Many mothers choose to feed their babies expressed breast milk from a bottle at some point. Some reasons for bottle-feeding breast milk include a mother returning to work, the need or desire to leave the baby with an alternate caregiver and not wishing to breast-feed in public. Don't get discouraged in the early days of bottle-feeding your breastfed baby. It may take some time to get the hang of pumping, storing and feeding your child expressed breast milk.
Practice Pumping
Pumping breast milk takes some practice. Your breasts will not let down milk as easily for the breast pump as they will for your baby, especially the first several times you attempt to express milk. Try to relax and pump in a quiet, distraction-free place. It may help to nurse the baby on one side and pump on the other side to aid in milk let-down in the beginning.
Store Breast Milk Safely
Immediately after pumping, place your milk in a storage bag or in a glass or plastic bottle. FamilyDoctor.org recommends storing your milk in quantities close to what your baby will eat to avoid having to throw milk away. Place this in a cooler or refrigerator as soon as possible, unless you will be giving it to your baby within 8 hours. Store breast milk in the refrigerator for up to 8 days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
Warm Breast Milk Safely
Do not put breast milk in the microwave to thaw it or to warm it up, as it can deplete some of the nutrients in the milk. Microwaving can also heat the milk unevenly and cause burns in your baby's mouth. If the milk is frozen, put it in the refrigerator for about a day to thaw. If you need to thaw it more quickly, hold the bottle of milk under warm running water. This is also a safe and effective way to heat cold breast milk to feed your baby.
Feeding the Baby
Your baby may be more amenable to accepting a bottle if someone other than the mother feeds him, according to Ask Dr. Sears. Encourage the person to allow the baby to drink from the bottle at will, as opposed to forcing the nipple into his mouth. Walking around with him, switching the side that he's cradled in halfway through the feeding and experimenting with holding him in different positions may help the baby to accept the bottle more readily.
