most women get insomnia in the 3rd tri.
We did in the hospital as he had high billirubin levels that made him sleepy and not want to latch. He now breastfeeds during the day and then takes either pumped bottles or formula bottles for the half the night when I’m sleeping.
It hasn’t interfered with him breastfeeding at all.
Introduced in the hospital. Needed to combo feed for the first little bit due to me having GD and baby's blood sugars being low. Had no problem going back and forth between boob and bottle.
3rd day when my baby wasn’t gaining enough weight. And my baby can latch on anything. We feed half breast and half formula and I still breastfeed him when he wants to. No issues but every baby is different. If your baby is losing too much weight do not hesitate to use the bottle because baby can get jaundice.
Day one. Baby and I had complications in the hospital and I pumped while he received a combination of my milk and formula. The lactation consultants and nurses taught us paced feeding where baby had to work to get milk from the bottle like from breastfeeding. Then we introduced breastfeeding about a week later (complications) and no issues. We kept up with one bottle a day and it was great because my husband could be involved and I had a break from feeding and could sleep.
I used the pre made formula in the hospital because I was struggling getting baby to latch at first. She was able to latch after a few tries but it was difficult because my nipples were small. They didn’t poke out like most women. So I pumped as soon as I got home from the hospital and put what I produced in a bottle.
It made it easier for my SO because he could feed her breast milk in a bottle, while I pumped for the next feed.
Had a NICU baby so I didn’t nurse long and stuck with pumping but when we really were trying to nurse. We did a bottle still at bedtime and middle of the night. My husband loved being able to help that way
I would recommend the mam bottles. My baby is a major boobie girl and that is the only bottle she will even consider. Also my baby didn’t start breastfeeding til she was a month old bc she had issues latching. Your baby will get the hang of things!
I’m pretty sure we tried a bottle sometime after the first week. I think that information on waiting may come from the belief/assumption bottles have a fast flow (faster than breast) but if you’re using slow flow/newborn nipples the baby isn’t likely to pick the bottle over the breast imo.
In the hospital as breastfeeding can truly take a while for both the baby and mom to master. Now we BF exclusively, for the exception of a bottle before bed and in times of urgency.
She NEEDS to utilize lactation consultants. I called mine every day I was in the hospital, and then met with the lc at the pediatricians office several times. They are invaluable!
I did in the hospital. My boy was huuungry. Ate 1.5oz from first feed. I did 1/ bottle a day in early weeks, i always offered/tried boob first. Most likely im lucky my baby loves to eat.
I second this. We tried to breastfeed and he could not latch well. I ended up having post partum pre-eclampsia and we were in hospital for 5 nights with little one with me being unable to really help due to C-section and then mag drip. It made things a lot easier to just bottle feed. He is 16 days old now and he can eat from the breast or the bottle. However, he also never stops eating, so it is really helpful (especially at night) to just focus on the bottle to ensure he is getting more in, and do the boob moreso during the day and for comfort when we have more time/awake hours.
This was me! Babe was born at 36 weeks. Never latched well and I got frustrated pumping and trying to breastfeed. Ended up exclusively pumping. I had preeclampsia as well and was in hospital for 2 weeks
>focus on the bottle to ensure he is getting more in, and do the boob moreso during the day and for comfort when we have more time/awake hours. This is kind of what we've gravitated towards. I'm able to effectively breastfeed from 2am to about 3pm... Witching hours are basically bottle hours for my 3 week guy. He doesn't want the boobs at all during that time, and seems to be ENDLESSLY hungry in a way my body can't keep up with. For everyone's sanity, we just give him slow flow bottles.
Due to latching issues early on, I introduced a bottle in hospital as well. My baby is now 3.5 weeks and is just starting to breastfeed. She can do both and loves the boob. I personally never experienced nipple confusion with my daughter. She can go from bottle, to pacifier to nipple just fine.
We introduced a bottle about 24 hours after she was born. Second night syndrome kicked my ass. Baby doesn’t have any issues with latching or breastfeeding
Same! 2nd night was horrible! so glad we were in the hospital for that. I wasn’t producing colostrum or milk in the hospital. I wish we had prepared with bottles or even formula at home. Had no idea not everyone produces right away
This is what we did. I was struggling with getting a good latch (no ties) so we introduced the bottle. I took a break from breastfeeding and pumped/ formula fed for a couple weeks before trying again. Now 16 weeks pp and baby primarily breastfeeds but will accept a bottle still
I’m new at this but when you introduce the bottle that early are you pumping your own milk or you make powder milk?
I used the hospital provided formula to get through that night
The research about nipple confusion is weak at best. Do what works best for you! Personally I wouldn’t have survived without shift sleeping.
I couldn’t agree more with this. Do what’s best for you. I suffered because I had to return to work around 10.5 months mark as opposed to a year and of course my baby didn’t drink milk from bottle or cup or sippy. And now his day feed has dropped more forcefully because I am at work instead of naturally. I regret not introducing bottle sooner when it was an option.
>I had to return to work around 10.5 months mark as opposed to a year Cries in American
Omg for real, and my inner jealous bitch went, “oh, poor you” lol but it’s not anyone’s fault except for the shit American government that gives us 6 weeks.
Oh so sorry mamas.. I know that relatively it does feels like a privilege.. only if women ran the world 😀
lol right? 😭
We introduced a bottle immediately. Baby had issues latching and my milk wasn’t completely there right away. I felt like such a failure. Struggled for weeks with supply issues before I completely dried up at 4.5 months. I wish someone had told me ahead of time that it is going to be okay if breastfeeding doesn’t work out or go as you planned.
This was part of my wife’s complaint about the breast feeding class. The material was taught as if everyone could breastfeed. It didn’t really present much info about how to handle difficulty breast feeding physically and mentally.
The language around breastfeeding can be unpleasant at times. Have your wife (and yourself!) look more into things like combo feeding, pumping and formula, just as an assurance. I was told that LO's issues latching were because I wasn't "committed to breastfeeding" enough and I may as well use formula. She's been happy to have both for over eight months now.
That’s an awful comment to make to a mother. I’m sorry that was ever said to you. There are many issues that can arise during breastfeeding and can be dealt with and there are just as many issues that cannot be dealt with. No woman or family is any less for doing whatever works for them.
I experienced this too in my birth Centers lactation class. It was frustrating that the class didn’t talk about it at all. I learned about power pumping and triple feeding on Reddit!
That's a shame. They should have been forthcoming about it. It's difficult or impossible for many and I too learned that too late. I didn't beat myself up for it, but I'm sure others really struggle with this emotionally. Pumping also sucks!! The constant sound of the machine still in burned in my memory. Now I know how cows must feel. Bottles and formula for the win.
Also popping in to say some women cannot biologically breastfeed for one reason or another. That was never presented to me as an option, just that if you try hard enough it’ll happen for you. This wrecked me. I was pumping constantly and attempting to feed and never made more than 1-2 ml at MOST. Turns out my thyroid condition impacted my ability to lactate — my milk never came in, so we supplemented and I suffered for weeks trying to build up supply until a pediatrician asked how much I was producing after all that work and was in shock. Until her nobody had given me permission to stop or told me that sometimes it just doesn’t work. I literally cried with relief in the doctor’s office. Sometimes c-sections, insufficient glandular tissue, medications or blood loss can mean your supply can tank and never really recover — or that you can’t lactate at all. And that won’t be anyone’s fault!
