Breastfeeding, Bottle, & Sleep

We always used the Playtex nursers with the disposable bags. The bags colapse as they drink so that they don't get as much air. The baby will still have bubbles but not as many. We started our first one on the bottle at about 3 weeks and she went back and forth between breast and bottles without any problems. Most new borns will sleep most of the day so don't worry about how much sleep he is getting at this point. Rest as much as you can to help get yourself back to normal. I know this is easier said then done with a 2 yr old also but it really will make a difference.

Hello J.! Try lookig at www.kellymom.com that sight is excellent with good advice for breastfeeding moms! By the way, CONGRATULATIONS! :-)

No matter how you feed a baby, they should eat every 2-3 hours. It is best to introduce a bottle a little later, when they are a little older. I used Avent and had good luck, I intro'd at about 5-6 weeks.

No matter how you feed a baby, he should sleep A LOT at that age. Like all he should do is eat and sleep.

Hang in there. Check out that website, also, give your hospital a call and see if you can ask some questions to the lactation consultant there. Ask if there is a group you can go to (they are awesome for questions, answers and reassurance!!), or if there is a LaLeche League you can join.

Hang in there, you are giving your baby the best gift possible by giving him breastmilk!

Newborns need lots of sleep. Its normal for a breastfed baby to want to eat every 2-3hrs as breastmilk dont keep them full as long as formula. Its not to early to give a bottle if thats what your needing to do if need be for work reasons, if your not needing to go back to work the best thing and nothing wrong with it, is to nurse your baby as much as you can, the more you nurse the better the milk supply will be.

You can always pump and put the milk into the bottle, you can try the bottle with the nipple thats like the breast...cant think of the name of it.

That sounds like a normal feeding pattern for a newborn and a normal sleeping pattern. You don't say if you want to bottle feed with expressed milk or with formula. The concern with starting a bottle early is that it reduces the stimulation at the breast and therefore reduces your milk supply and sucking on a bottle is very different from nursing at the breast which can cause some trouble for some babies. I think that it would be helpful for you to contact a La Leche League leader. You can find one near you through their website, www.llli.org. They have access to all sorts of information for making breastfeeding work, including how to combine bottle and breastfeeding regardless of what you are putting in the bottle. I highly recommend reading the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. It helped me a lot in the early weeks and throughout breastfeeding.

Good luck and enjoy this special time with your new little one.

On bottle feeding, you may have heard all the recent news lately about a chemical called BPA in plastic (including bottles) that can leach into liquids and can be harmful. Here is a link to some brands of baby bottles that are made WITHOUT BPA.

http://safemama.com/2007/11/22/bpa-free-bottle-and-sippy-...

J.,
My son, now 20 months old, was nursing ever 1 1/2 to 2 hours when he was a newborn. And as far as sleep is concerned, he too was really only awake an hour or so at a time then back down for 2-3 throughout the day. I know every child is different, but newborns really do sleep alot. I actually started my son on a bottle at two weeks old because I had an activity that I wanted to attend one evening and would be away for more than two hours. A couple of days before, I pumped and put the milk in one of the Madela bottles/nipple that came with my Madela breast pump. Allot of mothers told me that all babies are different so I would just need to experiment with different nipples until I found the one he would take. Luckily he took to the first one like a champ and didn't skip a beat. I was on maternity leave for 3 months so I would nurse most of the time, but throw in a bottle if we went on the road or had one handy if I ran errands and his dad was watching him. I was pumping out whatever he didn't eat each setting so I had plenty of frozen milk stored for those times I might be away which was really handy. I exclusively breastfed for 6 months then started slowly supplementing with formula after that. It was alot of work, but oh so worth it. Good thing was he was used to the bottle with no issues when I went back to work and he went to daycare fulltime. I know Brown’s bottles are pretty popular but also kinda pricey. I would suggest starting with something you might already have and go from there.

I breastfed and bottle fed from the beginning, even in the hospital and all 3 of my kids did fine and were not picky about having breastmilk or formula. They did both real well. They breastfed about every 3 hours and if they had a formula bottle wouldn't eat again for 4-5 hours. If it was a very busy time of the day or we were at church they got a formula bottle. It seemed simpler and worked well for us. I also think it helps when they are ready to wean. I had no problems at all when I weaned them from breastfeeding. I also introduced the cup at 4 months and by 6 months they had the cup everytime they ate babyfood so when they were 12 months there was no issues with not having the bottle anymore either. I think if you plan to do both breastfeeding and formula feeding than the earlier you introduce it the easier it is and I didn't have to use any special bottles either as they used a regular nipple at the hospital and were happy with anything when they got hungry.

