We are doing this some of the time, and it's working great. Here's what I learned when I was researching it:
- between 4-6 weeks is the ideal time to introduce a bottle, because the baby has (theoretically) gotten good at breastfeeding by then (some won't have), but they are not yet so set in their ways that they won't take to a bottle. Note that it's really important that your baby be good at breastfeeding before you try a bottle. This is because the bottle is easier to get milk out of than the breast, and it requires a different jaw action to do it. So if you give the baby a bottle too often or too early, you risk them deciding that the breast is no good, and then you have a problem.
- you have to keep expressing to maintain your supply. I found I had to gradually build up the amount I could express at a time.
- you should choose the lowest flow teat you can find. This is because faster flow will be too much for a young baby anyway, and you want to make them work for their milk, to reduce the difference between the bottle and the breast.
We first gave DD a bottle of expressed milk at about 4 weeks, but only because she was (and is) a very good feeder. If we'd been having trouble with the breastfeeding I would have waited longer to try that. She took to the bottle easily. I've let DH give her all the bottle feeds, because we figure that will confuse her less than if I do it. Getting DH to give her a feed late at night was a lifesaver for me at first, but remember that most babies change their sleeping habits quite fast anyway. Now, at 8 weeks, DD Is sleeping for 5-6 hours overnight, and I am not so desperate for the sleep that I need DH to give her a bottle any more. So we are still doing it occasionally, when I have to go out, but not for the same reason.
I bought the Medela Swing Pump before DD arrived, and we are using Medela bottles. I find they work well, but I don't have any comparison with other brands, so can't comment. We have:
- one pump
- two bottles (one is 150ml, one is 250ml), but I've just ordered more bottles, because it seems that 150ml is a convenient size for me to pump into to store in the fridge).
- 3 small teats and one medium teat that we haven't used
- a box of special bags for storing braestmilk in the freezer, that won't leach nasty chemicals into it, and so forth. You can't reuse these, but since I don't plan to be freezing that much milk, I think they will last a long time, which is good because they are expensive.
Have to say, the breast pump is one of the more useful things I've bought. Great for relieving uncomfortable engorged breasts!
Tenar - there has been thread in the past about those bags. Sometimes the 'proper' bags can be hard to find, and zip locs can be a good alternative.
Will ziplocs ooze icky chemicals?
You can freeze the avent bottles. They sell them as "freezer storage bottles" with 4 in a box and you can reuse them endlessly. I did the bags and they were an annoyance so I'm kind of glad with all this chemical leaching plastic bizzo that they aren't readily available anymore. Well where I live anyway.
Sorry, I cant help you with the whole BF thing (I formula feed) but I can tell you that you want to buy BPA free bottles and plastic storage containers.
I got regular bottles and then did some research and found out that plastics with BPA in them have been banned for use for babies in some countries.
The packaging on the "safe" ones has BPA free on them.
GL
If you're looking for BPA free bottles try Cherub baby (they have a website where you can order online). I got a great starter kit that included a breast pump, steriliser and two bottles, all BPA free for around $70 or $80. I'm yet to try it all out, but thought it was a good pack for getting started and seeing if expressing etc works for us.
Farmgirl, there is some good advice in this thread. It is great that this works for some people, but I feel that I would be remiss not to tell you that this is the minority of cases. Most of us plan to have our partners do one feed, but often this doesn't work out as we hoped. I am not saying this to put you off, but just so you know up front, to save disappointment down the track.
Tenar has raised some very valid points about introducing a bottle early. It is recommended that you use a spoon or cup for feeding EBM in the early weeks if EBM is needed, as introducing a bottle early can cause problems with breastfeeding. And missing feeds without expressing in the first 6 - 12 weeks when supply and demand is being worked out by your body can have an impact on your ongoing supply. As well as that, most mums have too much milk in the early weeks and therefore feel really full when missing a feed. So often the reality is that much as we want to miss the feed and sleep, we can't anyway as we are too uncomfortable. And one more thing is that establishing breastfeeding in the early days with a newborn can be really tough, and trying to figure out and fit in expressing as well can add a lot of stress.
Dads can help out with baby in so many ways and have bonding time even when they are not giving feeds. They can change the nappy and bring baby to you for feeds, they can hold and comfort an unsettled baby while you rest (often babies settle better on Dad's chest where there is no milk smell), and/or they can do the bathing. And of course any help with washing etc will be very much appreciated!
It might be an idea to keep these things in mind, and see how you go in the first weeks before you make a decision. If all is going well and you want to give it a try, that's great. If not, I am sure you will find another arrangement that works for you.
With regard to what you need, I wouldn't get too much up front. See how you go. You can always buy a pump and accessories after the baby is born. If it looks like you will be expressing frequently, it will be worthwhile spending more for a good electric pump. It might be though that you find that you won't express much and a cheaper one will be fine. You can also hire pumps. For EBM storage I recommend the Avent cups as being the best value. Zip lock bags such as Glad freezer bags are not recommended as there are concerns about their safety. And you don't need a steriliser - the current recommendations are that you don't need to sterilise equipment used for breastmilk - just wash in cold water first, then in warm soapy water at least once in 24 hours when they have been used.
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