Kimberly
It will be a challenge until you find yourself a good routine. I just returned to work this past Monday, and while it's easy to offer the baby your breast while at home, it does become a bit difficult for me to find time to pump. Make sure your employer understands what your rights are as a breastfeeding mom, and that you have a comfortable, clean place to pump. It can be done - you just need to be committed to making it work for both of you. I'm sure you'll get some comments that you should quit your job so that you can continue to breastfeed,but that's just not feasible for most people these days! The most important thing is that your baby is fed, happy & healthy, and if that needs to be done by supplementing your breastmilk with formula, then that's what you do! Good luck to you - I wish you much success!

kittencat519
lol That's a good excuse to not go back to work...If you can breast feed you can pump and bottle feed! I had no problems, there are bottles out there with nipples that resemble a breast so nipple confusion isn't that big of a deal. You can run into problems if you try to introduce the bottle to soon! I would exclusively breast feed for at least 2 months before trying to switch. But you need to do the research and find the bottles that work for you! For us is was the Avent bottles worked best. Good Luck

Brenda Star
Well, I had tried to bottle feed my baby... but he just would not take the bottle. This obviously made me worry when I went back out to work (when he was about 3 mths old). My mother took care of him while I was at work and I left the expressed milk with her. She reported to me that he would not take the milk at first but that when he got hungry enough he eventually did. Within a couple of days he grew accustomed to it and would take it easily from her or my hubby or anyone else... but if I was in the room, he would not take the bottle and I would have to breast feed him. Persistence is the key to getting him to take the bottle when you are unable to nurse. Other advice: look at the type of nipple that you get for the bottle, sometimes this is the cause of the baby refusing the bottle... if he is not comfortable with the shape of the nipple or the amount of milk coming out of the nipple.

mwe_ch
Pumping and bottlefeeding is hard work, whether you are pumping exclusively or only while you are at work. That said, it's harder the earlier you go back (for e.g. if you return to work when baby is 6 months and you are only away for 8 hours, solids/complementary foods can be offerred while you are away and you can nurse immediately before you leave and immediately when you get home, pumping every few hours at work to maintain supply). As long as you know it is hard and read all you can about how to do it (great tips here and here: and here: you should be able to figure something out. What you need to know is that you should breastfeed exclusively for the first 8-12 weeks, so that both your supply and baby's latch are established and then consider introducing a bottle. But don't introduce a bottle if it's not yet necessary. Milk can be offerred from a spoon or a cup if a bottle is refused and babies WILL eat if they are hungry, so it's not necessary to get baby "used to" the bottle before you return to work. If you pump at work, you'll want to look into a good pump. There are tips on kellymom and lll websites regarding all the options out there. The best for you is different from the best for a friend as our needs, sizes, etc. are different. A LLL group (find one on ) where you can talk to other mothers who have breastfed is a good idea. Good luck.

onlyme212529
I did for 6 months with my first daughter before my milk dried up. Its a matter of process of elimination.Buy a couple types of nipples for the bottles and see which baby takes to the best. With my daughters I found that the Playtex drop in Nipples worked AWESOME!They are brown and wide and the nipple is somewhat squared on the spout.They are hard to find here in Indiana,not sure about where you live,but it was well worth the search.Those were the only nipples my girls would use rather than the breast.You may have to go through 10 different types of nipples before baby is satisfied with one,if baby takes to them at all. Also Pump whenever you get a chance that way you have a good supply of milk for the bottles. On your breaks at work,pump.Take a cooler lunchbox with you with an ice pack or two and when done pumping the milk just put it in the lunchbox to store until you get home. Pump at home between feedings if you are able too,or while baby is sleeping (nap or asleep for the night). Pretty much to make sure you have a decent supply I would pump as much as possible whenever possible.

momtotrenton
I never have had a problem with this. With my second child, as soon as he was born I started pumping inbetween feedings. This helped with engorgement and gave me a nice supply of frozen milk in the freezer. As far as your baby not wanting to switch back and forth between you and a bottle.. I haven't had any problems with that either. At first my son didn't want to take a bottle. He would only drink one or two ounces at a time. But our daycare is was really great and kept trying to give the bottle to him. Course, he really didn't have a choice. I have to work so it was either the bottle or nothing. lol. And eventually he got used to it and we have no problems. I think the best thing to do is pump as often as you can so you can build up a supply, and give your baby a chance to get used to a bottle. Good Luck and kudos to you for breastfeeding!

jen
I was. My daughter is still nursing at 16 months and has never had to have a drop of formula. I had to come back to work when she was just 8 weeks old and she took bottles of my milk her whole first year. I pumped three times a day at work for 20 minutes each time with a double electric pump. My pump is the Medela Freestyle which is expensive but worth it. It's hands-free so I could pump while eating lunch or surfing the web or working (I work on the computer). My baby did "reverse cycle" which is when they take more milk during the evening and overnight hours when mommy's home than during the day. We cosleep so that is not a problem. I guess the main tip I have is to use slow-flow nipples the whole time. Switching to the faster flow could make the baby find the bottle easier and therefore preferable. Also, don't introduce the bottle too soon, either, as that can cause nipple confusion/bottle preference. Between 3-6 weeks is when I was told is the ideal window of time to start introducing it to the baby once a day. As far as in the very beginning, know that all your baby needs is the colostrum you have until your milk comes in. Frequent nursing will get the baby the colostrum which is excellent for her health as well as filling. It will also stimulate your milk to come in. Many women don't understand that and therefore "supplement" with formula which in turn signals their body that they don't want it to make milk. It's a supply and demand system so you must put baby to the breast frequently.

1st baby-Elizabeth-Due Oct 7th
i did it there for a while..and quite successfully. baby showed no signs of nipple confusion ever.. i have since started giving her formula sometimes when i donthave time to pump..but i breastfeed, and still give her bottles of breastmilk..i had no schedule or anything,, i just gave ehr what was convenient for me. and she just ate. ;]]

Margarita
I think it depends a lot on how old your baby is. You should wait 4-6 weeks until introducing a bottle to your baby so she/he doesn't get confused and refuses the breast. After that age you can start giving the baby a bottle every now and then to get them used to it. The baby might not take the bottle from you though. You will probably need to have someone else give them the bottle. You will probably need to leave the room or even the house. Also make sure the baby is hungry enough. It might not work for the first time but do try it again. The baby will usually take milk from a bottle if someone else gives it to them and if they are hungry enough.