As for sleeping, newborns sleep a lot. You want to try to keep them awake more during the day so they sleep more at night. I would tickle their feet and talk to them while feeding them to keep them awake while they ate because a lot of babies will just eat a few minutes and fall back asleep and not get their full ounces at once then wake up 1/2 hour to an hour later and want to eat again. I have a friend that breastfeeds every 1 1/2 hours because her baby doesn't eat much at each feeding from falling asleep. All that does is wear the mother out and gets the baby more attached. This baby just wants to breastfeed all the time and is often fussy when she is awake and only wants Mom.

Work on getting your baby on a routine. The earlier you get that accomplished the easier your life will be. All 3 of my babies slept through the night at 6-8 weeks and even had one with a bad case of colic.

Hello~ I think you have to go with what feels right for you. But i personally don't think its too early to introduce a bottle. I know everyone has their own opinion but- i am a first-time mom of a 10 month old- and i tried to nurse for two weeks and never got my daughter to latch on- so- still wanting to breast-feed, i literally just pumped out my breast milk all the time and bottle fed my breastmilk to her. Then my hubby could help too which was nice. So- my daughter never really got to nurse- i pumped for 4 months and just bottle fed her froze the rest of it- because once you pump- they don't keep up with as much as you pump out so you will have a frezer full in no time. And- my daughter also ate about every 2 to 3 hours- its brutal i know- but i think that is pretty normal. Good luck!

I recommend exclusively breastfeeding for at least six months, then gradually adding cereal and other baby foods in addition to breastfeeding AFTER six months. If you do decide to bottle feed, I highly recommend pumping your own milk (liquid gold!) for the bottles.

Newborns do sleep - A LOT! I think all my son did the first two months was nurse, sleep, wet/dirty his diapers, sleep, take a bath, nurse, and sleep some more! He was barely awake for long enough to get changed and nurse (maybe 15-30 min at a time)....and usually fell back asleep while doing that!

Please read these articles before deciding whether or not you will to give a bottle. If you decide to get bottles, I would print and take the safe list shopping with you.

http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?RefID=77083
http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2008/02/z-report-on-bpa-in-infa...
http://naturalchild.org/guest/leslie_burby.html
http://naturalchild.org/guest/katherine_dettwyler.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/...

Blessings to you and Congratulations on your blessed new addition!

Hi J.! My daughter is now 7 months old; I breastfed her for the first six months, and since I'm a working mother I pumped my milk as well as nursing her. We started bottle feeding her my pumped milk within the first four weeks so she would get used to both breast and bottle and so that my husband could feed her too- it's good bonding time for daddies and babies. She resisted most bottle nipples at first so my mother-in-law found a bottle called Breastflow Bottles, they are designed to be more like a breast, and they are really cool. Lily loved it and we never had any problem with her taking it. You can buy them at Target and they aren't expensive....she is weaned off of the breast and is formula fed now, but she still prefers her Breastflow bottle to all of her others....hope this helps!!

I guess it just depends on what your breastfeeding goals are. Do you want to give breastmilk exclusively? Are you willing to take the extra time to pump in exchange for fewer nursing sessions? Are you hoping to rely on breastfeeding for birth control? If so, bottle feeding is a bad idea.

Some dads enjoy bottle feeding - my husband wasn't impressed with all of the extra work it takes to prepare a bottle and would rather sit close by and chat while I nurse.

We also co-sleep and I nurse my baby while lying on my side. If you haven't tried this, you might want to before you give up on nursing exclusively - I've never felt sleep deprived.

That being said, every baby is different and an alert mommy is important. Best wishes.

Hey! You are the mom so your judgement is always best. I think you should start the bottle when your are ready. The baby will take it if he is really hungry. And rest assured, my daughter was brestfed and always slept really well, sometimes up to five hours at night. Consider yourself lucky!

At his age, only being awake a few hours a day is totally normal. It is also not uncommon for him to want to nurse as frequently as he does. Babies are able to digest breast milk more quickly and easily than formula, therefore they are hungry again faster.

