Breastfeeding & Bottles

As you can see, there are a lot of different opinions on this topic! I do concur with being sure to use stage 1 or low-flow nipples. I also liked that, with the Born Free bottles, the way the vent system works, if you tighten the lid down more you can slow the flow even more if you need to.
If you end up needing/wanting to use some bottles from the very beginning - DO NOT let anyone make you feel guilty about it. And rest assured, your baby will be fine. I really struggled in the beginning with feeling a lot of pressure to breastfeed only, especially for the first few weeks and even more so for the first few days - the result was that Rowan was HUNGRY - he was so much happier when we started supplementing with bottles. Even then, I felt guilty and felt pressure to nurse him as much as possible and only do a bottle if I absolutely had to. Now that I'm where I am, I really wish I had blow off that pressure much earlier on and just done what felt best for me. Trust your own instincts.

You are right. There is a lot of opinions and differences of preferences. I guess it is just like us, we have different preferences for food, etc. Some things might give me gas that doesn't you, so why wouldn't it be the same for a baby.

I think it is hard not to feel overwhelmed. I want to get the right things needed for baby and not get a lot of wasteful stuff. I hate to waste stuff. But, I guess you all have your opinions now because you have a baby and experienced it all :)

Thanks for the input.


Traci

I breastfed Elijah but introduced an occasional bottle (with pumped breast milk) starting at about three weeks.  We used the Dr. Brown 4 ounce glass bottles and started with the #1 (slowest flow) nipples.  Although I intended to and did breastfeed, I also knew I would be returning to work after three months, so I had the bottles purchased before I had him (six to start) and picked up the breast pump on the way home from the hospital.  I started pumping and freezing at about three weeks, too.  I wanted frozen breast milk and a can of formula on hand--just in case something short-term or long-term happened.

IMO you should always have some formula and bottles on hand in case of emergency. At minimum in the diaper bag and in the pantry... maybe even a can of ready-to-use in the car. Plus you're probably going to eventually use them (unless you're one of the few who nurses exclusively for the first year).

My first had to have a wide nipple. Thanks to consignment sales and friends hand-me-downs, we have tons of both types (standard size and wide nipples). From what I've read, most nursed babies prefer wide nipples (like Avent or Playtex Drop-in bottles) over the slender nipples.

I introduced mine to the bottle with pumped milk at around 6 weeks. You aren't always going to be around and you'll want a break every now and then. I pumped extra so she could have a bottle every now and then. It made going back to work at 3mos a lot easier since she was already used to getting a bottle sometimes.