Conference moira::parenting_v3

    I combined breast and bottle from 6 weeks until 4-5 months.
    
    I introduced the bottle at around 6 weeks generally at random
    times (when I really needed to get out of the house for awhile!).
    Jason didn't really care one way or the other where his food
    came from at that point but I've heard other babies have a strong
    preference!
    
    I eventually went to an alternating scheme (nurse, bottle, nurse,
    bottle) from about 8 weeks until 3 months when I went back to
    work.  This approach really seemed to help my body gradully 
    adjust to the reduced milk flow requirements.  When I returned
    to work, I cut back to nursing in the morning and evenings only
    and as required in the evenings.  I found by the end of the work
    week however (due to stress or the reduced nursing) that my milk
    supply would be dwindling, so we'd nurse as much as possible over
    the weekends.   Eventually, with only 2 nursings/day, I didn't
    feel that my milk was satisfying Jason (he'd want to eat again after
    an hour) and I quit entirely at 4-5 months.  
    
    All in all, it was a positive experience.  My advice would be to
    approach it with an open mind...you just never know how good/bad
    it will go.
    
    Good luck,
    Carol
    

    I breastfed for 2 weeks and at my son's 2 week check-up discussed it
    with his pedi. Since I was going back to work after 6 weeks, I knew I
    had to start pretty soon. I started at 3 weeks (when I also started
    putting in some cereal) and began with 1 bottle a day and worked my
    way up. I planned on breastfeeding and pumping until about 6 months
    but my work schedule and my son's feeding schedule didn't hit it off
    very well. I gave it up completely after 8 weeks because it became alot
    of "trouble" based on my work environment (no place to pump and being
    labelled the "woman with the vibrator in the bathroom) and my son
    starting to sleep in in the mornings and feeding about 4pm. 
    
    I found it pretty easy to introduce the bottle. Some sound suggestions
    were to have someone else give them the bottle so the child soesn't
    become confused. We did that for a while but it didn't seem to matter
    after about 2 weeks of breast and bottle. I also introduced the bottles
    that my son would normally get while I was a work so he bottle fed
    during the day and breastfed at night. 
    
    I found juggling bottle and breast difficult because my son's schedule
    changed so much during the first couple months that my body couldn't
    really predict how much to produce. I think I "dried up" early because
    my body had no idea what to really produce - especially since pumping
    at work was nearly impossible and it coildn't keep the milk supply up.
    
    Give it a shot. I'm hoping for better successes this second time with
    continuing breastfeeding. 
    
    Andrea

    
    When Hannah was born, I recollect the nursery giving her a bottle or
    two of sugar-water in the middle of the night, so I could sleep (I was
    recovering from a C-section).
    
    When she was 3-weeks old, my mother volunteered to give her a bottle in
    the middle of the night, so I could get at least 4 hours straight of
    sleep.  Hannah liked the bottle--no complaints--and my husband
    continued giving her 1 bottle in the middle of the night.
    
    I honestly don't know whether having 1 bottle a day contributed to this
    or not--but she always fussed at my breast and seemed to prefer the
    bottle over me.  I kept on breastfeeding, even though it was often
    difficult--for both of us.  She would fuss and pull away and cry--and
    when she realized a bottle wasn't coming--she'd go for my breast--but
    she was not happy about it.
    
    Finally, at about 6 months, she started refusing my breast altogether--
    and basically, she weaned herself.
    
    I am execting in April and to be honest, I don't think I will introduce
    a bottle at all.  Whether or not the bottle had anything to do with
    Hannah rejecting me--I don't know.  But I'd like to breastfeed longer
    this time and don't want to introduce an alternative to the baby.
    
    Has anyone else had this experience?  Any comments?
    
    Bonnie
    
    

    Bonnie,
    
    I believe it is easier for infants to get milk from the bottle
    particularly if the breast-feeding mother doesn't have a strong 
    let-down reflex.   Hannah probably prefered the relatively
    *instant* gratification she received from the bottle; whereas
    with the breast, she may have had to work a bit for her reward.
    
    Carol

    The general recommendation is to wait to introduce a bottle until
    breastfeeding is well established for both mom and baby - meaning the
    milk supply is good, and the baby is nursing well. In our case, we
    introduced a bottle at 1 week, at a frequency of about once a week, and
    gradually increased it to 2-3 times per week.
    
    good luck
    

I've read newspaper reports on surveys that show that mothers who take
3-4 months off from work after the birth of a baby are significantly
more likely to be able to keep nursing going for a baby's first year
of life than mothers who return to work after 6 or so weeks.

This survey is well supported by my experience:  My son got occasional 
bottles of water during his first 4 months.  When he was about 2 months 
old we started giving him the occasional bottle of pumped breast milk.  
I worked on building up a supply of pumped milk for the freezer during 
my last couple of weeks at home.