My oldest son would only take the Playtex nurser bottle. My youngest wasn't wild about taking a bottle at all, but once he got hungry enough he'd take whatever brand was offered to him. I guess what I'm trying to say is that all babies are different when it comes to bottle preferences. Just start with one and see how it goes.

It's definitely not to early to start trying a bottle. Start with just one a day and as he gets more comfortable, add another. Good luck!

You will have to play around with trying different nipples until you find the one he likes best. They all have different preferences.
I breastfed all three of my children, and supplemented with bottles because I didn't make enough milk to keep them satisfied. All three kids had different nipple preferences.
The only risk you run with bottle supplements, will be that some babies will strongly prefer either the breast or the bottle, and then totally refuse the other.
Starting the supplements this early should help your baby to accept either you offer him, however, be prepared for the possiblity of him liking one or the other so well that he accepts only that form of feeding.

J.,

Since you stay home & the baby doesn't HAVE to start taking a bottle I would wait at least a few more weeks or even a few months ideally but I do see the benefit of being able to give the baby a bottle in times of need or giving your husband the opporitunity to feed the baby. He is still so little that he would probably have nipple confusion with a bottle right now. This would also give you a chance to get a frozen milk supply built up. Start pumping about a half hour after he nurses & just keep doing that until you get enough to freeze 4 oz. You may only get an ounce or 2 in the beginning. The more you pump the more milk your body will make. If your baby wants to nurse right after you pumped don't panic, your body makes milk on demand. In a few weeks you will have enough to start giving him bottles. I used the avent bottles & nipples & they were great. I would not supplement with formula. The sleep is normal.

When I breastfed my kids my oldest nursed every 4 hours and my youngest every 3 hours. I started the bottle with them when they were 4 months old. If you want to start the bottle I would suggest that give him water(ask your doctor 1st. Normal sleep I cannot answer b/c each child is different.
I hope this helps you out.
G. R

Hi J.!
In my experience, he is too young for a bottle just yet. I made the mistake of giving two of my three kids bottles very early on, and it was VERY hard getting them to nurse again. They like the bottle because the milk comes out so much faster and easier. Nursing every two to three hours is normal at two weeks. I would say in the next few weeks he will start to space his feedings out. I know that's easy for me to say, since I'm not in the midst of a two week old and two-year-old and needing sleep! My advice is to wait a bit, but the final decision is yours to make. Good luck, and hang in there!

I bottle fed breastmilk at 1 week (my nipples were to sore for them to latch) with my 1st and just pumped and put it in the bottle. She did go back on the boob at about 2 months. My 2nd once I put her on a bottle (in hospital, she didn't latch right and made me raw) she never went back on the boob so I just kept on pumping. I used playtex nurser bottles. I did ask my doctor about my 2nd daughter cause I didn't remember the 1st sleeping that much and yes, it's normal for them to sleep most of the day. When to give a bottle is totally up to personal preference. I would suggest at night. I have friends that nursed and the baby wanted to nurse all night long. I bottle fed mine at night and had no problems. Good luck to you, nursing isn't easy but it's great that you are doing it. I hope this helps.
~J.~

Our baby is adopted, so bottle fed from day one. After trying about three different brands of bottles, we liked the Playtex VentAire brand the best. It will take different nipples, if fact, I threw away all the ones that came with the bottles, but I liked the fact that the nipple doesn't collapse when they are sucking on it. A little more tedious to clean, but the bottle comes completely apart and can be throroughly sterilized. We pop our into the dishwasher.

I wouldn't start bottle feeding at this age. 2 weeks is really young to start bottle feeding if you want to continue to breastfeed. Six weeks is usually a good time to introduce a bottle if you want to. After six weeks both mom and baby usually have breastfeeding down pat and introducing a bottle doesn't (usually) cause as much nipple confusion, and your milk supply will be well established by then. When you start giving the bottle try having your husband or another family member give it to the baby. If you try to give it to him he may reject it in favor of the breast. some mother's even have to leave the house to get the baby to take a bottle. Also, he will still need the cuddle and comfort that he gets from nursing so be sure whoever is feeding him doesn't prop his bottle, he will still need to be held during feedings.

