[ShannonMVT]

I pumped 2.5 oz the other day and 1 oz tonight. I want to introduce a bottle around a month, but I may not get to it until next week (have to buy a bottle first). So I guess I need to freeze this milk.

But I was wondering, how many oz do they normally take around this age? I have no idea how much he eats at the breast. Should I combine the two containers of milk I have and freeze them together so there's enough for one feeding?

I'm also open to suggestions for bottles, although I know it seems to vary so much depending on what each baby prefers. I plan to do occassional bottles, but he will be mostly BFed.

Oh yeah one more question, my instruction manual says to clean the breast pump parts with warm water and soap after each use. So I don't need to sterilize them after each use? But for bottles, I will need to sterilize them after each time, right?

[**Jenn**]

You wash the bottles the same way you wash your pump parts. They don't need to be sterilized after each use, just before you use them the first time.

I wouldn't combine the milk because you don't know how much he'll eat or how hungry he'll be at the time you introduce the bottle. I never pumped that early on so I don't know how much they eat but when I supplemented formula with Liam early on he wouldn't take more than 2oz at a feeding. When I got my breast pump when Liam was about 4 months old, and when pumping for Loch, I would always freeze different amounts--4oz, 2oz, and 1oz. You can always defrost more if he's still hungry but if he doesn't finish a bottle that's breastmilk wasted. I always had a terrible time pumping so I didn't want to waste a drop!

[~*Bethy*~]

to the first part

My kids at about 3 weeks ate about 3 oz every 2-3 hours. I wouldnt combine it, but keep it thawed in case he wants more. as for bottles, I swear by the playtex nursers. All the air can be squeezed out, and you can change the liner with each use. Plus if you get the target brand liners, their cheap and work just as well. Hope I helped!!

~Beth

[greeneyes]

I absolutely LOVE my BornFree bottles. They have a tried and true venting system that is excellent and are BPA free. They also have a wide neck so you get a wider nipple which is more like the breast.

Link: BornFree - Catalog: Bottles

Drugstore.com sometimes has them on sale and I know BRU carries them in stores.

[SandKmommy]

The Playtex Ventair's are the ones that Seamus used when I pumped for our honeymoon, they are supposed to be like the breast.

My pump's book says to freeze milk in 2-3oz parts, and at this age I think 2-3oz is normal every few hours? I'm not exactly sure since I've never pumped to feed or bottle fed.

[ScottishBrit]

For us Cambria would NOT take a bottle till she was almost 4 months old. She would gag on the nipples ( and paci's ) everytime. It was so sad. So I never really knew how much she was eating. We use Playtex drop in's. I will say when we have another one we will be using something else. It's very easy but becomes a hassle and a waste cause you go there the insert's like crazy. Such a waste and always running out! DH hates em too.

I think I read on kellymom or another website - you should only combine milk pumped on the same day, otherwise freeze seperately.

I sterilise my pump before each use but no one on JMs does this. It seems to be advice given in the UK. I just thought it was what I had to do, like with bottles & dummies, but I asked a few girls on this board & asked on the pumping board and all the girls use hot soapy water.

I'm with Amy though - Kirsty still refuses a bottle. I tried her daily for a month then gave up about a week or 2 ago. I have a feeling she will skip bottles completely.

[Frozendesire]

I would freeze in 2oz units. 2oz should be good enough. I would freeze the rest for a "just incase" feed, so if 2oz wasn't enough, thaw the 1 oz and see if baby wants that. Hope that makes sense.

That's a great pump session!! Oh and bottles and pump parts are just washed in warm soapy water, sterilized before first use.

I used a different kind with Curtis (his was not BPA free and recalled) but now I'm using Playtex drop ins. They are alright since I only use one bottle every other Tuesday when MIL baby sits. Other then that I would want a different system cause I hate remembering to buy liners.

[Alison81]

I agree with the all the advice already. I usually tried to fill Elsa's bottle with what I pumped. She ate different amounts, sometimes 2oz at 4 weeks, sometimes 4oz. I'd probably have the extra ready to be thawed if he wants more, it only takes a few minutes to thaw it anyway. And I usually put my pump in the dishwasher after a few uses, but used warm soapy water inbetween dishwasher washes.

As for bottles. I loved the playtex drop in's and ventaires. It was the only bottle Elsa liked, and I am going to use them this time also.

[Resi]

At this age I froze 2 oz. We use Green To Grow bottles but they are only available online.

[misfitinmn]

I would probably not combine them - his little tummy is still so little, I'd start out with 2oz (or less) bottles the first couple times - you can always thaw more, but it'd be such a waste to have to toss milk he didn't finish, you know? Ben still only takes 4oz in a bottle at 10 months now.

We use the Playtex drop-ins...I liked them because the nipple is wider and to me seemed closer to the breast, and he had his first bottle at 2 weeks old and hasn't really had nipple confusion.

I don't sterilize things everyday. I wash my pump with hot soapy water, and I wash the storage bottles and nipples that way, too. I sterilize them regularly, just not daily.

[ANGWife]

Originally Posted by ~*Bethy*~

to the first part

My kids at about 3 weeks ate about 3 oz every 2-3 hours. I wouldnt combine it, but keep it thawed in case he wants more. as for bottles, I swear by the playtex nursers. All the air can be squeezed out, and you can change the liner with each use. Plus if you get the target brand liners, their cheap and work just as well. Hope I helped!!

~Beth

Henry eats 3 oz every 2-3 hrs. I pump and give him BM bottles 3 times a day. And I usually give him 2-3 oz. And I LOVE our Playtex drop ins!

[Mars]

I'd start with 2oz and see how much he's taking. If he needs more, then increase and decrease if he takes less.

I use the Evenflow glass bottles as well as the plastic, BPA free ones that came with my storage set. I can't remember the exact name but it's Mother's Mate or something like that. I also have Nuby and Avent but haven't used them to feed with.

[soImarriedAnerd]

i just wanted to throw out there----since it takes less effort to bottle feed then breastfeed most babies take more with bottle then the breast....the full trigger takes 20 min to start so be careful not to overfed (they will drink till the feeling hits--but its more with bottle). I would start low and work your way up.
Sterilizing only needs to be done once at the beginning.

[ShannonMVT]

Thanks everyone! And good point Angela, since he is a BIG spitter up, I surely don't want to overfeed.

[**Jenn**]

Because I started supplementing Liam with formula (stupid ped ) when he was 3 days old I did not want him to have nipple confusion so I used the lowest flow nipple I could find (we used Dr. Brown's bottles). I kept him on preemie flow for a long time--he was a bad spitter-upper on formula. We didn't go to stage one until he was about 4 months old and didn't go to stage two until he was probably 7or 8 months. Once I relactated though (at 5 months old) he rarely used a bottle. It was funny because the next time he used one was when dh and I went out to dinner and it had been a couple months for him and he didn't even remember what to do with it!

[soImarriedAnerd]

^^^oh duh! I forgot to mention that lowest flow (more work) nipples are what we recommended for BF babies! (thats where my post was going before my preggo brain kicked in! LOL).