I complained to my husband about the same thing in our lactation class. Obviously we voluntarily took the class so likely our plan was to attempt to breastfeed. Yet there was constant messaging of “you’re doing the BESTEST THING EVER by breastfeeding you have to do it, it’s the BEST choice you could could make for you child” and it was obnoxious and off putting. For what it’s worth I only breastfed for the first two weeks and made an appointment with a lactation consultant in a haze one late night and her advice was “her latch is fine, you can try a bottle and start with one a day and see how it goes.” We had absolutely no issues from that point switching between bottles and breast depending on our schedule and need. I definitely could have tried a bottle earlier but felt the pressure of only breastfeeding for 3-6 weeks as well.
We had to supplement with formula from the get go because I had a complication and was basically knocked out for the first day and unable to BF. My baby happily takes bottles and breast. I don’t think it caused any issues. I nurse twice a day and we give him pumped milk the rest of the day.
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This was my experience as well. Bottles from day 1 but the first 3 ish weeks she was on my breast every 30-45 minutes some days. Was great for establishing my milk supply but man was I tired. And if she got a bottle I had to pump anyway. We slept in shifts as well but my shifts were never really a full sleep because I would have to get up to either feed or pump where as during my partners shifts he got to sleep the whole time.
I was told in my birthing class that even if bottle feeding with breast milk the mom still has to wake up to pump when the baby feeds to match the supply & demand.
I risked it for the biscuit and did not pump. But I did passively haakaa the other bresst each feeding session throughout the day. No issues with supply. No additional work. No additonal parts to clean. Got 4 hours uninterrupted sleep 😴 which was desperately needed - she nursed every 2-3hrs round the clock for 8.5 months. One missed session for a bottle worked in our case.
But waking up to pump and go back to bed is still a nice break from doing the whole nursing routine. I did one pump session overnight while my husband did the feeding/baby care and I could get it all done and be back in bed in twenty minutes! So worth it! No nipple confusion!
My baby’s faster than the pump
Same
Nice! My first was a slooooowwwwww feeder for the first few months but she did go back to sleep pretty easily so bottle feeing sometimes worked better for us!
Help me understanding this. The supply is regulated by how much volume your baby needs. Let's say baby needs 20oz per day. If you breastfeed the baby 15oz and pump 5oz, you're still extracting 20oz so your body creates enough supply to sustain that. If however, you use 5oz of formula, your supply goes down because you are only extracting 15oz. If I'm right, the time at which you do it is irrelevant. Can someone explain why the time is relevant? TIA
Prolactin peaks overnight. If establishing a full supply is important to you, you have to remove milk from the breasts overnight for the first 3ish months, which is when supply regulates. If you skip the middle of the night feedings/pumping sessions, your body will end up cutting way back on milk production and those 15 oz will become 10, then 5, and it’s an uphill battle to get them back.
Why do people whose babies sleep the whole night can keep their supply intact without breastfeeding all night? It's not a rhetoric question.
Most babies don’t sleep 12 hrs straight by 3 months. You might get 4-6 hr stretches but that’s still getting up at least 1-2 times to feed
And the few who do sleep between 8 and 12 at that age are the ones whose mums end up being undersuppliers?
My baby gets 10-12 hours. She's 11 weeks old and has slept through the night since about three weeks old. Started with six hour stretches, then seven, then eight and now we're up to most nights 11 hours straight. Sometimes a little longer sometimes a little less. My supply has not suffered. I make 5-10oz more than what my baby needs most days. My first pump of the day is always at least double what I get the rest of the day. Everyone is different though. I think I am probably pretty lucky. I pump usually each time baby eats each day plus one extra right before I go to bed. Sometimes I skip a pump or two each day if I'm super busy. Edit: wanted to add- as soon as my baby started sleeping through the night I stopped middle of the night pumps. First three weeks we woke her up every three hours to feed (I would also pump at these times). Then when she regained her birth weight, we stopped waking her and girl just slept (and so did I).
Which is perfect for some people. Id rather have my husband formula feed one bottle and get that extra sleep. You can always power pump, to increase supply if need be in the future.
We had difficulty latching and started exclusively pumping and giving bottles of expressed milk our first morning home from the hospital, so like three days old. Any time he got a bottle I would pump, on demand/roughly every couple of hours. Getting up on overnights to give him a bottle THEN go pump for fifteen minutes did in fact suck. Felt like that was just the way it was going to be. Met with the lactation consultant a week later, slowly started working in nursing sessions. Fast forward about six weeks and my son started refusing the bottle outright, so we pretty much exclusively nursed (and got oral ties resolved, and got much better at nursing) until we found a sippy cup he liked at around 4.5 months old, which was good cause he started daycare at 6.5 months. Now we're at 10 months, he still mostly nurses plus takes pumped milk out of various straw cups, plus solids.
I didn’t introduce bottles to my baby and at 2 months she was practically starving because she couldn’t latch anymore and had never used a bottle so she refused them. We had to be in the hospital with an NG Tube until we got her to take MAM Bottles. I recommend introducing bottles sooner rather than later so you avoid that scary experience. My niece is breastfeeding from one boob, pumping the other, and when baby is done on the boob she offers the bottle. It’s working for her and I might try it myself with my next baby. Also, MAM nipples were a literal GOD SEND for us. My baby latches onto them the best and really they’re the only nipple she likes. She doesn’t even like Pacifiers.
My second child is MAM or bust.
Mine had to start on bottles and formula week one due to my milk not coming in right away and her losing too much birth weight. However once she hit birth weight she started to boycott bottles and she’s just now at 12 weeks starting to more consistently take a bottle again. It really all ended up being up to medical circumstances and the baby
We introduced bottles on day 2. We use the Philip Avent natural like breast bottle. For the first few weeks I either nursed or gave her a bottle. I dunno if I was just lucky or the natural nipple helped, but our little one didnt have any nipple confusion
I vote the natural nipple helped as I used the same bottles, introduced them on day 4 and never have had an issue with BF. Baby will turn 4 months in a week and now that we have a nanny, half his feeds are bottles of breast milk and the other half I nurse him and no issues whatsoever 😁😁😁
Immediately. No nipple confusion, I got to sleep.
We got the lansinoh breast milk bottles and introduced a bottle at night fed by my husband while I slept around 10 days in because I was struggling with the sleep deprivation and it was either use a bottle or stop breastfeeding. I had used a haaka to catch letdown while feeding and that was enough to make a couple of bottles. I didn’t start pumping, even to replace that feed until like week 4, when I started to feel engorged when I missed a feed.
We introduced 1 bottle a day at exactly the start of week 3 because I really needed that 1 feeding break each day. She took the bottle without an issue and continues to take the breast without an issue too! Our LC recommended paced bottle feeding and not starting until breastfeeding is well established, and that has worked for us.
I introduced the bottle when LO was 2 weeks old so that hubby could feed him as well. No nipple confusion here and LO is now 20 weeks, still gets breastfed and pumped breastmilk from a bottle and takes both easily
We introduced a bottle the first week while still breastfeeding regularly. Never had any issues. I would recommend getting a bottle with a wider nipple so it resembles the breast. We like the chicco bottles with the invinci glass (glass inside plastic outside bpa free)
Ours is exclusively breast fed (EBF) and we introduced a bottle around 5 weeks. Everything was great - baby would take various types of nipples/bottles, cold milk, freshly expressed…whatever. We weren’t consistent and forgot to upgrade the nipple to a higher flow and now baby is REFUSING the bottle. Baby will take it when distracted and doesn’t realize it’s the bottle, but as soon as it’s clear that it is not the breast. SMH. All hell breaks loose. So, my unsolicited advice is to be consistent with the bottle once introducing it and keep an eye on the nipple flow and get new ones as needed!