When I returned to work, he was 16 weeks old.  I pumped twice a day at work
(sometimes in the bathroom, sometimes in the nurses station, sometimes 
(amazing but true) in the car on the way home.  This was in the winter 
so at least it was dark out.  I have an hour commute and on the days when
I would miss the afternoon pumping I would be too sore and full and to make
it home without pumping in the car.)  For a month or two there was enough
pumped breast milk for him.  I have a 4-day work week so we got plenty of
nursing in on the weekends, and of course continued to nurse mornings and
evenings during the week as well. We introduced formula for the first time at
about 4 months; he didn't seem to mind it at all, and from about 6 months on
he had 1-2 bottles of formula a day.  Then he started eating some cereal
and fruit, and I was getting bored of the pumping, so I quit pumping at work
(he was about 8 months old then) but continued to nurse mornings and evenings.

We quit nursing when he was about 13 months old.

He did go through periods of having less interest in nursing but there are
ways around this (nurse them when they are sleepy, in a dark room, etc.)

I feel pretty strongly that your milk supply and your baby's skill at nursing
all become very well established by the 4th month, but are simply not really
up to par at 6 weeks.  It makes (in my opinion) a BIG DIFFERENCE in your
chances of success at being able to continue nursing.  However, only you
can decide if 

	(1) nursing for 1+ year is important to you
	(2) you are financially able to take a 3 month unpaid leave
	(3) your manager can be persuaded to hold your job for you
   		(and if not, whether you would risk having to find
		 a new job at DEC when you return).

Good luck.  Also, La Leche League and the Nursing Mothers Council (this one
may be local to Mass) can provide a lot of information and support.

Last of all, babies are all different (some refuse the bottle unless they've
been accustomed to it from a very early age) and moms are different (some
find they hate nursing, some find they would rather stay home than stop nursing)
and you won't really have all the information you need to make this decision
until after the baby is born.  Try to give yourself some slack; whatever you
decide now should be up for reconsideration after the baby is born.

    Mine refused a bottle until she was about six weeks old.  Once
    she accepted it, she had formula once every other day for a week,
    then once a day for a week, and I kept gradually increasing it
    until she had exclusively formula at 12 weeks when I came back to
    work.  I tried pumping but was very unsuccessful.  If I could have
    provided it, she would have had breast milk for a year.
    
    Good luck,
    Kathryn
    

    All babies are different!!!  ... and Moms, too!!
    
    For my first, I introduced a bottle of breast milk at 2 weeks.  I had to 
    try different nipples and ended up with the NUK (to go along with the 
    NUK pacifier she had for about 2 months).  Actually, my husband first
    fed her the bottle -- she wouldn't take it from me (not unusual).
    
    I gave her a bottle of breast milk about once a day, random times, just
    to get her used to it (and not affect my milk supply/demand).
    
    I introduced her to formula at about 4 weeks.  Again, we had to try
    several types -- she liked the Enfamil (sp) powder since it was the
    same consistancy as breast milk.  
    
    After accepting the formula, I no longer "pumped" and gave her a
    formula bottle every other/every 3 days to keep her interested and to
    make sure that she would take it if I needed/wanted to go out.
    
    Unfortunately, at when she was 3 mos, I developed mastitis (sp), a
    breast infection.  The only way to help cure it (other than
    antibiotics) was to nurse * alot *.  After a 10 day recouperation of
    only nursing, she refused to take the bottle again.  It took about 4
    days of crying (both of us), not giving in to the breast, having
    someone else try to feed her -- for her to finally take it.  It was a
    miserable experience.
    
    At 5 months, I started weaning and would give her a bottle every day at
    the same time.  I introduced another bottle feeding every 2 weeks.
    At 7 1/2 months, she was totally weaned to a bottle.
    
    My son was a totally different "animal" and I was a tired parent of two
    little ones (19 mos apart).
    
    I introduced formula at 10 days.  He had a bottle every night at his 10
    pm feeding.  I would go to be at 9:00 and my husband would feed him.
    The timing of the bottle also allowed us to go out at night -- which we
    needed!!!
    
    He only took Enfamil and the Playtex nurser (he was real gassy !!).  So
    much for the many "NUK" compatible bottles that I had left over!!
    
    I gradually weaned him at 7 months.
    
    Good Luck in your experiments!!
    
    L.
     

I've been getting a ton of reading material that includes info on breastfeeding.
In most of the articles it says that newborns that are breastfed need to be fed
more often.  Usually every 2 hrs because breast milk digests so easily/quickly.
It also said that you should do a min of 15 minutes on each breast.

