Welcome! It is best to wait until your son is 6 weeks before introducing a bottle, if possible. I always had the best luck pumping after the first feeding of the morning, and then if I missed a feeding, I would try to pump about the same time my baby was fed the bottle, if possible. If you are not working, I would just pump on an as needed basis and to get a little supply in the freezer to prepare for the unexpected. As far as how much milk, I don't think there is a "normal" and whatever you do, don't let how much you can pump make you doubt your milk supply - there can be a big difference between how much you can pump and what your baby gets - babies are much more efficient than the best pump. At such a young age, I suppose 2 - 3 ounces would be enough, but again, it's hard to say. I always made my bottles as small as possible because babies tend to overeat from bottles, and because I was working and wanted my babies to get as much from the source as possible. Let us know if we can help with anything - this is a great group of moms.

I agree with cher - if you HAVE to use a bottle, try to wait until at least 6 weeks to avoid confusion or mess with your supply at all. It takes that long for mommy and baby to get into a rhythm and pass up most barriers to breastfeeding. IF you want to give a bottle so that daddy can help feed - I guess I would recommend that he do other things to bond with baby. My partners bonding time was diaper changing and story time while I fed the other one. That's just my opinion though. IN my experience - I had to give bottles since I went back to work and they were in NICU. I started pumping about 6 hours after my c-section. I remember how discouraged I was because I think I got a 1/4 of an ounce total. But each time I pumped I got a little more. There is no set amount that a woman should or can get. at a session. Again, like cher I always got the most int he morning. There were times I would get over 24 oz at a time but for the most part it was around 16 oz in the morning and then it would be 10 oz at lunch time and 7 ounces or so at the afternoon session. IF you are going to be away from baby, pump every time you would have fed him. If you are building supply pump for 5 minutes after each feed or every other feed. IF you are just wanting a frozen stash for rainy days or an unforeseen illness, pump after a feed when you get the most, in my case the morning or add a pump session at night in between feeds if you baby is going for longer sleeping stretches. Like cher said - babies will overeat from bottles so keep the flow rate slow and just use a little at a time.

I am going back to work and my pediatrician said to start after 3 weeks, pump twice a day and give the bottle twice a week. I at first had about 1 oz per pumping but in a week that went up to 3 oz and sometimes even 5 oz. The morning pumping session gives me about twice what I get in the evening. My baby took the bottle easily and did not get confused. I make it a point though to give him a little milk (2 oz or so unless I am away) from the bottle and finish the feeding from the breast. But I can see he makes a funny face when he takes a bottle and does not enjoy it :) I am not sure how much milk is enough for the full feeding but I think I read that 3 oz are enough for such a small baby.

everyone always talks about this "nipple confusion" but I've honestly never seen it, my baby had dangerously high belliruben and jaundice so we were forced to give her glucose water in a dropper or bottle after every feeding plus she hated the bluelight so she had a pacifier to calm her down so within the first few days of life she had breast, bottle, dropper, and pacifier and we have never had a single problem. I'm not trying to rip on anyone or start a fight I'm simply going from my experience so it's really up to you when you start them on a bottle.

Both cherbear and suzy have some great advice!

I would like to stress what suzy said, regarding the bonding time, etc. Some persons (ie grandparents) unwittingly want to "get to feed the baby". The fact is that if you are a stay at home mom, the best is probably to never give a bottle. As soon as you introduce a bottle, you may disrupt the natural pattern of bf.

Pumping AFER each feed may be recommended if you have really have a low supply, but you can just as easily, or even more easily, build up your supply by putting baby to thre breast more often. At 2 wks, they tend to go thru a growth spurt. Just before the growth spurt, he will ask for the breast more often, even though he may no necessarily get much out. However, the repeated stimulation by putting him often to the breast will build up your supply for when he actually IS growing more, and needing more milk! Remember to truly feed on "demand" and yo should be just fine.

If you will be going back to work at 3, 6, or 12 mths,then it will be a good idea to pump now, to get as much milk as you can to store for later. The milk is typically the richest and most nourishing when the baby is first born, and as long as he is exclusively bf. Once he starts solids, the bm changes somewhat...to take into account tha the is getting calories from elsewhere.

Here are some great links to help you decide what is best:

whether or not you need to pump, and if so, how to pump properly:

http://www.nbcionline.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16:expressing-milk&catid=5:information&Itemid=17

is baby getting enough milk? to help you decide if you do have enough:

http://www.nbcionline.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23:is-my-baby-getting-enough-milk&catid=5:information&Itemid=17

starting out right adn avoiding the biggest mistakes in bf. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

http://www.nbcionline.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45:starting-out-right&catid=5:information&Itemid=17

Good luck, and if after you read these three links, you still need more info, then by all means, feel free to ask.