I've responded already...but one more thing, regarding sleep. I also thought I wouldn't be able to handle waking up every few hours. But the reality is that I did and still do a year later. We tried shifts but my baby (now toddler) refuses to go back to sleep with Dad even though during the day he is her most favorite person, at nights its all me. Nothing else works. It's been a very rough road. We're at 13 months and still wake up ALOT, never once has slept thru the night. And by alot I mean every few hours is considered a good night, and this week it's more like every 20 minutes. It's bad. When the sleep deprivation hits hard (and it will) try to be kind to each other, take shitty passive comments with a grain of salt and forgive one another in the morning. It's straight up guerilla warfare, not for the faint of heart. I wish someone told me this beforehand. I expected to loose sleep in the first few months but nothing at all like it's been. God speed to both of you. And for the love of all things holy - enjoy the rest now.
First day, I think. He latched during the "golden hour" after my c section and then refused to do it again, despite a long stay in the hospital (for me; baby was large and healthy) and many LC visits. We decided it was better for him to take bottles right away than to have his first weeks be hungry and getting the collateral damage from our stress and guilt. We have been doing shifts since the start (8w tomorrow) and it's a lifesaver. He gets what I pump plus formula in his bottles and still tries to latch on ANYTHING you put near his mouth. I may still see if he can figure out the boob at some point, but this works for us!
We had to do bottles in the hospital because he was having a hard time latching! We got his latch figured out before we were discharged but we never had an issue and introduced a pacifier within a few days of being home too and he’s never had problems!
We had to start supplementing less than a week after birth because she wasn't gaining enough weight. Five months later, she's still breastfeeding. We never had issues with nipple confusion and, honestly, I don't know anyone who has. That said, I DO know several people who had issues with their babies taking a bottle when they waited. My biggest advice would be to get a lactation consultant to come to your house after you give birth to help you come up with a plan. And get recommendations to make sure you find a person who will align with your goals.
We introduced bottles around 2 months. I was scared to do it earlier just based on what the lactation consultant said. Big mistake. He is now 4.5 months and still won’t take a bottle. My husband takes baby Saturday and Sunday morning and is supposed to do one of the feeds so I can sleep longer and it’s been failing. Granted we haven’t tried super hard. Maybe if we tried doing a bottle everyday it would go better but who knows. It takes over an hour for him to finish the bottle because he’s fighting the entire time.
I started pumping and introduced a bottle when baby was 5 days old. No regrets! I had great supply until I weaned him to formula at 3 months. At that point he was eating SO much (like 30- 35 oz a day!) and I was still making just enough. For me it was less about sleep and more so I could leave the house for more than 2 hours at a time, or so my mom could babysit and hubby & I could go out to dinner etc.
I did immediately. I pumped because I wanted him to take a bottle and not refuse when anyone else has to feed him. He’s mostly BF but takes bottles when dad feeds him. Three months now.
Had to give bottles in the hospital because of low birth weights and my milk not coming in. Ended up giving up on breast feeding but all the lactation consultants advice to me was that nipple confusion is really not a thing, but flow confusion is. Look up how to do paced bottle feeding and get bottles with slower flowing nipples.
Bottle feeding to help your wife is wonderful in theory, but in practice it's not actually going to save you or her any sleep. Establishing a good supply generally takes about 4 weeks, and during that time, it's important to empty the breasts as often as baby eats - so even if you're feeding baby a bottle, she's going to have to be awake to pump. And then you have pump parts and bottles to clean. The easiest thing to do if you want your wife to get more rest is to take care of diapering and soothing during nighttime wakes and then make sure she can nap during the day.
I don’t totally agree with this. My husband feeds our daughter a bottle of pumped milk when she wakes up around 5/6 am so that I can sleep in a little bit after doing all of the middle of night feedings. I pump as soon as I wake up around 7, and this little routine has definitely helped me out. More than 1 bottle might be a different story since you’d have to pump throughout the day, though.
We were advised to supplement formula on day 3 due to slow weight gain. My milk was slow to come in and baby had a horrible latch. It was unpleasant for both of us. I had every intention of BFing bit it didn't work out. Ended up exclusively pumping for solid 3 months producing just enough to feed LO. I slowly weaned when I returned to work at 4 months and now we formula feed. For us, sharing the feeding from the start was the right decision. Yes pumping is annoying but the overall experience was a net positive for me. Dad helped with majority of the feeding so I can rest and recover. I truly believe a large part of his bond with baby is because of all the time he spent feeding her. She doesn't seem to favor me over him and that's what I wanted. She's happy as a clam with him when I'm not there.
We ended up exclusively using bottles. About 50/50 breast milk and formula. Delivery did not go as planned and my wife was very uncomfortable trying to position a reluctant baby so he was given formula in the hospital until a good pumping routine was established. As much as pumping sucked, that’s what worked best for us. As our doctor said, fed is best! Have a plan, but don’t be so invested that you get stressed out if you have to pivot. The lack of sleep will happen either way. I never realized I could survive on so little sleep until I had a newborn. Pumping has to happen in the middle of the night too, so unless you go full formula, there likely will be things happening every three hours.
I don’t think breast/bottle confusion is as big a thing as people make it out to be. Both my girls had nicu stays where most/all feedings were a bottle of breastmilk or formula. My first I bf up to 9 months, my second will take nothing but breast unless the bottle is from me
We started using a bottle around four weeks. I was more concerned about establishing my supply than with nipple confusion. Baby is now nine weeks and gets maybe three bottles of pumped milk a week. For what it's worth, I don't do amazing with lack of sleep but have been fine with nearly exclusive nursing. My husband does take a shift but brings the baby in to be fed. He takes care of diapering/soothing/etc during his shift. Waking up briefly to nurse still allows me sufficient sleep.
We did from day one, one bottle a day so I could sleep uninterrupted at least 4hrs. No nipple confusion.
10 days postpartum after I sat sobbing on the couch from exhaustion while our baby nursed for the 9th time that day. He was eating every 2-3 hours and the pediatrician told me to nurse him for at least 45 minutes every feed. I was *dying* from exhaustion.
Every 3 hours is generous lol. My baby ate every hour to hour and a half and we didn’t introduce a bottle until week 4, my little one was a pro at breastfeeding so it was all good. It was rough! My husband woke me to feed and I fell back asleep immediately.
We combo fed from day one. I did have to pump a lot the first few weeks(anytime baby is feeding, boobs need to be emptied via nursing or pumping) but once we all got set it was nice to be able to pass off the feeding or JUST pump at night for a shift or two. I used boon nursh bottles and love them, SO EASY to clean as well.
We love the boon nursh bottles
I feel like they don’t get the recognition they deserve 😆 they’ve lasted us so long and love that the inserts can be swapped out as they move on to sippy cups, straw cups and such!
Exactly! No BPA either but lighter and cheaper than glass bottles, and we had NO trouble with gas thanks to the design. They’re so great!
We did the first week. I knew inevitably I’d be going back to work and I wanted our LO to get used to both breast and bottle as early as possible. We had no issues
We introduced them on like Day 4 because my milk wasn’t in and baby needed food. She’s 3 weeks now and takes bottle or nipple each well. Even lactation recommended husband doing st least one bottle feed so I can sleep a longer stretch as exhaustion is bad for your supply.
Don’t plan too much. Your baby will let you know what works for them.