Is this really true?  If so, I can't picture myself getting anything done, just
sitting with a baby on my breast all day/night!

Please tell me that isn't 'typical'.  I'm getting tired just thinking of it!

    re: .9
    
    Both my babies were breastfed.  Both had feeding patterns of every 3
    1/2 - 4 hours -- the typical 6:00, 10:00, 2:00, 6-10-2 schedule.
    
    Even after introducing/supplementing a bottle, the pattern did not
    change.
    
    My first slept through the night (10 pm - 6 am) at 6 weeks; my second
    at 10 weeks.
    
    My first was 7 lbs 3 oz at birth; my second 8 lbs 3 oz.
    
    --L.
    

>                     <<< Note 472.6 by VISUAL::ROSENBLUH >>>
>                -< 6 wks is not long enuf to establish nursing >-
>
>
>I've read newspaper reports on surveys that show that mothers who take
>3-4 months off from work after the birth of a baby are significantly
>more likely to be able to keep nursing going for a baby's first year
>of life than mothers who return to work after 6 or so weeks.
    
    I returned after 3 1/2 months and haven't had any problems yet with
    nursing just in the morning and evening. We introduced a bottle
    starting at around 3 weeks and now Andy gets 2-3 formula bottles a day. 
    Starting the bottle was tricky though; he wasn't very happy about it. 
    Consistency and persistence helped there. Amazingly enough, he was
    actually a little happier taking a bottle from me instead of my
    husband, despite what the books say.
    

	I understand that Katie was not typical, but for what it worth...

	She settled in to a 4 hour schedule well before the end of the first 
week.(with no prompting from us. I fed her on demand, she just only demanded 
every four hours:-) )  She often managed to go 5 hours at night. 

	At 7 weeks, started going 8-10 hours at a stretch at night without 
nursing.

	Katie got all her meals from nursing except for the occasional bottle
of pumped breast milk during this time.

   
Tracey

>more often.  Usually every 2 hrs because breast milk digests so easily/quickly.
>It also said that you should do a min of 15 minutes on each breast.
>
>Is this really true?  If so, I can't picture myself getting anything done, just
>sitting with a baby on my breast all day/night!
    
    It can be. My son was like that. It was summer, though, too and young
    babies can nurse because they are thirsty as well as hungry. I have
    a new niece too, and her pediatrician said never to nurse her more than
    every 3 hours. If she seemed hungry, give her maple syrup + water. My
    pedi suggested not feeding any more frequently than 90 minutes and to
    offer plain water. 
    
    Sue

I just can't imagine anyone sleeping if their baby was on a 2 hr schedule!

I can't fall asleep quickly (at least not now.  Probably not a problem once I'm
frazzled enough!) so I would be awake 24 hrs a day!

Hope I have a 4-5 hr baby!  Thank you for giving me hope.

    
    I'll second the notion that every baby is different.  Also, boys in
    general eat more and more often than girls???
    
    My son, [now 5] ate every 2 hours, day and night, bottle, breast, formula or
    breastmilk - he didn't care as long as it was FOOD! I went back to work
    when he was 9 weeks.  I breastfed him morning and evenings and he had 
    formula during the day until 6 months.
    
    My daughter, [now 5.5 months] varies between feeding times from 2 - 4
    hours during the day, sleeps 12 hours at night. I started giving her
    bottles of breastmilk in the hospital because I was so sore!  At about
    1 month - I quit giving her bottles, because I hate pumping!
    
    When I came back to work 1.5 months ago - she fussed everytime she got
    a bottle for a couple of days.  She also refuses formula in any form.
    So, I've rented a breast pump {Medela} - which is much better than the
    manual one I was using.
    
    My conclusion, being home with the baby longer definately helps
    establish breastfeeding better.  Not just the baby, but mom too!
    Less leaking, better letdown, clothes fit - all that stuff.  But once you 
    introduce the bottle - don't quit, you'll have to start from scratch - same
    goes with formula. You can do breast and bottle, but you have to be 
    committed to it!
    
    Rochelle
    
    P.S. I also work every other day at home, which really helps keep the
         milk supply regular.
    
       

    Eric's typical nursing time was every two hours, except at night
    when he'd go from 6-8 hours without waking.  Then at 2 1/2 months
    I went back to work and he started waking up again once during the night.
    
