pumping question

[Luke-n-Me]

Hello!

I just have a quick question about pumping.  My DD is 2.5 weeks and from some of the advice that I read, I decided to start giving her a bottle at least 4 times a week to get her used to taking a bottle.  She's doing fine so far, my question though is about what I'm supposed to do to keep my milk supply regular.  I have been just pumping every morning as that is when I have the most time and part of the point in my pumping is so that if we are out and about in the evening, I can just take a bottle or let a sitter give her a bottle.  My question is, if I don't regularly pump when she's given the bottle, will I screw up my supply for her?  She doesn't always get it at the exact same time.  My husband really enjoys giving her the bottle and was heart broken the first few weeks as he missed that as he cared so much for my DS when he was an infant, so I really want him to be able to continue giving her a bottle several times a week, but again, I don't want to screw up my supply for her. 

I hope this makes sense-basically, if I pump in the morning to give her the bottle later, do I need to pump during the time that she takes the bottle as well?  Do I just need to try to pump directly before she takes the bottle?  If I do pump in the morning AND when she takes the bottle, will I be storing up too much milk?  I'm able to express 5-6 oz. in one pumping session and she only takes 3-4 oz.

Thanks for any advice.

[Carter'sMama]

What I always did (and still do) was pump every morning (that's when I had the most milk to pump because DS would sleep 7-8 hours).  Then I would feed him all day on his routine and at night right before his last bedtime feed, DH would give a bottle of expressed milk in addition to the breast.  We started at 2 weeks of age and I think it helped him to sleep longer stretches at night because by 5 weeks he slept 10 hours at night.  I would only give like 2oz but even now he is almost 6months and we still give him a bottle before bed (3-4oz).  Like you, I was afraid I would mess up my supply so I gave the bottle in addition to a regular feeding.  It worked great for us.  DH loved it because he was the official bottle giver and still is!!!!
Hope this helps!

[Carter'sMama]

Sorry, I forgot to add something ... I stored alot of frozen milk!  I ended up using it whenever DS had a growth spurt and would wake in the middle of the night. That way I was still able to pump alot in the morning and DH could get up sometimes in the middle of the night to deal with the growth spurt and I could sleep.  Also, now that DS is on cereal I used the pumped milk for that.  It is also handy if you need to go away and someone else has to feed your lo ie) we had a wedding last weekend so I just thawed some milk for Grandma to give.

I did have a lot frozen and I have had to throw some of it out when it expired but I was glad that it was around ... you know in case of an emergency!!!

[annamum]

Yes, as long as you offer a bottle as an additional feed, not instead, you will be fine. If you are at home and offer a bottle, and skip normal nursing session, try to pump soon after or before, this way your supply will stay up to demand.