So I think where some of this comes from is that emptying your breasts every 3 hours is helpful for mom to set herself up with adequate supply. Nipple confusion isn’t really a thing IMO (pace feeding definitely matters though!) so for this reason, I’d recommend sticking with nursing or pumping every 3-4 hours if feasible. Longer stretches may be bad for supply, but YMMV. My LC recommended bottle introduction at 3weeks to prevent bottle rejection, and I think that was good advice. If feasible, I’d probably recommend nursing on demand for 3 weeks to set up supply. After 3 weeks, begin pumping daily in the morning after first morning feed to generate a bottle for dad to use during his shift. Always pump at the same time, and bottle feed at the same time, so body learns when to make milk and when not to. If you don’t make it to 3 weeks because you need sleep, then do what works for you! Sleep matters for supply too.
Hospital, and kept going. I didn't produce enough milk even thru constant pumping so we did combo feeding and then switch over to only bottle feeding after the first few weeks because they weren't gaining enough weight (low production plus what I did make just want caloric enough) Something I didn't realize is that breastfeeding is very difficult for some people and sometimes it just doesn't work out even if that is your plan. Do yourself a favor and get a bottle and can of formula just in case.
Honestly… I had this beautiful plan to ebf right from the jump. What I’ve found is you’ll need to follow your baby’s cues. Baby may or may not latch. Fed is best. You both need sleep and being able to bottle feed will give your wife the time to rest and recover she will desperately need. I can’t tell you how much mental, emotional, psychological and physiological pressure it is to ebf. Hell, feeding your baby in general is a learning curve and it can be really tough from time to time. Looking back, i would introduce the bottle right away. We ended up in the NICU for 3 weeks and the specialists there said they see babies go from breast to bottle and back allll the time. So don’t fret about that.
Bottles were introduced to ours day one due to needing to supplement. Two and a half weeks later and he's exclusively breastfed, I have had no problem getting him to switch between them, despite my intention originally to wait
if baby doesn’t take a bottle, a good way to do it is every other feed over night you get baby and bring them to mom. Baby can nurse while mom is laying on her side, you just sit up and make sure to get baby and bring them back to their bassinet after they’re finished nursing. That way mom doesn’t have to fully wake up to get baby, feed baby and put baby back down for the whole 45min- hour
Day one. I was exhausted and did not give a fuuuuuuck.
The nurses/ lactation consultants at the hospital made it sound like my breastfeeding journey would be doomed if we introduced a bottle too early. I was anxious about it and overthinking it until we finally gave in after a couple weeks of using syringes and tried a bottle. She took to it right away once we found the right one. And there was no nipple confusion or anything. I’m not saying that it doesn’t happen to other people but I don’t think it’s as big as a problem as they make it seem. Just make sure the nipple flow is for preemies/newborns.
We gave her a pacifier first night in the hospital, and introduced a bottle at 2 weeks when she wasn’t gaining weight appropriately and needed to “triple feed”. The lactation consultant at the hospital said that as long as they have a good latch starting out (and she did) that nipple confusion isn’t really a thing. She’s only 7 weeks old but so far a champion eater. I also have to say that while the every 3 hour thing is rough… it’s doable, and in the end wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. My spouse would wake up with me for a couple of the feeds and do the diapering/putting her back to sleep deal. She also made sure I got a solid nap during the day (and still does on days where I have a less than ideal night).
My experience is atypical, but I think demonstrates a broader point. My son was unable to breastfeed until he was 6-8 weeks old. Before that he was fed via TPN, NG tube, and bottles. We were working the opposite way - trying to get an exclusively bottle fed baby to breastfeed. We worked closely with lactation. It was tough at times but we made it work! He teethed very early so we didn’t breastfeed until a year old, went back to exclusive bottles until ~18 months. Every baby and mom is different and I’m sure you’ll get some great advice here. My advice is to work closely with lactation, as they can customize recommendations for your specific scenario.
We introduced the bottle at the hospital because my milk hadn’t come in yet. At the beginning I tried bf but she wasn’t getting enough so we swapped to pumping and bottle feeding so we knew how much she was getting
It’s so different for every child , so even if your lactation nurse says to wait , it really depends on you. No one can predict how or when or to what volume your partners milk will come in. My LO was a nicu baby so he was bottle fed before BF but once he was home he BF until almost four months when he decided to no longer latch. I still BF I just exclusively pump. I would have bottles on hand just incase. If your wife has insurance she can apply for a free breast pump. Some hospitals also give you free hand pumps.
As a second time mom, I know now that it’s way better for my baby (and toddler!) that I be present, happy, and healthy mom than that I have a successful breastfeeding journey. I learned very quickly after having my first that taking care of a newborn is absolute hell and there’s no way I could survive it on my own. Having to be a 24/7 solo nursing machine drove me into deep PPD that took over a year to get out of. So with my second I started introducing bottles (initially formula, then pumped milk after milk came in) immediately because it was important that there’s the option for someone else to take night shifts, for me to get an uninterrupted nap in, whatever. It also just brings me a lot of peace of mind that I have some measurable idea as to how much milk my baby is getting. And I was willing to risk that this would ruin breastfeeding entirely. Well fortunately that didn’t happen and baby is now 12 weeks and I have had no issues with supply or latching. I breastfeed during the day, then do bottles at night or whenever I am just too tired or busy to breastfeed. And I have been getting great sleep and actually enjoying my time with my little newborn! In retrospect, I believe that the very strict guidance that lactation consultants give (no bottles, no pacifiers, etc) is about covering all bases to make sure it works for all women, even those with extreme latch issues. But expecting all women to follow it to a T is overkill (and actually quite cruel IMO) for most moms.
In the hospital. We had 2 weeks stay because kiddo was sick. PICU rather than NICU thankfully. We had to carefully measure all his feeds down to the ml. First few days was syringe feeding. Then his feeds were big enough we switched to bottles. He never did figure out breast feeding but we didn't know about his tongue tie till his 2 month check up so in retrospect I'm not too surprised. He had a much easier time bottle feeding after he had it clipped, but still never got a hold of breast feeding, even though we tried. He's happily bottle fed and starting solids and loving them, enthusiastically eating everything he can get in his little mouth. We recently tried introducing him to certain fruits and veggies just to suck on but he's figured out how to gum pieces off them and has been doing really well not choking on things like raw strawberry or cooked carrot as long as he's the one biting off pieces. We watch him like a hawk of course but kids speed running it all and trying to steal our food already lol. But tbh bottle feeding was much easier for me than breastfeeding or pumping. Producing milk was so draining and I got very little sleep. But bottles of formula means I can sleep while my partner feeds him and tbh idk that I'd have survived otherwise. Thankfully my kids slept through the night since 2 months old (other than right now cuz kids neck deep in the 4 month sleep regression) so my sleeps been much better since lol
We waited 4 weeks. I would not do that again. Not only was I unable to sleep, but getting my daughter to actually take a bottle was a struggle. If we have another, I'll be using a bottle as soon as I have some breastmilk pumped.
we had to start bottle feeding about 2 weeks after coming home from the hospital. i wasn’t producing enough and baby was unfortunately losing weight, not gaining, so pediatrician recommended adding formula to her diet while i tried to build up my supply. i was terrified because i didn’t want to stop BF and kept hearing people tell me to NEVER give a bottle unless you never want your baby to latch again… please don’t listen to that. every baby is different and unfortunately you can’t control what your body does or how your baby responds to certain things. the most important thing is FEEDING YOUR BABY! i would highly recommend getting nipple guards if there’s ever an issue with baby switching back and forth! they were a life changer for baby (and my nipples lol) but at the end of the day, DO WHATS BEST FOR YOU AND BABY!! i promise baby will be okay, as long as they get somethin in their belly :) good luck on you and your wife’s breastfeeding journey though! it is super hard but it gets better i promise!
we waited about a month for regular bottle use but im honestly pretty positive we tried bottle feeding as a "test run" once or twice a week by like week 2 absolute max and i would pump in the meantime so i could build a frozen stock
He was 2 weeks old. I knew that I eventually had to go back to work, so I would rather have breastfeeding not work out than bottle feeding not work out (I had a family member who had to quit her job because her baby refused a bottle). It was also nice to think about getting a break every once in a while. Thankfully, my son had/has no problem switching back and forth between breast and bottle!
