Hittin' the Bottle

I'm not sure what possessed me to give it a try, but I grabbed my Born Free bottles, rinsed them out with soap and warm water, and filled them up with breastmilk.

Okay. Try ONE measly ounce of breastmilk. A champion pumper I am not.

But regardless, I decided I would jump the gun on the "3-4 week" introduction of the fake nipple that happens to shoot out milk and give my son the bottle.

And wouldn't you know, HE TOOK IT!

It wasn't the prettiest thing I've ever seen, but he drank it down. FROM ME! Of course, that doesn't really help matters, however, it worked.

And now I face the bigger challenge.

Care to enlighten me?

1) How do I get my "I look like a city boy trying to feed a large calf with a bottle" husband to settle down and give him a bottle?

2) How in the hell do I pump enough to make it worthwhile? (I've only ever pumped to relieve myself).

3) What's the best way to store breastmilk? (My milk just never seemed "right" when I kept it in the fridge... however, I may have been storing it incorrectly). My bff's sister uses a bottle warmer -- apparently she puts it in there and then refrigerates and it tastes fine.

Comments

[Dawn]

I was unable to breast feed ( my son would not latch on no matter what was tried, hmm still a stuborn kid at 7) so I pumped, and pumped and pumped. The electric pump made a big difference. I also found a tea at the healthfood store called "Mothers tea" and raspberry tea they both helped to increase production. I pumped for about 14 months. I would store my milk in the freezer and use as needed. My husband would feed my son regularly ( he even gave him his 1st bottle in the hospital after my c-section). Changing diapers that is another story. I think he finally changed one when he became the stay at home parent. Good luck.

[roxanne]

Morning pumping is probably the most effective, typically that's when you would produce the most milk.(It's a hormone thing). If you are just pumping to have some bottles on hand, I found the Medela electric (one side) pump around 80 bucks to be sufficient. I had an occasion where I needed to leave my 6 month old son overnight. I tood an herbal supplement called fenugreek. 3 capsules 3 times per day and I started making an overabundant amt. of milk. Check with a lactation consultant, they usually don't see a prob. with this herb. Oh, and with the hus., I have found that threats work like a charm. (you know, never having sex again). good luck

[Kelly]

I pumped with both my kids and found the best thing (for me) was to switch sides. Pump one side til it's "empty", switch to the other side, then go back to the first. Keep doing this until you just don't let down anymore. That's what worked with my boobs, at least.
Oh, and though a lot of people say having a medical grade pump is necessary, I found I had better luck with the Avent Isis manual pump than the one I rented from the hospital.

[Jennifer]

The only way I was ever able to pump an amount worth the effort was to pump while feeding. It was awkward at first, but with a little practice (and an electric pump), I could usually pump 3-5 oz. during a feeding. No amount of looking at the baby or hearing him cry could trigger let down, only his sucking could do it for me.

Also, I started pumping everyday at his first morning feed. With time, I was able to get more and more milk from pumping. Practice and increasing supply/demand were helpful.

[Much More Than A Mom]

These are all great suggestions. I also recommend LLL for sure. If pumping after he eats isn't working, I preferred to feed him on 1 side and pump the other and/or pump in between feedings. ie. nurse at 9, pump at 10, nurse at 11 or whatever. I'm an on demand nurser too, but you can probably judge, maybe 45 - 75 min after a feeding or so. Good luck! Our son took a bottle from me at 6 weeks and stopped abruptly at 3 months. Hasn't touched one since, but I still pumped until 7.5 months and froze it to use in cereal and other foods.

[Kandice]

I breastfed both of my kids (9 months and 6 months respectively) and pumped with each. As for storage, I liked the Gerber bags the best. You can date them, which helps.

If I remember correctly, you shouldn't leave breastmilk in the refrigerator for more than 72 hours, in the freezer that is part of your refrigerator for more than 3 months and in a separate deep freezer for more than 6 months. We bought a small deep freezer and put it in the garage. We stored the breastmilk there. You can buy an inexpensive one off of www.craigslist.com. Just check the listings in your area.

As for pumping, you can either pump after he's done eating or pick a time each day when you know he'll take a bottle and pump then. Gradually, your milk supply will build up. I pumped a LOT in the early weeks/months and got a good supply going before I had to go back to work. Also, if I was really engorged, I'd pump for 5 minutes before a feeding, feed, then pump some more afterward.

When Drew starts eating cereal, you can use frozen breastmilk instead of water to mix with it. It will up the calories and be a more familiar taste.

As for a bottle warmer, we never used one. We used one of the big plastic travel mugs (that would fit a bottle in it), filled it with water, heated it in the microwave (the cup and water), then put the bottle in there. It's actually faster than a bottle warmer and free (if you already have the travel mug).

Hope that helps!

Kandice

[Kim]

Following my advice will require that you feed your little one a single bottle of formula.

