Breast is Best

What I have questions on is .. say a person does have problems breast feeding... is it an option to express the milk and then bottle feed? 

I have bottle fed quite a few babies breast milk for their working moms.  Also some men do one of the night feeds using expressed milk.  Is this something that is done in the UK as well and what are people's opinions on it? 

Yes that is done here, for lots of reasons.  I tried it but the milk wouldn't come out!                                       

i was also pressured in hospital when aillidh was born.  with such bad PND, it didn't make for a good start.  that's why i went home straight from the delivery suite w/Roisin.  she didn't latch for two days, so i expressed into a cup for her.  i'd also expressed ante-natally and frozen the colostrum, which i thawed and then gave her in a sterile syringe.  then, she latched perfectly w/the help of a counsellor and she took both breast and expressed milk in a bottle (from the get-go i was a volume producer).

i MUST go back to work in april, however, so she gets a bottle of expressed milk morning and evening and formula the rest of the time.  

i'd have loved to have fed her for longer but a) i need sleep, especially w/PND again and a 2-year-old 2) i can't afford to be a stay-at-home mom or take a longer maternity leave as it's not fully paid.

What I have questions on is .. say a person does have problems breast feeding... is it an option to express the milk and then bottle feed? 

I have bottle fed quite a few babies breast milk for their working moms.  Also some men do one of the night feeds using expressed milk.  Is this something that is done in the UK as well and what are people's opinions on it? 

It is best to wait a bit...4-6 weeks...until your milk supply and the baby's sucking is well established. Many babies get "nipple confused" because basically they have to work very hard while sucking at the breast (why I had to gavage-feed my preemie twins for several weeks before putting them at the breast) which promotes tooth placement, jaw development, proper speech etc...and not so with a rubber nipple. Babies are human, humans are lazy (for the most part!) and some will gravitate towards the easy way of obtaining their milk! It is true that some babies will go the other way too...though it is not very common...and NOT take a bottle after the breast.

When you have your husband or child care giver feed with expressed milk, that means that you're having to take the time to pump too, but it is a good alternative and gives you more flexibility as a mom. Some moms I know breastfeed when they are home, but give bottles of formula while at work.

Funny thing...milk production relies on supply and demand...even up to the times of the day! My friend used formula during the day while at work and she didn't get engorged because she didn't pump and so the body knew they didn't need to make milk during the day...but, on the weekend she DID breastfeed during the day too and her body made milk at those times (I mean there is always a bit of milk there all the time, but you know what I mean, I guess)

I think the female body is amazing!

So forgive yet another question, but in the USA you buy or rent a machine to express the milk how does it work on the NHS?

Yes the same here. You can buy a manual or electric pump or you can rent an electric one through the NCT.

Can I just say, regarding the bonding thing, that in the end what is important is that your children feel secure in their surroundings.  And this is achieved by BEING THERE and being engaged with your kids as their parents, full stop.  I don't think it matters whether you breastfeed or bottle feed, it is what you do throughout the child's life, in every aspect, not just during feeding time.    Yes, I agree that the road to providing a secure environment for the children begins with feeding but it is so much longer than that and there are so many ways to show your children that you are their rock in the storm.  focus on the big picture people!!

You're absolutely right Mrs Pink.

yes, vnicepeeps, expressing is an option for some.  but as britwife pointed out there are some women who don't express well at all.  i was lucky i did.  i was even managing about 20mL a go from about 36 weeks into my pregnancy!  i was literally streaming w/colostrum before roisin was even born and had loads of milk from about 2 days after birth.

i was much more informed the second time around, too, and realised that problems at the beginning don't necessarily mean instant bottle/formula feeding for good.  it can take a while for some babies to latch.  the counsellor said she's even seen some formula fed for a week who then go to the breast no bother.  roisin was a natural.

expressing can be a LOT of work, however, and that's why if you can feed them off the breast that's the way to go.  you HAVE to pump often, and at set times so your body gets used to it and your supply stays up.  it's not as efficient as a baby's suck on some.  and it's not w/o discomfort at first - this DOES go away.  

even just the two times a day i express i get an entire 8-10 oz. a go, in about 10 minutes, so roisin gets 'snacks' of breastmilk as well.

ANY amount of breastfeeding you can manage is a good thing.  don't beat yourself up, ladies.  give it a go and see how it goes.  

Can I just say, regarding the bonding thing, that in the end what is important is that your children feel secure in their surroundings.  And this is achieved by BEING THERE and being engaged with your kids as their parents, full stop.  I don't think it matters whether you breastfeed or bottle feed, it is what you do throughout the child's life, in every aspect, not just during feeding time.    Yes, I agree that the road to providing a secure environment for the children begins with feeding but it is so much longer than that and there are so many ways to show your children that you are their rock in the storm.  focus on the big picture people!!

Yeah I think 'the people' are focusing on the Big picture, I agree with your post and I'm sure everyone on here does to. There's no need to patronize. We're just having a friendly breast/bottle feeding discussion.

Makes sense most people I dealt with or knew to express were all working moms....or doing it for when they were in public as they felt uncomfotable with public breast feeding.

So much to think about.

You never really know though what's going to happen once you give birth, which is why people should not judge others.

Personally, I want to hire Geally as my lactation consultant one day!

i hand expressed at first, BUT i was also producing a lot from the beginning.  i then hired a pump from NCT.  i then bought a pump to use once i found out what i preferred and that expressing would be an option for me.  i have an electric one, but some prefer a manual.  

you'll also need some sort of container to put it in.  i used some cups from avent.  they're easy to hand express into as well.  i hand express at least once a day, but it's also something that's come very easy to me.

  

You never really know though what's going to happen once you give birth, which is why people should not judge others.

Personally, I want to hire Geally as my lactation consultant one day!

Very true!! I swore my child would not watch TV, she's sat here watching the Teletubbies, waiting for her favourite the Bobinogs!
I wish I had access to Geally too while bfing.

Can I just say, regarding the bonding thing, that in the end what is important is that your children feel secure in their surroundings.  And this is achieved by BEING THERE and being engaged with your kids as their parents, full stop.  I don't think it matters whether you breastfeed or bottle feed, it is what you do throughout the child's life, in every aspect, not just during feeding time.    Yes, I agree that the road to providing a secure environment for the children begins with feeding but it is so much longer than that and there are so many ways to show your children that you are their rock in the storm.  focus on the big picture people!!

spot on, mrs pink!  you convey sentiments i tried to express in an earlier post SO much better than i did!

let's face it, they don't stay babies long.  just ask meshell, they become teens!  

being a parent was so much different to how i'd envisaged whilst pregnant w/my first.  also, each child is so different.  being flexible is such a big part of being a mom.

Can I just say, regarding the bonding thing, that in the end what is important is that your children feel secure in their surroundings.  And this is achieved by BEING THERE and being engaged with your kids as their parents, full stop.  I don't think it matters whether you breastfeed or bottle feed, it is what you do throughout the child's life, in every aspect, not just during feeding time.    Yes, I agree that the road to providing a secure environment for the children begins with feeding but it is so much longer than that and there are so many ways to show your children that you are their rock in the storm.  focus on the big picture people!!

I agree as well