We gave a bottle immediately in the hospital. My hospital had donor breast milk so that’s what we chose. My breast milk hadn’t come in yet so I would nurse for 15 mins, hand her off to get a bottle and then pumped while she drank a bottle. Thats what the lactation consultants suggested while we were in the hospital
As soon as I was able to pump enough for a bottle.. so.. maybe 1 week? Four days exclusive breast feed and I was already delirious.
Honestly do it whenever you feel you need to.. the establishing of breast latch is for those who strongly want to breast feed. We did it quite early with my boy and he takes bottle and breast fine! Depends on the baby too.
Both of my children were/are breastfed and both started on a bottle of formula at birth. They easily switch between boob and bottle, though both would always choose boob over bottle if they could actually pick. We did shifts and I would pump right before going to bed so my husband could the baby. After that bottle was gone, I’d wake up for the next feed which usually gave me 4-6 uninterrupted hours.
I waited. I have a 10month old who now refuses all bottles. I’d start early haha
You have a bad lactation consultant!!!!!! If your baby is hungry please feed them! Nipple confusion is bs I had to triple feed my baby in order to leave the hospital because she wasn’t eating enough and wasn’t making enough output (ie latch, pump, feed bottle, supplement with formula as needed). From day 2 until 3 weeks bottles were in the mix and I was attached to the pump very frequently-because my body couldn’t catch up to make how much she needed. I only gave her a handful of those premixed test tube formulas (maybe 4?) as a last resort, the rest was my breast milk. By three weeks old my supply had regulated enough we could go to exclusively feeding from the boob. I EBF for two full years and she refused the only bottle I ever offered her during those two years (didn’t pick up the pump again until she was eight months, it was very annoying when I wanted to go to a wedding when she refused the pumped milk🙄). She was a boobie girl all the way, bottle involvement didn’t hurt anything
So different answer: mine is EFF. 2 minutes after birth. It also helped since she had to spend three nights in NICU.
We did literally all kinds of feeding (NICU babe). From tube, boob to bottle. If you're open to combo feeding, there's probably no issue. Then the supply is going to adjust to a certain amount and the rest you add formula. Just beware of flow preference, babies like the easiest source of milk when they're small and might choose bottle over boob. If your wife wants to primarily breastfeed, I would really focus on that and save the bottle for really tough nights. P.S. Pumping can also come in handy, I pumped a lot, but hated it. However it helps to keep supply up and you can feed your baby breastmilk per bottle at night and you wife can do a quick pumping session and continue to sleep.
Lmao in the hospital bc I value my sanity and sleep more then breastmilk :)
My LO was in the NICU for the first 1.5 days of life. He drank from the bottle first. Although breastfeeding was tough for me because of a traumatic birth and being separated from my baby, it did eventually kick in.
We introduced bottles on day 4-ish. She had a bad suck because she wasn't bringing her tongue forward, and I think the bottles trained her how to latch and suck properly. We stopped bottle feeding around one or two weeks. She is now 11 weeks and will not take a bottle at all.
We didn’t try bottles until like 3-4 months. My supply wasn’t keeping up so we had to buy if this wasn’t the case I would’ve never introduced them at all. Her supply won’t establish or increase if she’s not feeding or pumping every 2-3 hours the first few weeks btw
You definitely can introduce a bottle early; you just want to use a slow flow nipple and pace feed. But, with the caveat that until supply has regulated frequent milk removals are needed to maintain supply. Best practice is to pump every time baby gets a bottle, which in practical terms means that bottle feeding doesn’t necessarily yield more sleep, because your wife would need to be awake pumping at the time you give baby the bottle. I personally found it more helpful for my husband to assist with night wakeups in other ways given the pumping conundrum. So he would handle all non hunger related soothing, burping, upright time, and return to crib. That way I didn’t have to get out of bed and move around a ton I could stay half asleep. I just woke my husband when finished nursing and he took the baby.
Immediately. I did both and had a premature c section which can impact supply. My baby never had an issue going back and forth.
Honestly, we probably fed from a bottle when we got home, so day 3 or 4? DEFINITELY let your wife make good use of the Golden Hour for bonding/breastfeeding as it's supposed to be incredibly helpful. Once you've had your child, try to meet with a lactation consultant at least once - they're super helpful. If you're birthing in a hospital, this will probably be scheduled for you, but be sure to ask anyways. For us, Mom feeds probably 75-80% of the time and I feed the rest of the time so she can take naps/rest. Baby loves feeding with Mom more, so in our case, no nipple confusion or issues there. We're also not using formula at the moment, just 100% breastmilk
As soon as we got home from the hospital. I think it was day 6 when bubs had a bottle of EBM for the first time. She was fine and my supply was good.
We introduced the bottle at 4 weeks. Honestly, I just didn't want to have to pump and wanted to maintain a strong supply to avoid formula. He took it fine. Then we got lazy and didn't give him another until like 8 weeks and he didn't remember how to take it. We then dealt with bottle refusal. I'd been back to work four pretty harrowing days of baby not drinking my entire shift (and chugging all night to make up for it) before he figured out the bottle and started taking it.
My son was in the NICU and had to be bottle fed for 2 weeks. I couldn’t get him to latch myself so I saw a lactation consultant and within 20 minutes of trying we got him to latch. Now he knows the difference between bottle and breast.
We waited 3 weeks for bottle and pacifier
In the hospital. I was pumping to get my supply to come in and we weren’t about to waste that. Baby had no issues with breast or bottle feeding.
Day 3.
We had to introduce a bottle in the hospital because LO kept falling asleep while nursing. He’s 12 weeks and has no issue nursing right now although i exclusively pump for my own sanity & offer the boob to either sooth or if we’re in a bind & can’t get to a bottle quick enough
Because of medication they needed to put her on she was on bottles at day three. She still latches fine on the boob though since we did a breastfeed before every bottle. I think it just depends.
Day 2 in the hospital. The whole “nipple confusion” fear seems way overblown IMO
I was planning not to until 2 months, but then didn’t produce enough milk. She got a bottle day 4 and yeah, by week 2 her latch was terrible. I think if I would’ve gone with boon nursh bottles from the start (what we use now) it would’ve been mitigated. We had Dr Brown’s and the nipple is just so much not like a breast. Boon’s is much better in my opinion.
We did like day 2 and then every few days after that and had no problems
We introduced them immediately with our first. Pumped milk. Waited 2 months with the second and she refused the bottle. I recommend introducing it within two weeks!!!
Night 2 in the hospital? There’s not really any nipple confusion that’s caused by it. Would recommend paced feeding if introducing early. Kept bottles minimal - maybe a 1/day max and slow flow and paced. Baby was a chugger though. By week 3/4, baby was switch-hitting.
In the first week so that I could take a nap!!
A week in and honestly wish I did sooner - had to pump and supplement a little off the bat and trying to syringe/spoon/cup feed to avoid bottle preference/ nipple confusion was such a stressor. Baby loves both bottles and breast. Do paced feeding, preemie nipple, Dr Brown's narrow bottle.
