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If I'm breastfeeding how many baby bottles should I get?
So as the title says, I'm planning on breastfeeding and hopefully everything will go alright with it. But I also want my husband to be able to feed the baby, so I got a breast pump that comes with a little 4 oz bottle. My question is, when should I start breast pumping so he can join in the fun? and how many bottles should I get? I heard something about 4oz and 8 oz bottles, and he said he rather buy the bigger ones so we can use them for a longer time, but I don't know if this is appropiate or not. What do you girls think?
Most Dr/ nursing consultants ect. will tell you to wait 3-6 weeks before introducing either the bottle or pacifier, so the baby does'nt get nipple confusion. i think that that time frame is the best, but most babies do fine if you start them a little earlier or later pay it by ear with your baby! I have 3 children and am cureently pregnant with #4 I breastfeed and pumped into a bottle for all of them and none of them got nipple confusion although i most just breastfed and they got the bottles once in a while. I personally like the advent bottles too and they have worked very well for me with breastfeeding as you can store the milk right in the bottle (they have stoppers, so you don't put the nipple on till the feeding. I also get the large nipples from advent as they are more like a breast, but you baby will most likely like one type of nipple over another , my first only liked the cheap regular bottles! and like some one else said get the slow flow nipples you won't need medium or fast nipples until the baby is close to 6 months typically. Good luck and congratulations on breastfeed it is good for you and your baby (I'm planning on breastfeeding my baby too)
Thank you for asking this question, because I am in the same boat. I'm a first time mom and I plan to breastfeed, and I too want to pump so DH and others can help with feeding when babysitting and just to bring everyone closer to the baby. All this bottle stuff has me so confused, there are 1000 types and yeah..super confused. Is there a website or something that explains what type of bottles are good for what and when? Oh boy..lol..
you should WAIT!! Don't buy more than maybe 1-2 bottles!! I planned on doing the exact same thing, I tried giving my daughter a bottle and she simply would not take it. Even when she was only a week old. I tried and tried, different bottle types, different nipples, and she wouldn't take a bottle till she was 6 MONTHS OLD, and that was after lots of persistence! I nursed her till she was 10 months though, 6 months was when I finally started giving her a bottle of formula at night though.
So I say just try to use the one that comes with your pump first, see if your baby will even take a bottle... and you should probably wait till you baby is around 2-3 weeks old to start trying. You don't want to cause nipple confusion. because let me tell you, breastfeeding straight from your breast is SO much easier than pumping!! (much more convenient). Good for you for breastfeeding!! Good luck to you!
So I say just try to use the one that comes with your pump first, see if your baby will even take a bottle... and you should probably wait till you baby is around 2-3 weeks old to start trying. You don't want to cause nipple confusion. because let me tell you, breastfeeding straight from your breast is SO much easier than pumping!! (much more convenient). Good for you for breastfeeding!! Good luck to you!
Thank you girls for your answers! I'll definitely wait until the baby is at least one month old. I'll keep the 4oz bottle and get a couple of 8oz then.
Also, tiredbuthappy, I got the Avent pump (that's the one that came with the bottle). Hopefully I won't have the same problems that you were having with it! crossing my fingers!
Also, tiredbuthappy, I got the Avent pump (that's the one that came with the bottle). Hopefully I won't have the same problems that you were having with it! crossing my fingers!
If you're going to pump and introduce a bottle, make sure your baby has properly learned to latch and keep a good latch.
That s/he is comfortable and familiar with your breastfeeding before introducing a pacifier or a bottle.
They say wait until 6 weeks before introducing any foreign matters such as a pacifier or a bottle but I didn't follow that rule.
With my daughter, my first baby, she latched on right away, first time and never looked back. She was a natural which made it very easy on me because I was a first time mom.
So I let her have her binkie for the first time the day we left the hospital, which was her 3rd day of life [[I had a ceserean so I was in longer]] and she did great. Never got nipple confused. And I let her have the bottle around 3 weeks, I was gunna wait the 6 weeks like I was told, but I had to go somewhere important and couldn't take her with me, so I let her father do what he had to.
And she did fine with that aswell.
My son, on the other hand, had a very hard time with latching, and still does from time to time and he's 3 months old now.
He got confused when I tried his binkie, and with confused I mean he had a hard time adjusting back from having that big ol binkie in his mouth, to a little nipple again. So that made him latching even that more difficult.
We introduced a bottle to him when he was 2 months old. And he did fine with that.
I reccomend getting breastmilk bags, pumping and storing in the freezer.
Babies, especially newborns and such, don't drink more than a few ounces at a time.
