Bottles are not practical at first
There will be very small amounts of colostrum (pre-milk) in the first couple days after delivery.If you hand express or pump it out, you’ll likely get just a few drops, but probably no more than 1 tsp each time, which is 5mLs = 5cc.
Ideally, production will gradually increase day by day, so within a couple weeks, you could remove 2-3 ounces (60-90mLs) every 2-3 hours.
Syringe feedings
Before your milk comes in, you'll be lucky to pump a few mLs of colostrum into the bottom of the bottle, as described above. If you tip the bottle over to try to feed this to your baby, the drops of milk will just stick to the inside walls of the bottle. Instead, use a syringe to suck the drops of milk from the bottom of the pump bottle. Feed the drops to your baby from the syringe. In the first couple days, your baby doesn’t need much to eat anyway.
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Cup and spoon feedings
Before your milk comes in, it's sometimes more efficient to hand express the small amounts of colostrum directly into a spoon, shot glass, or a Haakaa.
SUPPLEMENTAL NURSING SYSTEM (SNS) by Medela
You might choose to keep all the feedings, including supplementing, AT the breast.This requires a baby who is willing to latch on and suckle.
Your pumped breastmilk, donor milk, or formula is in the bottle attached to your bra or hanging from your neck.
Supplemental milk runs through a small tube that is taped to your breast. This tube drains the milk into your baby's mouth as he suckles at the breast. This is quite cumbersome at first, but if you are one who produces very little milk, but you really want the experience of breastfeeding, you can breastfeed using this system.
DIY Supplemental Nursing System (SNS).
The end of the tubing sits in milk in the bottom of the bottle. The baby suckles and siphons milk out through the tube. The tube is taped next to the nipple for the baby to suckle. The bottle nipple is there simply to support the tube.
Introduce a bottle at 3 to 4 weeks
If supplemental milk is needed beyond the first few days of life, using a syringe, cup, or spoon might become overwhelming. You'll need to keep reflling them, as your baby will need more and more.Move on to paced bottle feedings.
Kay Anderson MD, IBCLC
5/23