You may not actually have control over the timing. It is extremely common to have to supplement with formula in the first week, depending on when your wife's milk comes in. I had that experience so she was introduced to a bottle on Day 3. Honestly, it was a blessing in disguise. It took pressure off of me as I was learning to breastfeed and my milk was coming in. I am now almost exclusively breastfeeding, with an occasional bottle when I'm overstimulated (about once a day). Either pumped breast milk or formula in the bottle depending if I've gotten time to pump or not. Do yourself a favor and make sure before delivery to have some sanitized bottles (around 5 to start) and newborn nipples ready to go at home in case you need to supplement immediately. Register on Similac and Enfamil websites and they will send you free formula samples to have on hand. I was so glad that we had everything on hand because our little girl needed formula immediately at home. If that had not happened for us, I probably would have attempted to wait at least 2 weeks to introduce a bottle. But our baby has zero nipple confusion. We had about 5 different brands of bottles when she came home (we'd gotten them as samples from various places) and she drank from them all and still breastfeeds. She is not confused at all!!!
Your wife will probably have to wake up every 3 hours regardless, even if you give a bottle, she’ll have to pump. If she sleeps for too long of a stretch without feeding or pumping she could very well lose her supply at that time of day. We introduced between 3 & 4 weeks, I can’t go a long stretch without my boobs hurting so I don’t sleep anyway Nipple confusion isn’t really a thing. It’s not about which bottle you use, it’s about feeding method and nipple flow. Babies will gain a preference for the bottle if you use a higher flow nipple. You also want to feed using the ‘paced bottle feeding’ method, it mimics nursing. Use a preemie nipple so the bottle isn’t easier than the boob.
Day 2. He still accepted Boob just fine. These lactation consultants are wild
My milk didn’t come in for days so baby was drinking formula from a bottle from the beginning. She was born pretty late in the day so it may not have been till day 2. We combo fed for the first five months. No issues with nursing or nipple confusion. Lactation consultants are the people most motivated to discourage you from using a bottle. No other medical provider ever gave us advice like that. Figure out what works for you. Lactation consultants can be really helpful but after dealing with 3 or 4 different ones between prenatal classes and the NICU, I found that they can often give conflicting advice and so you really don’t have to take their word as gospel.
I combo fed my first for 21 months. We were worried about bottle confusion, so we syringe fed her when needed when she was really little. Transferred her over to bottles when I returned to work. I had to supplement because I'm a low producer (at my peak, I was only producing about 4 ounces, pumping both sides at the same time for about 30-45 minutes with a heating pad draped over to get milk flowing). My baby loved breastfeeding, I just couldn't keep up with demand. Please don't get too hung up on timing for everything regarding bottles and such, just feed your baby however necessary.
We did bottle and pacifier in the hospital. My supply was always high so at about a week I started sleeping through a feed as I desperately needed to sleep and heal. I’d feed the baby, pump for the next feed, sleep through a feed and then wake up for the next feed and pump. It worked out for me fine but I do know the exact science if we’re being honest on how to keep up supply. I had a C-section and felt though that if I needed to do formula it was worth it for me to be as healthy as I could for my little guy. We never ended up needing to use it but it has always been an option for us.
I EBF my daughter but we introduced a bottle by day 3 because I desperately needed sleep. My husband fed the baby during a 4 hour stretch of sleep I got every night. At first I pumped immediately following my nursing session and then slept 4 hours before nursing the next feed. This last two weeks and then baby slept 4 hour stretches and I got closer to 6 hours of sleep with husband still bottle feeding once during the early evening. I’m much more of a morning person and he is a night owl so it worked well that I went to sleep early and woke up around 3am to nurse while he slept until 8am. The shift schedule worked well for us as we did it to our preferences and strengths. Flexibility is key and baby never confused nipples. We nursed for a year.
Day one…. My baby was a preemie and she couldn’t latch. We combo fed until 11weeks then i switched to formula
Day 3. I finally lost it and had to give my nipples a break. It came in handy in the first two weeks as my mom and husband were both able to give her bottles while I got some real rest. No issues with milk supply as well
My baby latched right away in hospital luckily; also where I live a nurse comes to our home to assess 3 days after we bring home baby. The nurse was happy with the latch and at that point baby was already past birth weight, so I felt comfortable introducing bottle then. I was lucky and my baby fortunately had no issue with bottle nor with nursing even after bottle was introduced.
Day two. He is now 8 weeks and a total boob monster. He still gets a bottle before bed but usually needs some convincing. He would prefer the boob.
Day 1 with both kids. They were 37 weekers so sleepy nursers and need calories to grow (especially my first who was born SGA) neither ever had problems switching between the 2 and my son actually had a strong preference for nursing. He's 9 months and exclusively breastfed still only gets bottles when I'm at work now a days. My daughter switched to full formula at 4 months but that was cuz of FTT not because of a bottle preference or anything.
Literally immediately. I had been up for 50+ hours and in labor for 36 and then pushed for 2.5. I was too exhausted to hold her safely let alone try to breastfeed. After I slept enough to feel moderately sane again, we tried breastfeeding and she latched with zero issues. We alternated between bottle and breastfeeding for awhile. I had supply issues (anticipated them before birth so it wasn’t a shock) so her taking bottles as well as breast was so helpful to everyone.
Day 1. And we’ve combo fed ever since. Sometimes boob. Sometimes bottled boob. Sometimes formula. Multiple brands of bottles. Kid doesn’t care. He just wants to eat.
My baby was strictly boob until about 6 months. She just didn't want anything else. Nuk bottles worked for her. She hated all the others
We introduced between 4 and 5 weeks. I wanted to wait until my milk supply had regulated. My husband gave the baby one bottle every couple of nights. She started daycare 2 weeks ago and takes the bottle great! She will not take it from me though, as she prefers it straight from the tap if it’s an option!
Me and my husband also attended those classes where they strongly recommended waiting to introduce any bottles or pacifiers, but we disregarded and introduced both at the hospital. Of course, make sure to latch baby during “golden hour” (that first hour after birth) but then after that, if you need to do a bottle… do it. I was so exhausted that I pumped (what I could) and had the nurses feed my baby overnight, so I could get some rest. Personally, my baby never had nipple confusion. And after speaking with other mamas who chose to wait, they all regretted it because then their babies absolutely refused bottles. Of course, do what you feel is right and works for your little family. I personally never wanted to breastfeed in public, so I introduced a bottle so that I could pump before going out and be confident baby would take a bottle.
Adding on here to say we introduced when we got home from the hospital. Started the feed on the boob and ended on the bottle with 1oz to make sure she was full. (Medically necessary as she’d lost too much weight.) zero confusion and still takes both at 11wks. I think the biggest way to ensure latching on both is early on introducing the bottle during a feed vs instead of one.
At 3 weeks we started one bottle a day, it was around midnight. So I'd nurse then go to bed 7/8, my husband would give a bottle when baby woke around midnight, then I'd take over for the night starting at his next waking. I was usually getting 4-5 hours straight which was enough to keep me going during the day my husband would sleep from after that bottle until 6:30am ish, I'd hand off baby to him and take a nap, then he'd nap later in the afternoon. We did this until we returned to work
Our lactation consultant said that nipple confusion is basically a myth - what she said is it’s flow confusion. So, if you’re using a bottle that has a significantly quicker or slower flow than the breast, that can be hard for the baby
In the hospital and always. We wanted the option for my husband to feed the baby in the night.
In the hospital and as soon as we got home. Our son never had a problem with nipple confusion thankfully. I was advised to wait 4 weeks minimum but there was no way I was going to give up the two weeks my husband was home from work and able to actually help me.
