Advice on mixing bfing and formula feeding please!

[A1983]

Hi there, my little girl is 5 months old and in the 91st percentile for weight from ebf since birth. I will be returning to work in about 3 months plus my mum is going to have her twice a week as of next week as 'practice' for looking after her when I return to work. I've literally given myself headaches over trying to decide what to do with her milk!! It's so easy I personally find to bf-whenever and wherever and it's an instant mute button to any crying ;-) and also an instant hypnotic! She sleeps after a feed if out in busy places where she wouldn't do so if she didn't have my breast.

Sooo...im considering breastfeeding her in the morning and before bed (and during night if she wakes) and then formula in the day? She does take a bottle but is yet to fall asleep post feed like she does with the breast-I take it she will do this one day??

She's also going to start solids in a month and so will probably be wanting less milk. If I breastfeed her morning and night, how many bottles of formula does she need in the day and do I have to stick to certain times to give her these? As with bfing it's on demand so ive never had to worry about over feeding her-gosh-what to do between feeds and play time now when she cries?!!

Its going to be a difficult transition too as I love bfing ... but this needs to be done. I'm not wanting to pump-I did that a lot in the beginning and it's too much hassle.

It's such a minefield to me atm-also when she starts solids I haven't a clue how much milk she'll need then! Ohh and as an experiment my mum just gave her 3oz of formula after a feed from me this afternoon and she guzzled it until she was sucking air??!! She didn't seem hungry though??

Sorry for all the questions!

 

[shanny]

i bf morning and night and my baby has 7/8 ozs 3 x a day (he has a routine) and is 17 weeks

formula boxes usually say how much to give although mine has a little more

it suits for flexibilty and allows me to bf for longer

i am no expert but i would establish the bf and bottles before introducing food

maybe giving bottles a a specific time ish might help your mum??

 

[A1983]

Brilliant Shanny, thank you! Yes we're starting this bottle feeding during the day as of Monday so a whole month until we introduce solids.

What do you mean by being able to bf for longer? How long have you mixed the feeds for? It's definitely going to give me a lot more freedom despite it being a bit sad Also does your baby fall asleep in your arms after a bottle? Only my lo will only sleep afterxa bf or in her cot/pram so if my oh holds her she wont sleep as only associates me with food and sleep...im hoping the bottles will allow for her to fall asleep on him/others? So far she's always remained awake after a bottle but then maybe she's still been hungry...

 

[lanaross]

4 bottles 8 oz each for us - 2 FF and 2 EBM. I also managed to breastfeed as well. We changed routine when I stopped letting her fall asleep on a breast so there is no food=sleep association. She never fell asleep on the bottle. Ever. Although I do agree with you, I still think it was the best part in breastfeeding - calming them down with it, and 99% of all problems get resolved like that When her sleep=food association stopped, her sleep actually improved dramatically. We just started cuddling in a rocking chair and I used to sing to her. Now we read books before bed and cuddle in her big bed. I am planning to do the same with DS in a month or two.

 

[kaths101]

I did exactly as you plan to do with my first and probably will again, all I would say is start weaning off the boob now so it's not a big change when you go back to work. I went back when he was 8 months old and for the last 3 months I alternated breast and bottle. It also helps your supply adjust! I breast fed fine in the morning and at night and he had 2 bottles in the day plus some purée or mashed banana. Worked fine for me!

 

[A1983]

Thanks ladies! X

 

[irish_cob]

You can do on demand ff too hun, it doesn't have to be a particular number of ounces of formula at specific times, I just let my daughter decide when she wanted feeding - dd1 was ff from 5 weeks. Still bfing dd2 so far!

 

[MummyMana]

I agree, give formula on demand in the hospital they were so strict with feeding times etc. but as soon as we got home if she was hungry she got a bottle if she wanted more she could have more, if she didn't want all of it that was fine too! Nowadays she has grown predictable and usually has 4 9oz bottles about 3 hours apart but I don't stick to that if she doesn't want to