    I introduced occassional bottles of breast milk starting around
    3 weeks just to get him used to a bottle.  He didn't mind either
    way, as long as he could eat.  We gave him SMA formula once when
    he was 5 weeks old because we were at a restaurant on the Cape and it
    seemed more convenient.  He threw up all night from it.  He did fine 
    with Similac.  Still, I only used formula about 3 times for the first 
    4 months or so.  He started receiving bottles of breast milk regularly 
    when he started daycare at 2 1/2 months of age.  I'd nurse mornings, 
    nights and weekends.  I only remember two times when Eric was about 6 
    months old and got mad about having to nurse.  It does take several 
    seconds for the milk to come and he was not happy about that.  By the 
    time he was 8 months old my supply seemed to really be dwindling and he 
    was fed up with waiting for the milk to get there.  That's when he
    weaned himself and since I was just about ready for this, I was
    happy about giving him all formula.  Then within a month he was
    on whole milk.  It worked out nicely.
    
    Donna
        

    Michelle got her first bottle at 4 weeks when I had to go to a wedding.
    She did just fine - *I* was in agony.

    At 4 months when I returned to work, Michelle got one bottle a day,
    and eventually two bottles a day.  Again, Michelle did just fine.
    I was a bit uncomfortable at first, but was able to adjust quickly.
    My body was better able to cope with a change in demand once nursing
    was swell established.

    As far as schedules go - Michelle fell easily into a 4-hour schedule 
    by the second week, and was sleeping 6-8 hours by 4 weeks. (unfortunately 
    it was the *wrong* 6-8 hours, but that's another problem entirely).  Her 
    schedule didn't change when I introduced a couple bottles of formula at 
    4 months.

    As mentioned before - your mileage may vary

I am currently going through this breast/bottle dilemma.

Before Michelle was born, I fully intended to breastfeed her as long as
possible.  Little did I know, it's not that easy to just *want* to do it!

Her pedi said give her a bottle 2-3 times per week after 2 weeks old.  She 
never had any problem taking the bottle (from me or dad) but I always tried to 
give her breast milk (if I had enough available) because she would spit up 
formula.  After she was about 6 weeks old, I cut down bottles to about 1 a 
week because I was tired of pumping.

At 2 months old, she started sleeping through the night and eating every four 
hours.  She, and I, were very happy.  I thought, what a model baby!

Then at 2.5 months old, everything changed.  She started to get mad when I 
tried to feed her at the 4-hour interval.  I thought, well she's not hungry so 
I'll wait.  Also at this time, I seemed to be losing my appetite, and 
therefore, weight.  My weight hadn't been that low in 10 years.  Needless to 
say, because of her wanting less and me not eating, and possibly other 
factors, my milk supply was diminishing.  But I didn't realize that was the 
problem.  I didn't know what was going on.  At her 3 month check, the nurse 
said "all babies go through these fussy periods, just keep trying to make her 
eat".  Ha, easier said than done.  The nurse said I could also give her apple 
juice each day.  Well that was a mistake because she substituted that for a 
feeding!  So my problem just got worse.

At her 4 month check, which was a week ago, Michelle hadn't gained one ounce 
the whole month.  Her pedi said I needed to start giving her formula, up to 6 
ounces, after each breastfeeding, and that because of that, my milk supply 
would further be reduced until she would probably be weaned completely to the 
bottle.  I was very upset and depressed.  I wasn't, and am still not, ready to 
give up breastfeeding.  So I am back to pumping like crazy, practicing the 
Marmet technique to encourage quicker let-down, eating and drinking more, etc., 
(in addition to feeding Michelle formula to make sure she gains weight), to try 
to increase my milk supply.  I am on an emotional roller coaster -- happy when 
Michelle takes the breast, depressed when my milk won't let-down and I have to 
give her a bottle (while she's crying and screaming mad).

I have learned a few things.  I will *never* take my milk supply for granted
and assume it's established whether at 6 weeks or 6 months.  I think mine was 
very well established for 2.5 months and then all of a sudden it's 
not.  I would also beware giving any other fluids to the baby.  The problem 
with the apple juice was she liked it so much, she would scream if she didn't 
get 6-10 ounces at a time!  You can see why she wasn't interested in a milk 
feeding when it came due.  Also, very important, keep up your diet!  I guess it 
was silly of me not to realize I couldn't feed two people on 
peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for dinner.

Now, I think Michelle also is starting to know that the bottle is easier.
Sometimes, unless my milk is *right there* (already had the let-down before she 
begins to suck) she won't even try the breast.  She screams and cries
until she, get this, sees me prepare the bottle.

Well I've really rambled on.  But I hope you can get some insight from my
experience.  I am also writing down what is happening this time so that next 
time, hopefully, I can breastfeed longer.

Kyra

Also, Michelle seems to be able to tolerate things better now than she
did before 3-4 months old.  For example, she would spit up formula before,
now she has no problem with it.  Also, she would get fussy when I
had milk products, citrus, and other things.  Now I have re-introduced
those things back into my diet and she has no problem.  Because of the
milk product problem, I also had to use a soy-based formula before, but
now I have her on regular milk-based formula.

Kyra