Feeding arrangement between your partner and you? EBM, BM and Formula

Question

Hello all! FTM here with a newborn of two weeks.
I’m trying to establishing an optimal sleep time for both my husband and I before he goes back to work and to help me making my life with bub a bit easier.
Our initial plan was to formula feed or expressed breast milk feed at night and skin to skin breastfeeding in the morning.
What I wanted to find out is how you arrange your time with your partner around feeding?
Also what do you find easier when going outside with bub and need to breastfeed him? And what do you hate about it.
Just need people to share their honest experience to get through this dilemma
Thanks!

Answer

We found it way way easier to just nurse, some mornings my SO would take our son after I had nursed him in the morning letting me sleep a few hours. 
Letting baby nurse directly at night also gives both mum and baby sleep hormones so both fell asleep faster - would be double the work to wake both up for me to pump and dad to give a bottle.

Answer

I prefer to just nurse. 
My girl does get a bottle most mornings because she is on a multivitamin (she was premature) and it’s easiest on her tummy mixed with breast milk. We slack on this often because it is a pain in the butt. My husband thaws milk (I have a small stash I maintain) and feeds babe while I get up to pump. 
I have to pump while he feeds to maintain my supply. You always pump in place of a feed. Pumping/bottle feeding sucks because of all the cleaning maintenance. Cleaning pump parts and bottles is annoying. You also have to change pump parts often. 
Yes, it’s bonding time with dad but honestly he gets better bonding time on the days we don’t do the bottle. He wakes an hour before he “has to” and spends that time with his daughter while I sleep. Either I fed her before they play or he wakes me to feed her. The bottle prep/feeding cuts into that time. She eats slower on the bottle with proper pace feeding. She’s very efficient on the breast.
If you choose to exclusively pump, you need to pump every 3 hours around the clock. I did this the first week of her life as she was in the nicu and it was way more work than waking and breastfeeding her every 3 hours. 
Nursing in public is not a problem for me. If my daughter is hungry, I feed her. I don’t wear a cover (it’s almost always too hot in Texas). I keep my shirt down to her nose and her head covers the rest. You can also do the nursing tank layering method. It’s comfortable and minimal exposure. 
Me nursing in public this past weekend. Had a pleasant conversation with a cop while doing so (not about breastfeeding). Just a happy holidays exchange. 👍🏻

Answer

First of you bottle feed (whether it’s formula or BM) you have to maintain pumping when baby feeds, or you will lose your supply. So, I’m my opinion, it’s just way easier to nurse. I had a rocking chair in my room and nursed in my room. My husband slept through it. Newborn phase is tough and sleep isn’t really optimal across the board. It’s a short phase though.

Answer

Hubby and I have a system. At night, when she cries, he gets up and changes her diaper, then gives her to me to feed. After she’s done, one of us puts her back into her crib. 
I don’t pump unless I have to.

Answer

I personally found it easier to just nurse (especially at night). My husband was working 60 hr work weeks when our son was born and so i didnt feel a need to wake him unless our son just wouldnt go back to sleep and i got frustrated. I felt it was easier to just go in and pop the boob out rather than have baby already awake and crying, go get the breastmilk, warm the breastmilk in a bottle but not too warm, then have to pace feed baby with the bottle. 
I do wish i wouldve had him taking bottles sometimes so my husband or someone else could feed him during the day when he was home and me get a little break. But i probably wouldve been scared about my supply then if i werent nursing. I was paranoid lol next baby we are gonna try bottles of breastmilk and nursing. Gonna have to figure out a schedule for that

Answer

Just nursing is SO much easier. Our arrangement was that I would do a final pump before bed. My husband would stay up and feed the baby one more time around midnight. When baby work up again around 4, I took over for the day, while he slept in a little.

Answer

What we’ve decided is for me to just nurse twice a day and pump the rest of the time. I have so much more flexibility that way.  Our son is 8 weeks and he only wakes up once in the middle of the night to eat so my husband feeds him because he gets up for work at 345 am anyways, and I pump at that time and then baby and I go back to sleep.

Answer

Just nurse the baby. He can help in other ways like diaper changes, etc.
If you’re out, you nurse just like at home. You’re legally allowed to nurse in public.

Answer

Unless you plan to formula feed, it's easier to just nurse. Even if dad gives pumped milk at night, you still have to get up too to pump or the supply will dwindle. 
I've ebf'd with all 3. They've only gotten bottles while I work. My partner is more than helpful in other aspects such as; bathing and getting older kids ready for bed if I was stuck nursing, cooking when I feel too overwhelmed to do it, diaper changes, making sure I have snacks and water within reach, and letting me nap whenever I can. Did more housework and the morning school run when I was working full time too.

Answer

I've always found directly breastfeeding to be the easiest. If you're bottle feeding overnight, when are you pumping to express that milk? If it's also at night, why not just feed the baby and cut down on 2 sets of dishes (bottles and pump parts)?
With our first the hospital put us in a crazy feeding schedule of directly feeding, supplementing, and pumping. My husband got up with me and did the routine every night for the first 2 weeks or so before I had a break down and he told me to just nurse for as long as baby wanted it. We've done that with babies 2 and 3 and it works much better for us. He'll wake up talk with me if I need it.

Feeding arrangement between your partner and you? EBM, BM and Formula

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