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In my opinion it will not be worth all that work! BF takes up enough time in the beginning without having to follow it up with pumping. Plus, even if DH gives the baby a bottle you will have to get up and pump so that you do not get engorged or start to lose your supply. If you are concerned about DH not bonding with the baby - don't be. My DH did not give Blake a bottle until he was about 6 weeks old and even then it was rare. However he bonded in many different ways. He was so great for encouraging me when it was rough and holding Blake and keeping him calm while I was getting ready to nurse. Also mid-meal I would hand Blake over to his daddy if he was near for a break and a burp. He did not give him a bottle but he definately bonded very strong!

Hi Jenn, Thanks for your reply. Yes, bonding is part of it, but I have also read that it's good to get the baby used to the bottle early on. And most importantly if I pump then I won't have the problem of low milk supply when the baby goes through a growthspurt - I can just express less and there'll be plenty of milk, instead of having to suddenly feed every two hours to keep her full. This means I can keep her on a routine. Also, I'm thinking that if I'm really tired in the evening I can express around 9pm and go to bed early. My DH can then do the late evening feed at around 10-11pm. I hear what you are saying though... My concern is also that it's going to be a lot of hard work with all that expressing. That's why I'm wondering if I'm going to get sick of a manual pump and should invest in an electric one. I have taken the advice about expressing to help baby through growthspurts and keep baby in routine from Gina Ford's "The contended little baby book" and what she writes makes a lot of sense to me. I really would like to try and stick to the suggestions she gives in her book. Has anyone read this book and used the advice successfully???

You would not want to do all that pumping during the day but then go to bed early and let hubby feed throughout the night. Skipping feedings like that can lead to mast_tis. At about 6 weeks I was exhausted one night and hubby didn't wake me to nurse Blake, instead he gave him a bottle of expressed milk. I woke with such pain. I skipped only one feeding but became so engorged! I fed Blake and pumped as much as I could to empty the b___st but soon started feeling feverish. My whole body ached and I had chills. My temp got to 103 degrees. I had to take antibiotics to get rid of the mast_tis. Anyhow...sorry to get of topic like that. I see where you are coming from about wanting to stay ahead of the game with the growth spurts but really they aren't that bad. His 6 week growth spurt was the only one I even noticed because he cluster fed for about two days...but your supply regulates so fast. If you nurse and pump you will have an overabundant supply. In addition to engorgment this might cause, soreness, constant leaking, and a hyperactive let down; that might cause your baby to have too much foremilk, gag, and spit up frequently. I have not read that book you mentioned but I have read The Breastfeeding Book by Dr. Sears, it is a great publication.

LOL...all of that and I really did not answer your question. If you decided to pump frequently you should go with the electric. Also you might want to get an extra set of attachments if you pump that often.

First off congrats. My little guy is 10 weeks today. We b___stfeed only, my best advice for you is to wait until you have your little girl before buying a pump. I hate pumping I have an elctric pump ( Pump in Style) Medela love it but I feel like a cow I finding pumpimg miserable. I have a manual pump also and its useless. You will have to nurse or pump every 2-3 hours in the beginning to prevent becoming engorged and to keep up your suppy . What may work for you is pumping at night then giving DH your expressed milk for the bottle that way your pumping around when baby would normally eat. Your body is able to keep up with babys growth spurts it requires little extra work and it gets your body were you need to be pumping isn't as accurate as your baby. Another thing is the bottle is very easy for baby no work unlike the sucking required for b___st so some babies get lazy and will not go back to b___st after bottle so wait until b___st feeding is well eastablished 4-6 wks before giving bottle. With all that being said I think the best advice is to keep your options open and do what feels right for your baby which you'll have to wait until shes here to figure it out. Good luck and congrats

Hi Jen, guess I've got some thinking to do!! It's all a bit confusing to me at the moment...hopefully, it'll become clearer once my little one is here and I get to know her and see what my milk supply is like. Thanks for taking time to reply.

Wanted to say sorry about how sloppy my response was am nursing and typing

Lisa, thanks for your reply. I will keep your advice about getting an electric pump over a manual one in mind. I'm going to try and stop worrying and take it one day at a time when my little girl arrives.

I would wait until 3-4 weeks at the earliest to introduce the bottle. You don't want the baby to get nipple confusion. We gave Ben his first bottle between weeks 3 and 4 and it went great with his dad. . . not so well for my parents, but good for dh- LOL! Anyway, I have an answer to your question re: the pump. I have a manual Avent Isis. It works well, but it is a little time consuming. As a result, I don't pump that often, which I should start doing b/c I want to start working a day here and here as well as have some milk stored away "just in case." I am thinking about renting an electric pump from the hospital for a month ($30-35/month, I think) to see if I like it. If I do, then I will buy a Medela PIS to have for the days I work and otherwise. BTW- my son is almost 11 weeks old.