At the "last" feeding of the day, give your husband a bottle of formula (2-4 ounces will be more than enough). While he is feeding and bonding with the baby, you will be in another room pumping.

Then you put your precious (tiny) bottle of breastmilk in the refrigerator and the next night, hubby will feed baby that bottle while you pump.

This gets the ball rolling and lets hubby do his thing without an audience, thereby forcing him to figure it out.

Once this little regime is nicely established, you can work on pumping a little extra for other times of the day.

As far as increasing your production, etc., I really recommend getting on the La Leche Leage (LLL.org I think) website and looking for their "mother to mother forum." When I was having issues with my supply, it was an invaluable resource. And they tend to clamp down real hard on any snarky or judgmental posts. So, you get advice without having to listen to the crazies (you're evil if formula ever touches your baby's lips) or the santimommies (you are a wuss because you gave up when your nipples were bleeding, you were in the middle of your third mastitis infection, etc).

[abogada]

Try pumping after each feed, as someone suggested. It should build up your supply. You might try drinking extra water.

I always stored my milk in the fridge. I read somewhere that you can keep it up to eight days, but I never did that. I did always put it in the bottle warmer before serving so that it would reconstitute.

I also did a lot of freezing, using Gerber bags (before the milk expired after sitting in the fridge). I only kept frozen breastmilk for three months, because I didn't have a separate deep freeze (just a freezer at the top of my refrigerator). I think kellymom.com is where I learned about breast milk storage times. I used Gerber milk bags because you could stand them up in the freezer.

Good luck!

[Amy H]

I am pumping right now from the mother's room at work. Multi-tasker.

To get your husband to feed Drew:
1. place Drew in his left arm.
2. Place bottle in his right hand.
3. Leave the room.
4. If you hear crying, stay out of the room. Men are smarter than they let on. They do that so we don't rely on them. jerks.

about storage:
you can leave fresh milk out for up to 4 hours.
you can leave milk in the refigerator for 3-5 days. It will look funny, but just shake it. It's fine.
you can also freeze milk (if you aren't going to use it within 3 days) for 3-6 months.
Once you warm breast milk, you just need to use it within an hour.

good luck!

[Katherine]

An electric pump is a must-have, even though it costs $300. A less expensive option to try before making the large purchase is to rent an electric pump from the hospital. When I went back to work, I'd close my door and pump while surfing the internet and, of course, while reading your blog! It helped me relax and zone out of "work mode".
With a car adapter I was able to pump while traveling.

[agavi]

I swear, I must have the easiest baby in the world. He's nearly eight weeks, has taken a bottle (usually once a day) for the last 3 weeks from his dad, and just last night? He took a bottle from me. No problems for either of us.

As for the pumping, I pump when dad gives him the bottle, so at the normal time to feed I get a good 6 ounces or so. And I pump sometimes on one side when he's feeding on the other, and that's usually good for 4 ounces. The letdown is so much better while feeding him, takes far less time to get more out. Sometimes I pump a bit after feeding him, I've heard even just the pumping motion is good for upping your supply, though I haven't really noticed a huge difference as of yet.

[Patti]

Try to pump right after he eats. You won't get a whole lot at first, but you'll be making sure that the boobs are completely empty. The emptier your boobs are, the more your hormones will be stimulated to produce. This is best done in the first few weeks because after a while the hormone response goes away and it's ONLY supply and demand. At that point it gets harder to trick your body into producing more, though it is quite possible.

Since I never had enough extra to store in the freezer (I was an exclusive pumper and was always racing to keep up with my kid), I used to just store the milk in 16 or 32 oz water bottles in the fridge. When it was time to make a bottle I'd give the milk a good old shake, pour it in a feeding bottle and pop it in. He liked it just fine cold, straight from the fridge which made it SOOO mush easier for me.

As for how to make it easier on your husband.... tell him to take a chill pill and have no mercy. Shove the kid in his lap, the bottle in his hand and tell him to make it work. Then stifle the urge to tell him he's doing it wrong. If you leave him to it EVENTUALLY he'll figure out a way for himself. He is human, after all (although male and therefore possibly slightly ineffecient). Humans are really quite adaptable if they're forced to be.

[ktjrdn]

Oh yeah, the husband question. I have no idea. If you find out, let me know. I think my husband might have given my first daughter 2 bottles in the enitre bottle-feeding stage. I can't remember him giving this one any yet.

[ktjrdn]

It doesn't always look right in the fridge, but shake it up and it'll be fine. It just separates. My (23 pound) 9 month old has 2 bottles a day from the fridge (or freezer. same thing).

As far as pumping, I can't get anything out if the baby is in the same room as me. Pump at least as long as he usually eats. If the milk stops vefore that, I have found it useful to turn the pump off wait 5 seconds and start over. I almost always have another letdown.

just my $.02