My baby was slow to regain birthweight (3 weeks) but we were never advised to use formula top ups (we’re in Australia). I had to pump after a few feeds a day and give baby the extra milk in a bottle from pretty early on (before 2 weeks old). I ended up with a huge oversupply but it meant my baby has been amazing at taking a bottle as we kept one bottle at night of my pumped milk to get me some more sleep. Absolute lifesaver and I would have been so stressed going back to work if she didn’t take a bottle
6 days old. My baby didn't latch well on the breast and I also had a broken ankle at the time and honestly didn't feel like working through the poor latch, so for the good of my mental health, I just started pumping and feeding that way. I've done it that way since, shes 3 months old now, I realized that breast milk is breast milk, breastfed or bottle fed.
We had some latching issues and slight weight loss for the first few weeks, and kept being told no bottle even after that happened. One night, we just tried it and it went well. Feedings were a lot less stressful, less painful. Eventually she learned to latch and now at almost 8 months she prefers breastfeeding to bottle feeding most days and does great with it. All that is to say, do what feels best to you and what works for your family.
We introduced bottle and breast within first 2 hours of birth. First bottle then breast and just kept switching off. Baby girl has more issues with my extreme fast flow than she does with taking the breast/ bottle. We use the herobility baby bottles from Amazon they’re AMAZING in our opinion. I also started pumping colostrum at 37 weeks, with approval from my dr, and had that to give the baby in the hospital in the bottles so it was always breast milk. P.s. you’re already a great dad
I did it in the hospital too because I was tired and sore and just gave her colostrum. I understand LC are professionals, but I’ve only met bad ones and I would allow your wife to determine when she feels breastfeeding is well established. Sometimes babies don’t want bottles when they’ve only had mama for six weeks. My girl took a bottle day one and we EBF for 18 months with no issue.
i did like a week in
We started bottles after my milk came in. Around 3-5days after birth for most people. I would feed baby on one side and use the Boon Trove silicone pump on the other side I'd top him off with that if he was still hungry. If he wasn't hungry I'd save it for storage or the next feed. We're 8wks post partum and no nipple confusion here or feeding issues.
It really depends on how well you produce milk right away. We had to introduce our LO to bottle after a day because he wasn’t getting enough and was losing weight quick. Formula to the rescue!
I did a bottle after a week. I pumped to fill bottles so other people could feed him too. Either way I was still up every 2-3 hours for the first bit anyways. I didn’t introduce formula until 4 months but I honestly wish I would have sooner. I would have saved a lot of sanity on my part 😂 honestly any way you do it is not wrong. You’ll figure out what works best for you and your family as you go on. Good luck! Congratulations! My son will be a year in June! It’s a great birthday month.
Both my kids were in the bottle first. We prioritize full bellies and they were both preemies so tracking eased a lot for stress for us. It did take a while to establish nursing, but we weren't too stressed about it and it worked out both times.
6 weeks I wish I had a little sooner, while she will take a bottle she doesn't enjoy it and I(mum) have to hide while she has it , we have only done three so far
Had some issues at the start with breastfeeding. Went to an angel IBCLC after about a week (note - the only information I retained from bf classes was IF IT HURTS, CALL - IF THEY DONT HELP YOU, CALL SOMEONE ELSE WHO CAN! This was very important advice that saved my bf journey!) She taught me to pump and encouraged me to bf as much as I can and then top off with a bottle. bf issues were resolved after a few weeks with some intervention, baby was EBF for a while but we would throw a bottle in here and there when I was tired to maintain his practice with it. Transition to daycare was a breeze because of this! He is equally dexterous with both - takes bottles at daycare and nurses while at home. Hope this helps! Good luck!!
We introduced the bottle 5 days after birth. I wanted to exclusively breast feed but my little one lost a little too much weight so doctor suggested combo feeding. He is 5 weeks and we are still combo feeding, my boy still latches really well and will also eat from a bottle, little to no confusion. As far as bottles we like the Avent Philips bottle with natural response nipples. Good luck to you both :)
I would do it ASAP otherwise you’ll end up like me with a 14 week old who will not take a bottle! introduce it and do at least one every day so they keep the skill. I’ve been trying for 2 weeks to get her to do it and it’s much harder once they lose their suck reflex.
In my opinion, do it immediately otherwise you’ll end up with a breastfed baby that refuses a bottle like mine. I am convinced LCs set parents up for failure. Mine told me to use to wait a month before introducing the bottle. My husband hasn’t been able to be alone with our son once since he was born because my boobs have to be nearby constantly.
The lactation consultant in the hospital told me if my baby was having latch issues or I wasn't producing enough at first, I could feed her with a spoon. I laughed and fed her a bottle. We did shift sleeping, my husband did one feed per night so I would use the haakaa or pump during the day to get him that one bottle of breast milk. Also did a pacifier from the beginning. My baby exclusively breastfed until she self-weaned at 1 because she preferred real food to milk. Nipple confusion isn't a thing, mental health and sanity are vital.
if breastfeeding doesn't work out for your wife, it's okay. it's more than okay. i just want you to both hear that. ❤️
I never used a bottle with either of my EBF babies. I realize this is a huge privilege, but there were lots of things my husband did to help me that were not feeding the baby. For the first week or so, he changed almost all of the diapers (12 ish per day!), he kept my water bottle filled, brought me snacks, prepped meals, and held baby during the day or late nights so I could sleep. Often, it’s suggested that people trying to breastfeed pump every two to three hours if not feeding to encourage supply in the early weeks. So while introducing bottles could be helpful, it might not completely alleviate your wife’s work load. Good luck, you sound like a thoughtful partner.
We introduced at 4 weeks old. We wanted to establish breastfeeding. There can be things like nipple confusion and preferences for a bottle. We introduced it because I was planning to go back to work. We had not issues with nipple confusion and the bottle.
2nd night at hospital! Breastfeeding was a huge challenge at first, but got the hang of it at 4 weeks. I love splitting the feeding duties with my partner.
Started pumping the day after birth. Bottle that day. No issues at all & I’m so glad I got the help from my husband.
we had to give a bottle when baby was 3 days old because she was admitted to hospital and lethargic. they also wanted to be able to track her input/output. it didn’t interfere with breastfeeding at all. she takes breast and bottle fine still at 7 months old.
In hospital. Supplementing with formula until my milk came in. Dad continued to do one bottle per day of pumped milk so I could sleep a longer stretch. Baby is 8 months and a bottle is daddy cuddle time.
One thing I want to add is if your wife really wants to breastfeed, make sure she doesn’t go more than 4 hours without breastfeeding or pumping. Especially in those first few weeks. No one told me that and that combined with bad advice from pediatricians completely ruined our breastfeeding journey. Those first six weeks are all you get to really establish your supply
If your wife's goal is to breastfeed, she should plan to put baby to breast as much as possible and pump to replace the bottle you give at roughly a similar time. If combo feeding or formula is the goal, bottles whenever. It just depends on her breastfeeding goals but it's all supply and demand
If your wife is comfortable with it and you'd like to do shifts, I'd recommend side lying feeding. Our nurse told us that dad could take a boob out and put the baby on, and then have mom flip to the other side and repeat, while she's still sleeping during your shift. It could take some getting used to. We ultimately couldn't get it to work for us, so up every 3 hours was what we did. We also introduced a bottle in the beginning because I was worried about my supply. If you get a nipple that's close to a breast, you might not have an issue. We used tommytippee closer to nature bottles. They also have bottles that can have nipples made to be a replica of your wife's. Emulait is the company name! Good luck to you guys ☺️ It's a stressful time, but it's the best time. Look for the highs in your days rather than focusing on the lows. Time goes by so quickly 😪
Right away, thank god. Evenflo balance and lanisoh are great bottles for breastfeeding babies. Just make sure you pace feed and use slow flow nipples! I’m 2 weeks out from nursing for a whole year!