P.S. I also like the rental idea b/c then you can find out if you are able to pump without paying a lot of money up front. Believe it or not, some women can nurse, but they cannot pump b/c the pump does not stimulate the nipple enough. Anyway, congratulations and good luck!

I must say, upon reading all these responses, I'm starting to second guess b___stfeeding when my little one gets here. I have to return to work 6 weeks after delivery and it's beginning to look like the pumping is more trouble than it's worth. :-(

ms - you can b___stfeed for 5-6 weeks and switch to a bottle. Even 4 weeks is better than no weeks -- although the first few weeks are the most difficult and sore weeks of b___stfeeding. M.B. - I use a manual pump (Advant ISIS) now only for milk for her cerial (she's 5 months). I hate pumping and tried to mix formula in with her cerial but she got bloody poops and I got too scared to use the formula it again. I pumped a little during the first month with her growth spurts because I had a cracked and sore nipple. She took the bottle from my husband and mother in law on and off since then with expressed milk, but at 4 months she quit and won't even look at a bottle. She'd rather scream for hours than take it. Since I too am a stay at home mom, it has just been easier to b___stfeed her than try to force the bottle on her, which has been more torture to my husband than quality time. Going to bed at 10-11 and handing him a bottle, i would just lay in bed listening to her cry, knowing we'd both get more sleep if I just let her nurse. It was nice to have the manual pump on hand those first few weeks with the cracked nipple. If I were you and you really want to b___stfeed, get the Advent ISIS, some Soothies, and some lanolin. It will be about a $70 investment but you'll have everything you will need if you have any problems. And the manual pump is nice to have around regardless of how much you end up using it. My advise is to not spend the money on an electric pump if you are going to be a stay at home mom. I was also tempted but looking back, I would just have a freezer full of milk she won't drink from a bottle, and a lot of wasted time. So I'd wait on the electric and see how it goes. At first I only got 1/4 oz when I tried to express. After a few tries I got 4oz in less than 10 minutes with the ISIS. Don't worry, you'll figure it all out! Everyone is going to tell you something different.

I would start with a manual, then buy an electric if you find you need one. I got my manual free from the hospital (Medela Harmony, retails for $30) and it works great. I ended up with so much milk in the freezer because my baby wouldn't take a bottle at all. She is 5.5 mos. now and is using hte milk for cereal and is drinking from a sippy cup. I was so stressed about having anough milk, now I'm struggling to get through the frozen milk before I have to throw it out! And, I'm still pumping more while I'm at work! I am such a cow!

Olivia - You said your dd started to refuse the bottle around 4 months...did you try switching the nipple to a fast flow? I once left Blake at my moms around 4 months not even realizing there was a difference in nipple flows. I left him with the same nipples he had used in the beginning...they were not near as fast as my let down and he only got frustrated b/c it was too slow.

m.b. Dont get a manual...what a waste it takes sooo long to get oz's. check out www.qualitymedicalsupplies.com I found they are the cheepest for great pumps. I waited 4 weeks before introducing a bottle but have the pump on hand before that cause if you get engorged you can pump and freeze it to have some back up. When you miss that feeding when dh feeds, try to pump to keep up the milk supply, after awhile like say 2 months your body starts to adjust to feedings and you wont get engorged as much. Now at 4.5 months my dd sleeps about 7 hours at night and I dont wake up wet anymore, and Im not super hard. Try playtex nurser they have the "natural latch" that is the only bottle we could use. Expect for the first week or 2 for her not to take to it well it may help to start her off on thee b___b for 5 min then try switching to the bottle. try to warm the nipple so its not cold (so its more like the b___b temp.) Well thats all I can think of for advice, good luck and enjoy the sleepness nights and remember b___stfeeding doesnt always come natural---its hard the first week you WILL hurt, but the pain goes away. and for like 3 weeks you will feel like a walking b___b feeding constantly, I had several days when she would feed for an hour to stop for 15 min to eat all over again for another hour. Stick with it I LOVE our special time. You will too.

Jenn.. I tried swiching to a fast flow nipple a few weeks ago so I could go out with my husband for my birthday. I thought it would be the magic solution. I left her with my sister and she tried to get her to take it but she wouldn't even suck. She screamed for over an hour instead. My sister says that now that my daughter is 5 months it is too late and she probably just won't ever take a bottle. I tried a sippy cup the other day and she took a few sips, but I think she was more interested in putting something new in her mouth. At this point I don't know what to do if nobody can even get her to try to suck the faster nipples I got. I feel like I am just going to be stuck with a lot of bottles and nipples for a baby who has made up her mind not to take them. It is frusterating because everyone made the bottle seem so wrong in the beginning and now I can't even give one to her. I work for my husband so I can take her to work with me.... but I wouldn't mind a longer dinner out (without a phone call that she really needs to eat)....