NEVER REHEAT BREASTMILK.
Once it's been stored, and you heat it for the baby, NEVER put the left overs back in the fridge/freezer to save for later.
If you have any further questions, or need help/advice with breastfeeding, I've breastfed my daughter for 8 months, and am currrently breastfeeding my son. I know everything and anything there is about BFing from research, experience and my mother breastfed me and my 4 other siblings. So don't hesitate to private message me if you need anything.
GL
That s/he is comfortable and familiar with your breastfeeding before introducing a pacifier or a bottle.
They say wait until 6 weeks before introducing any foreign matters such as a pacifier or a bottle but I didn't follow that rule.
With my daughter, my first baby, she latched on right away, first time and never looked back. She was a natural which made it very easy on me because I was a first time mom.
So I let her have her binkie for the first time the day we left the hospital, which was her 3rd day of life [[I had a ceserean so I was in longer]] and she did great. Never got nipple confused. And I let her have the bottle around 3 weeks, I was gunna wait the 6 weeks like I was told, but I had to go somewhere important and couldn't take her with me, so I let her father do what he had to.
And she did fine with that aswell.
My son, on the other hand, had a very hard time with latching, and still does from time to time and he's 3 months old now.
He got confused when I tried his binkie, and with confused I mean he had a hard time adjusting back from having that big ol binkie in his mouth, to a little nipple again. So that made him latching even that more difficult.
We introduced a bottle to him when he was 2 months old. And he did fine with that.
I reccomend getting breastmilk bags, pumping and storing in the freezer.
Babies, especially newborns and such, don't drink more than a few ounces at a time.
NEVER REHEAT BREASTMILK.
Once it's been stored, and you heat it for the baby, NEVER put the left overs back in the fridge/freezer to save for later.
If you have any further questions, or need help/advice with breastfeeding, I've breastfed my daughter for 8 months, and am currrently breastfeeding my son. I know everything and anything there is about BFing from research, experience and my mother breastfed me and my 4 other siblings. So don't hesitate to private message me if you need anything.
GL
I heard that you should introduce a bottle after 4 weeks but before 6 weeks... I am planning on breastfeeding too and with the same idea that my partner can do a feed a week. I just bought 3 bottles. I have Avent bottles because I personally think they are the best ones. I'm in Australia so maybe they are made differently or something because they are prob one of the best brands you can buy here. I have the big ones because then you just need to replace the teat.
I'm also planning on exclusively breastfeeding until I have to go back to work in September. I will introduce a bottle once a day or so once he's about a month old though, so that he can get used to it. I'm not there yet, so I dont' know if I'll need more, but I'm planning on getting about 6 bottles. 3 are glass bottles that you pour the breastmilk I will have stored in bags into, and the other 3 are the playtex disposable bottles, where you put the bag into the bottle, and then throw the bag away. Some of the breast milk storage bags can be used in the bottles and some can't, so I figured I'd try both and see which I liked better.
it's generally recommend you wait several weeks (4?) before giving bottles, although many people are able to introduce 1/day sooner. Be sure to get slow flow nipples, and only have DH give bottles, and not too many. Otherwise the baby may reject the breast.
The medela pumps come with 5 oz bottles. Are those the bottles you have? DD is 6 months old and still only taking 4-5 oz bottles. The only reason I use bigger bottles sometimes is because I exclusively pump, and when I wake up in the morning, I can fill big bottles. But unless you plan on pumping exclusively, those little bottles should be enough. And if you are only giving the occasional bottle, you don't need more than a few.
As for nipples, don't buy too many of 1 type. Both of my girls went through several types of nipple before we found one that worked. We wasted a ton of $$, and have a giant bin full of bottles and nipples that didn't work for either.
oh yea... and stay away from Avent bottles. They are TERRIBLE and leak everywhere! Nothing more upsetting than discovering your precious milk leaked all over the baby and your clothes.
The medela pumps come with 5 oz bottles. Are those the bottles you have? DD is 6 months old and still only taking 4-5 oz bottles. The only reason I use bigger bottles sometimes is because I exclusively pump, and when I wake up in the morning, I can fill big bottles. But unless you plan on pumping exclusively, those little bottles should be enough. And if you are only giving the occasional bottle, you don't need more than a few.
As for nipples, don't buy too many of 1 type. Both of my girls went through several types of nipple before we found one that worked. We wasted a ton of $$, and have a giant bin full of bottles and nipples that didn't work for either.
oh yea... and stay away from Avent bottles. They are TERRIBLE and leak everywhere! Nothing more upsetting than discovering your precious milk leaked all over the baby and your clothes.
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