I would just like to add, now that I read the other two replies posted, that it si true that NOT all babies will undergo nipple confusion. You are very lucky if yours is "smart" enough not to...

The trouble is, it is impossible to know ahead, whether or not yours WILL suffer from nipple confusion. Therefor,e if at all possible, it is definitely better NOT to take that risk...unless absolutely essential.

I am copying here an extract from on of the links I posted, which if by the way is from the website of DR. Jack Newman, bf guru, pioneer, and saint, at least in my books. Take your hubby and baby, and go to the movies together!

Expressing Milk
Why do you have to express your milk?

Many women are under the impression that it is necessary to own or use a pump to breastfeed. This is not so. You do not need a breast pump to breastfeed. Too often mothers want to express milk so that the father can feed the baby a bottle. This notion is very much pushed by formula companies in their marketing. Ask yourself why. There are many things the father can do to help you besides giving the baby a bottle. Even if it is your own expressed milk in the bottle, even one bottle a day can lead to a baby starting to feed less well at the breast and the increasing need to give more bottles. Mothers are also being encouraged to pump their milk and give it to baby by bottle for the most unnecessary reasons: weddings, doctors appointments, shopping and the list goes on. Why not take the baby with you? How can babies not be welcome at weddings? What could be a more natural place for a baby to be than a joyous family gathering? Your baby is part of the family. One of the odd things about Western society is exclusion of children from adult society. Then we wonder why they dont want to have anything to do with us when they are teenagers. If it is truly necessary to leave the baby with someone else, why not use a cup (see the information sheet Finger and Cup Feeding)?

If you go out, take your baby with you. Almost all states and provinces have laws or human rights codes that allow a mother to breastfeed in any location she is legally allowed to be. Strike a blow for breastfeeding mothers and babies! Breastfeed your baby in public! Your feeling of discomfort will soon be replaced by an incredible feeling of freedom. Furthermore, you will be encouraging other mothers to do the same while at the same time educating others, especially young children who may never have seen a baby at the breast before. Dont worry, they wont be traumatized psychologically. If you are shy about breastfeeding in public, a good place to start breastfeeding in public is at a cinema. The lights go down, the baby gets breastfeeding, is quiet, and nobody can see.

We are not keen on pumping when the mother is already supplementing her breastfeeding with formula. Yes, the baby may get a little less breastmilk and take more formula but here is why we feel this way:


Pumping is expensive (to rent or buy the machine).
Pumping is tiring and time consuming.
Pumping diminishes the mothers enjoyment of breastfeeding.
Pumping, if not done properly, may cause sore nipples.
In spite of everything we tell mothers, that you cannot tell how much you are producing or can produce, mothers look at what they pump and get discouraged.
Compression is like pumping, but instead of pumping into a bottle, you express into the baby. It works even better, in our opinion. But see the information sheet Breast Compression and the video clips on how to do compression well.

There are a very few circumstances when it is necessary to express your milk. Certainly, if baby is not yet latching onto the breast then mother needs to pump in order to maintain her milk supply (see the information sheet When the Baby is Not Yet Latching On).

Mothers may have to pump when the baby is very premature and not yet ready to go the breast (by the way, unlike what goes on in North America, very premature babies are going to the breast in Sweden for example, and breastfeeding by 30 weeks gestation, some breastfeeding exclusively by 32 or 33 weeks gestation, even before they are allowed to go to the breast in most North American special care units (yes, breastfeeding at the breast, not being fed breastmilk by bottle). See the information sheet on Breastfeeding the Premature Baby.

Finally, if you dont have adequate maternity leave you may need to express your milk. Incidentally, anything less that 6 months maternity leave is inadequate. See the information sheet What to Feed the Baby When the Mother Works Outside the Home. This information sheet is geared, however, to those mothers who do have at least 6 months maternity leave. If, in your country, you have less than 6 months maternity leave, when you start having a little free time, start lobbying government to do something about such a disgraceful situation.

Breastfeeding is so much more than breastmilk and whenever possible, the baby should be at the breast. A pump is not as efficient as a well-latched baby and so a baby who breastfeeds well is the best pump. Of course some babies dont breastfeed well.

I started pumping around 3 weeks to start to build a supply and my daughter got her first bottle around 5 weeks. I had 3 months off for maternity leave and work from home, but once I went back to work, I knew I needed to travel so I wanted to be sure the baby was comfortable with a bottle. When I first started pumping, I was lucky if I got an 1 ounce. The first time she got a bottle, she only took about 2-3 ounces anyway so by that time, I had enough stored. My daughter got a pacifier by day 3 and a bottle by 5 weeks and has never had any nipple confusion.