Breastfeeding, can I just use my milk and put it in a bottle?

Question

As for breast feeding, I went throught all the training when pregnant w/ my son a long time ago and I still just couldn't get him to breast feed so he went to bottles. It ended up he needed soy milk due to digestive problems anyway.

My question is, if I want to 'breast feed' but want to pump it into a bottle and then feed it to the baby rather than just having the baby directly on my breast (for example, say the baby has latching issues, or what ever the issue is....), do you see any draw backs to this?

So, if the baby won't breast feed, can I still feed the baby my milk?

Anyone had to do this?

Answer 1

yes you can. My sister in law uses the pump and put the breast milk in the bottle. You can refrigerate the milk too. Go to web site that has a information about storage breast milk.

Answer 2

Yes you can just pump, I did.  However, you will have to pump more often (I had to every other hour) to keep my milk supply up.  I also took herbs to help increase my milk because just by pumping, I was not producing enough milk (when a baby latches, they are able to get more milk out).  The herbs are called Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle (3 tablets each, 3 times a day).  I just want to warn you that it takes a lot out of you to pump.  I could only do this for a few weeks and it got too much.  Once I would start to pump, my baby was fussy and I ended up not finding the time to pump.  Oh, since I pumped and there were times I couldn't because not enough came out, I had to supplement with formula.  My 2 month old is now 100% on formula and is very healthy.  Even if you pump for a few weeks and then switch to formula don't beat yourself up about it, at least your little one got some breast milk.  Good Luck!  

Answer 3

how do you think working mothers breastfeed? while the baby is at daycare, did you think they just didn't eat anything? of course you can, why would they make pumps if you couldn't? but if he uses soy milk, most likely you would have to cut dairy out of your diet to breastfeed, and you would still have to be producing milk, you cant just start again because you feel like it.

Answer 4

Yes you can just pump the milk and put it in a bottle. I know my baby wouldn't take to the breast so the bottle it was!

Answer 5

you certainly can, do this for as long as you can.  

Answer 6

the main drawback is that a baby is more effective at draining the breast than a pump. babies usually don't need a different milk besised breastmilk sometimes the mom can eliminate the food from her diet that is causing the digestive issue

http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_roo...

Answer 7

I've never heard of that,I don't think so!

Answer 8

It is called exclusively pumping.  That is what I did with my daughter for 12 months.  It was the only way I could get her my milk.  My milk didn't start coming in until 8 days after her birth and didn't fully come in for another 2 days.  So since it had been so long, I had to formula feed her for about a week before that.  By the time my milk came in she had no interest in going back to the breast, even though in the first few days she was doing pretty well with it.

There is nothing wrong with exclusively pumping.  If you can't directly breastfeed then it is the next best thing.  The only real down side is that it is VERY time consuming.  It is take more time than breastfeeding and formula feeding combined.  So it was not my first choice.  That being said, I was very happy with my decision.

I am now about 7 weeks pregnant.  I really hope that I can breastfeed, but if it doesn't work out again then I will exclusively pump again.

Answer 9

If you CAN breastfeed directly (and significant latching issues aren't common) then it's by far the easiest and best way to give breastmilk.

But if baby can't nurse for some reason, it is very possible to pump exclusively and give breastmilk by bottle; and it's far better for baby than getting formula.

Drawbacks:

1. Takes a lot of time. You have to pump and then feed, so it takes twice as long.

2. Pump isn't as efficient as baby in stimulating supply, so you may not get quite enough and have to supplement. Or you may find your supply drops over time.

3. A few of the benefits of breastfeeding are reduced/eliminated if you pump/bottlefeed. (Nursing stregnthens baby's jaw and reduces the odds of crooked teeth.  Nursing directly at the breast enhances bonding. When baby nurses his saliva gets into the breast, and that helps your body make appropriate antibodies to protect him against illness.)

Again, I would try my best to nurse baby at the breast.  But if that's not possible, then exclusive pumping is the next best option, and far better than formula. (Esp. given your family history of allergies.)