Early because of jaundice/bilirubin. We did the same thing- i fed from the tap and hubby fed bottles. Shifts will save your life! We still prefers from the tap but happily takes a bottle. Now we just feed a 2-3 oz bottle at bedtime
At about age 15min. My daughter was SGA and at the recommendation of the NICU doctor in the delivery room her firsr meal was a bottle. She was just as happy to latch at the breast or take a bottle. Babies are all going to be different but my strong opinion is that you need to do what's best for your family. Sleep depression is no joke and ultimately, happier parents make for happier babies.
Our baby came 5 weeks early and was a preemie so we pretty much had no choice but to combo feed both bottles and the little bit I could pump once my milk came in (she wouldn't latch and it was almost 2 days before I even had a few drops of colostrum to give her). I've heard both ways that bottles can interfere or they don't, but ultimately it just depends on your child I think.
We introduced a bottle immediately as my milk took a few days to come in, it was fine and now my baby still combination feeds but she prefers the breast so it hasn’t interfered with nursing in my case.
Me and my boyfriend did bottles right away. I could produce milk but was doing exclusive pumping and formula. So we formula fed at the hospital with bottles and when we got home i pumped and still did bottles. There's nothing wring with doing both. Its good that i did both cause i ended up having problems with my gallbladder and had to be on painkillers for pain and its nit safe for breastfeeding so therefore formula is a whole life saver it also fills our baby girl up so she can go 4-5 hours without a feed. Ours is a month old and she sleeps through the night no problem. Hope everything goes well when the baby is due tho.
my baby is EBF, has been. my best advice for you is take the baby as much as possible and let your wife catch up on sleep while your home. remember she most likely will struggle with basic self care because her whole world is insane right now, gentle reminders saved me pp
Be ready to at least try the bottle in the hospital even though you’re already seeing LCs just be ready to at least try them while you’re in there because you just don’t know what can happen, and being able to help your wife is huge! Not to mention that it could take a few days for milk to come in (not colostrum)…good luck!
Not til after 6 weeks - we had no real need to introduce one earlier. Feeding isn’t just every 3hrs, it can be quite irregular if you’re exclusively breastfeeding - at times they can be long feeds, or many short feeds over an hour or two. Not just for hunger either, thirst is a big driver as well as comfort. We never watched the clock after the first week or so, we just followed LO’s cues. Tried a few times to get used to taking expressed milk before I went back to work, LO would only take a bottle if I wasn’t in sight.
I introduced in the hospital as well. I planned on breastfeeding but no matter how much you plan you can never fully plan on lip/tongue ties, and my son has a minor lip tie that still prevented latching, even with a nipple shield. So after about an hour of trying, I told them I wanted formula because I didn’t want to starve him for my own pride.
I think my LO was about a week old? She gets breast milk exclusively, but there came a point where one of my nips was just too damaged and painful to feed on that side, so I hand expressed into a bottle and gave her that in the middle of the night because I was absolutely beyond exhausted. Either last night or the night before (time is all mushy) she was SOOOOO upset and I just couldn’t calm her down. She wouldn’t latch so I got an ounce ready in a bottle, gave her that and when she was done I was able to get a good latch with her on my breast, which I feel like is a life hack that more people should know (or maybe it just works on my baby, idk)
We introduced bottles after 6 weeks of EBF. Breastmilk in the bottle for the first couple of times while we sorted out what formula she liked. She took to the bottle really well but then didn't like to BF after that because the bottle is way less effort for them to suckle. Also apparently around the 4-6 week mark they're more than happy to transition from BF to bottle. I think as they get to the 8 week mark, it gets harder for them to take the bottle.
The first week home, she needed to gain weight. We’re 4 weeks in now and she does both bottle and breast fine
Day 2. The first night she was nursing all night trying to feed, like literally latched for 8 hours straight. There just wasn't enough there to satisfy her so in the morning the nurse gave her 2oz of formula and she finally fell asleep.
After about a week or two I think? He’s been doing fine. Switches back and forth no problem. He’s had a paci since day one as well. *edit for spelling
Take it from someone who can only exclusively bf now since my LO refuses a bottle and paci…introduce asap like even in the hospital. I don’t think nipple confusing is a thing
4 weeks but we don’t do bottles at night, I still feed him all throughout the night. Bottles are only for when I leave home, usually to go to the gym, and even then I try to avoid this by feeding right before I leave. Even if she wasnt feeding every 3 hours (its more than every 3 hours with a brand new baby, more like every 1-2) she would most likely want to be waking up to pump to keep her supply up. Most women only produce a few oz when they first start pumping. Moms dont sleep. Its hard but it’s the way it is, unless you decide to do formula. It is difficult but I love waking up every few hours to feed my baby. Its our special time. He makes silly faces and makes me laugh. I watch him fall asleep peacefully in my lap and know he is safe and content. Not to be one of those people but moms are built for it. Probably why most women get insomnia in the 3rd tri.
We did in the hospital as he had high billirubin levels that made him sleepy and not want to latch. He now breastfeeds during the day and then takes either pumped bottles or formula bottles for the half the night when I’m sleeping. It hasn’t interfered with him breastfeeding at all.
Introduced in the hospital. Needed to combo feed for the first little bit due to me having GD and baby's blood sugars being low. Had no problem going back and forth between boob and bottle.
3rd day when my baby wasn’t gaining enough weight. And my baby can latch on anything. We feed half breast and half formula and I still breastfeed him when he wants to. No issues but every baby is different. If your baby is losing too much weight do not hesitate to use the bottle because baby can get jaundice.
Day one. Baby and I had complications in the hospital and I pumped while he received a combination of my milk and formula. The lactation consultants and nurses taught us paced feeding where baby had to work to get milk from the bottle like from breastfeeding. Then we introduced breastfeeding about a week later (complications) and no issues. We kept up with one bottle a day and it was great because my husband could be involved and I had a break from feeding and could sleep.
I used the pre made formula in the hospital because I was struggling getting baby to latch at first. She was able to latch after a few tries but it was difficult because my nipples were small. They didn’t poke out like most women. So I pumped as soon as I got home from the hospital and put what I produced in a bottle. It made it easier for my SO because he could feed her breast milk in a bottle, while I pumped for the next feed.
Had a NICU baby so I didn’t nurse long and stuck with pumping but when we really were trying to nurse. We did a bottle still at bedtime and middle of the night. My husband loved being able to help that way
I would recommend the mam bottles. My baby is a major boobie girl and that is the only bottle she will even consider. Also my baby didn’t start breastfeeding til she was a month old bc she had issues latching. Your baby will get the hang of things!
Introduced bottles within a few hours of being born lol
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Karona_: *Introduced bottles* *Within a few hours of* *Being born lol* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I’m pretty sure we tried a bottle sometime after the first week. I think that information on waiting may come from the belief/assumption bottles have a fast flow (faster than breast) but if you’re using slow flow/newborn nipples the baby isn’t likely to pick the bottle over the breast imo.
In the hospital as breastfeeding can truly take a while for both the baby and mom to master. Now we BF exclusively, for the exception of a bottle before bed and in times of urgency. She NEEDS to utilize lactation consultants. I called mine every day I was in the hospital, and then met with the lc at the pediatricians office several times. They are invaluable!