Breastfeeding & Going Out

Sounds like you have a lovely hubby :) I guess the first few weeks are crucial for bonding so maybe try and wait for those first 6. There's so much else he could do, bringing you amazing food for example? Or what about taking baby not too far if you are worried about them being too far and needing to come back to mum to settle? I think it's recommended to wait 6 weeks ISH for breastfeeding to be well established before using a bottle but everyone is different. ❤️

I found breastfeeding really challenging in the first few weeks, it was very painful and i also had an episiotomy which made it even more difficult, i wasn’t able to sit and breastfeed. All midwives said the same thing even if you search online you will find ppl saying don’t use bottles or dummies until about 6 weeks. One night i was in so much pain and my baby was so hungry and i was not able to breastfeed, my husband just went to the supermarket got 2 philips Avent bottles with some formula and fed her (my baby was 3 weeks old at that time) and since then i am pumping and using bottles to feed her whenever we go out or when my husband takes her out or when he comes from work.. etc. Even though we introduced bottlefeeding early, My baby didn’t have any nipple confusion, i still breastfeed her directly 90% of the time now but it is nice to get some help feeding her sometimes 🥲 i hope that helps.

@Shaveen we do exactly the same, also didn't have a negative impact on my girl either

He could always take her out for short periods in between feeds, and then you won't be at risk of interfering with breastfeeding, but he can still feel he has some quality bonding time with the baby and you can have a rest. Personally, I couldn't even consider being without my baby for even 30 minutes for way longer than 6 weeks so you might actually find that you don't want to be apart from them when they are that little and your husband can support in other ways. My boy was about 3 months before my wife would take him out for an hr or 2 without me! Everyone is different, so you might be totally fine with that separation, but I'd just wait and see how you feel as that bond is pretty insane! My boy is 5 months and nd I've still never been apart from him for longer than about 3 hours (only once!). I'm still EBF - it works fine for us as my partner can take him for a couple of hours in the morning if I need more sleep or something, but there hasn't been any need to be away from him longer than 3 hours.

So I ended up getting my completion date for my house move while I was still lying on the recovery table a couple of hours after giving birth! The date was 10 days later and myself and my partner needed to finish packing and arrange all sorts with the solicitors. My parents came 200 miles to help us pack and because of this and the amount we had to do we needed to sort of sleep in shifts and so overnight my partner formula fed my little boy and I breastfed the rest of the time. When we moved house we stopped sleeping in shifts and slept overnight and I reverted to breastfeeding through the night. We still kept one formula feed for his very last feed about 8pm so that I could get a couple of hours on uninterrupted sleep until about 11 - midnight then I'd be up every few hours feeding through the night. We are 10 weeks in and I've not had a problem with supply or nipple confusion doing this even though I was so worried we would with the amount of formula he had in the first 10 days of his life.

It’s totally up to you: I expressed into bottles from around 2 weeks old (when I was confident we had breastfeeding nailed). For us it was more so dad could do a couple of feeds a day and also let me have A decent stretch of sleep. We had no issues switching between breast and bottle.

My little one was in hospital for a couple of weeks and lost weight during his admissions, I was instructed to stop breastfeeding and express and bottle feed so we knew how much he was getting so we started this at 10 days old for about 2 weeks and now at 7 weeks he happily breast feeds with a bottle top up after each feed

I was an exclusively pumping mum as my baby was in NICU and I was discharged so I had no choice if I wanted her to have breast milk. I still pump now (baby is 11 months) and she has been EBM fed all this time. I found no issues with pumping and it helped her and dad to bond as well as me and her

I am really surprised you've been told that, I've expressed from day 2 as baby had trouble latching (due to tongue tie which was snipped at 2 weeks) and in my nct group of 8 mums have all expressed in their journeys either to help with supply (alot of us ended up emergency c section which can affect milk) or to be able to feed baby that won't latch or to be able to allow other parent to feed/support (sometimes you may be just so exhausted from cluster feeding that having a break for even one feed so you can get an hour or 2 sleep is so helpful) you will hear lots of different advice and opinions from midwives but I'd say just see how you feel and access the support/advice from infant feeding team (in hospital and in the community)you may get more consistent advice (our experience in Derby) and at the end of the day you do what works for you and your family. I'm 5 weeks pp and only just the last husband stopped giving the bottle on his 3-4hr shift as she sleeps it so I pump to keep supply

Last few days* not the last husband 🤣 But IFT are so supportive and there isn't a should and shouldn't whwn it comes to feeding because not everyone can bf

Just remember everything is guidance, not the law! As a ftm it’s so hard to trust your instincts but I PROMISE you, trust your gut when the situation arises. As the previous comments show, different situations and circumstances can impact what is best for you and for baby, you’re the only person who will know what to do. I’ve breastfed, formula fed, combi, and with each child what I did with the previous one just wouldn’t have worked. Be open about what youre thinking or what guidance is influencing your train of thought with your partner so he’s on board and can make suggestions, and that way it won’t be like you’re “taking” anything from him, a team effort xx

It can take up to six weeks for your milk supply to become established. This is the reason why it’s not advised to pump within the first six weeks.

I pumped from about 7 days pp because my little boy had a tongue tie and fed better from bottle than boob until it got sorted. I followed a pumping schedule that matched him so that my supply regulated to his needs. Eg., everytine he was hungry for a bottle, I’d pump ready for the next feed and overnight I would pump etc still. I found the momcozy M5’s to be really good for extracting all my milk out and were comfortable! I’m currently also giving away a free set of the momcozy m5’s on my TikTok page if you don’t have pumps already! @ellieanddex

No one was taking my baby anywhere for first few weeks, literally wasn’t letting him out my sight. Didn’t expect the feeling to be so strong but yeah no one took my baby. Over time dad took him in the carrier for evening walks so I could get some sleep before taking on the night shift but he didn’t take him out for day/any real period of time till he was over a year old. I couldn’t pump for first 6 weeks as I had such an over supply I didn’t want to risk making it worse 😅 I have only pumped a bit when little one started nursery because I hate it! See how you feel when baby arrives but those first few months baby is all about you, dads get their chance and it can be really hard for them but see how you feel when baby is here because you might not want dad to take them anywhere for a while anyway!

I expressed and my husband gave our little girl a bottle or 2 a day from 2 weeks so I could get some sleep. It hasn't impacted me breastfeeding at all she is still happy to do both at 7 weeks 😃