If you are wanting to give him a bottle to try and make it easier to take care of your two year old, don't. Breastfeeding is a great excuse to just sit and relax during your day. If your two year old is demanding attention while you are nursing, read a book to him/her or find something else you can do with one hand to interact with the two year old.

As far as the sleeping goes, it's normal. babies that young sleep for a majority of the day. They will wake to feed and then go back to sleep. For the waking at night, that too is normal. every two to three hours is a good amount of time between feedings for a breastfed baby. When our kids woke at night my husband would get up and change them then bring them to me in our bed I would latch them on then go back to sleep. This is the most important part of the night time routine, go back to sleep. A lot of people will say don't put them in your bed you'll never get them out, but you can. Our kids don't sleep with us and they are 5 and 2.

Don't be in a hurry to make him grow up, this phase will pass and before you know it he will be up and moving and into everything. Take pride in knowing you are doing what is best for baby. Enjoy being his everything right now, when he grows up you'll miss it.

J. -
Be happy your child sleeps that much. Your baby should sleep that much, it is normal. I would wait until your baby is four weeks old to introduce the bottle. Babies R Us has a bottle called Adiri Natural Nurser that resembles the breast. Alot of people use it and love it.

try Avent bottles, worked great for me with bfing and bottles, my 2 wek old had no problems.

I introduced my son to the bottle at about one week, even though I was breastfeeding. He took to it rather well. I used Soothies, and his pacifier was also a Soothie, so it seemed to work well. As far as sleeping goes, it is entirely normal for babies to sleep a lot! My son slept about 18-19 hours a day when he was first born.
Good luck!

You have to be careful about offering a bottle so quickly because the baby can get nipple confusion easily. My middle son woke up every 2 hours during the night also. My husband would get him from the crib, change if needed and bring him to me. I would sit in the rocking chair and nurse him. I was so tired I would fall asleep sitting there! Finally my husband said would you please bring that baby into our bed so se can all get some sleep. I did and we all slept until the morning. We rearranged the bedroom so the bed was up against the wall. We kept the bassinet at the foot of the bed in case we needed to use it. I think we only used it once. I also learned to nap when the boys napped. Do you belong to a breast feeding support group? I belonged to La Leche League. The support breast feeding and have monthly meetings. There are leaders that you can call and talk to if you're having breast feeding concerns. I was at Walgreens the other day and they had ,"The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" It is La Leche Leagues Handbook. I would keep my copy next to the spot that I would nurse the baby so I could read it or look up specific info. I am not sure if they have a website but I would guess they do. If not you can email me and I can get the number for you. Good Luck and remember The time seems long now but soon they will grow up and you will be saying it seems just yesterday I was holding that child on lap to nurse.

I have a 4month old. I work and breastfeed. He was mostly breastfed got a bottle very little while I was on leave from work. I didn't use any special nipples, I did use bag bottle though. Do use correct flow for age though. To much flow will cause baby to gulp and therefore, have gas and will usually spit up most everything just ate. He selpt a lot at 2 wks. but was up every 2 hours like clock work to feed, even if he had recieved formula. Even now the longest he will sleep at night is maybe 5 hours. Don't worry, young babies sleep alot, enjoy it.

J. -

We are in the same boat. I have a two week old who is also nursing every 2-4 hours and I am definitely sleep deprived. Dad is great w/ diaper changes, but can't feed him yet so I'm up at least once a night (thankfully he sleeps for up to 4 hours at a time).

We are normally late night people anyway, so going to bed at 11 p.m. is normal. I try to time feedings to start at 10 p.m. so that by the time he's done nursing/pooping, he's in bed by 11 or 11:30 and I only have to get up once during the night.

As for bottle feeding, I've also heard/read that waiting until about 6 weeks is best - this way your supply is up and he's used to the breast. I've held off of pacifiers as well (REALLY difficult when you have a crying baby at 3 p.m.) to avoid 'nipple confusion'. Plus, mine has a habit of sucking his tongue, so latching can be difficult already. I don't need to make it worse by introducing a fakie.

I've been reading, "The Nursing Mother's Companion" which has some great helpful hints. I've also talked to a lactation specialist at the hospital for advice. No matter what you read or who you talk to, everyone has an opinion on how to best breastfeed... only you and your little one will figure out what works for you, though. All of the advice I got early on was helpful, but also somewhat frustrating as it's much easier to 'say' than it is to 'do' :)

Good luck w/ finding your groove.

J