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Hi!  I'm Sejal.  This is my personal journal. Sometimes Iā€™m good about writing. Sometimes Iā€™m not.

Pumping it up

Pumping it up

Pump 1.jpg

There are so many conflicting opinions on when to introduce a bottle.  Obviously if you are strictly doing formula, you start with a bottle right away.  Some people believe that if you are breastfeeding and introduce a bottle too quickly then your baby will prefer bottle over nipple because it's just easier on them.  I'm no expert and can only go with my experience but I'm not sure this is entirely true.  Some babies might really be picky but I feel like at this early age you can encourage them to "do things"....i.e. work with them.  It just takes a few tries.  Personally, I feel if you wait too long, it's going to be really hard to get a baby to take a bottle. 

As for me, I wanted Edward to be able to participate in feeding her and I knew that I was only going to breastfeed for 2 months so we introduced a bottle when she was about 2 weeks old.  That is also when I pumped for the first time.  EEEEK!  I used the Medela Advanced Pump which pretty much everyone recommends.  And you MUST get this Hands free bra.  You can't pump without it.  The pump is scary looking but it's not so bad when you figure it out.  BUT you feel the opposite of sexy....just so you know.  Like Edward never saw me pumping....but that's just me.

 At first, I pumped for 5 - 10 minutes at a time right after I breastfed and only did it like 1x/day.  This way she got one bottle/day initially.  And yes pumping kind of feels weird but it doesn't hurt (unless you put it on a really high speed).  I gradually increased to 2x/day and then when Ruby was 6 weeks I started pumping pretty much exclusively.  I stuck to pumping around Ruby's feeding time because I didn't want to produce more milk....basically your body will produce as much milk you "tell it to" either by breastfeeding or pumping.  And the more you produce, the more you have to pump which can become a never-ending cycle of dependency on the pump.

I used these handy bags to store the milk.  And always labeled the date.  I pretty much fed Ruby the breastmilk I pumped that day....and if I had extra put that in the freezer for later so you have a backup stockpile (which trust me you'll want because you're going to want a night out....or two which means you'll want some "extra" milk for someone else to feed your babe!).  Ruby took room temperature breastmilk.  It's my opinion that if you warm it, they'll get used to it and sometimes you just don't have the time to warm.  Soooo she got used to room temperature milk and to this day she isn't picky about her food temp.  Yay for me!  Here's some info on Breastmilk Storage which you'll for sure need.

Now on to the bottles....  Edward actually gave Ruby's first bottle all by himself at 2 weeks old because I was at the doctor.  Despite the fact that I had left between her feeding times she woke up apparently starving.  EEEEK!  But Edward handled it like a champ and Youtubed "feeding baby with bottle!"  She fussed and cried and we had a bit of spilled milk but Daddy and Ruby did it!  That said, we did experiment with a few different bottles:

  • Dr. Browns - everyone likes these because supposedly they are better for preventing gas bubbles but they have so many different parts and are a pain to clean
  • Avent - they were fine but Ruby didn't love them
  • Como Tomo - the best in my opinion because they are so easy to clean and bonus for us because that is what Ruby liked best!  I recommend trying these first.

Make sure to get slow flow nipples or the milk comes out too fast.  It definitely took us a few days/tries as we experimented with different bottles and worked with Ruby to take bottle over boob.  We were lucky though and had a night nurse who helped us with this so if you know someone that has done this before, ask them for help!!  They also say it is best to have Dad (or someone other than Mom) do the bottle because if they smell Mom they want boob.  Be patient and you'll get there, I promise!

Getting my Boob back

Getting my Boob back

Breastfeeding and me...

Breastfeeding and me...