Is it okay to pump and bottle feed baby breast milk instead if breastfeeding ???

Question

Im a ftm baby is one week and i feel pressured by everyone to breastfeed i have some 
milk and i been trying to pump every 2 hrs or 3 and get 40 ml from each boob for 20 mins but my ped and other ppl keep saying its better to breastfeed idk why .. i cant breastfeed bcs im having trouble w baby latching and my nipples are not the best for breastfeeding and other complications that make it hard to breastfeed ..  ... i just feel like im doing something wrong ???if anyone is doing the same can i get some tips like for how many mins u pumped ?? Or anything helpful???

Answer

Yes you can exclusively pump and bottle feed for sure! I’ve been doing it for 7 months now. A great resource is
exclusivelypumping.com
there is sooo much info on that website for just about everything you need/want to know. 
My baby was in the NICU and really struggled to latch. I felt so defeated and it took a while for me to come to terms and be ok with not nursing. She eventually was able to latch but pumping ended up working better for us. We do occasionally nurse from the breast for her comfort when she’s fussy or doesn’t feel good. 
I started out pumping 7-8 times/day about every 2-3 hrs for 20 minutes. It’s recommended that you pump at least 120 min/day so I often times pumped longer than that amount/day. If this is something you want to do then just make sure you’re pumping that often around the clock. It is a lot of hard work but it does get easier. If you can get multiple pump parts and a hands free bra that helps. To make it easier for me I would pump and leave out a bottle for the next feeding since fresh milk is safe at room temp for 4-6hr (depending on which resource you look at.) but check out that website! If you have any specific questions don’t hesitate to ask!! What ever you choose to do as long as your baby is fed and you and baby are happy that is ALL that matters.

Answer

I did it with both my babies. It’s what worked for us.

Answer

It's definitely OK to do that. I exclusively pumped for my daughter. You should check out some Facebook groups on exclusive pumping, they will be super helpful in doing it. You want to make sure you're pumping 7-8 times a day (including middle of the night) or about every 2 hours. It sounds like a lot, but it's super important to do it to increase your supply. Until about 12 weeks, your milk supply isn't well established yet and pumping less than that could decrease your supply. If you Google "exclusive pumping schedule" there are some images and info of examples of schedules you could do for how old your baby is. I followed one and it was helpful for me to actually have a timed schedule of when to pump. As far as how long per pump, I would do 25-30 minutes, but 15 minutes can be fine too, it just depends on your body. What I've also heard is to pump 2 minutes longer after you get your last drop of breast milk.

Is it okay to pump and bottle feed baby breast milk instead if breastfeeding ???

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey