Combi-feeding support thread :)

[moomoo]

I BF and then top up after feeds. It's hard work but it works. I needed to do it due to low supply and failure to thrive x 2 - TBH I'd much rather I could EBF but it's doubtful I will be able to...

I think combi feeding is great! It enables people to cope better and then more likely to carry on BFing. It doesn't have to be all or nothing unless you want it to be?

 

[Emmy1987]

I think combi feeding is great! It enables people to cope better and then more likely to carry on BFing. It doesn't have to be all or nothing unless you want it to be?

I agree, I feel a lot better about BF now that I combi feed. It takes some of the pressure off me, I was so overwhelmed knowing it was only me who could feed her and it made me very stressy so yay for combi feeding!

 

[lindseymw]

I'm considering combi feeding.

My DS is 6weeks old, (5 weeks prem) & so far I have EBF, I've tried to express BM but unfortunately I have no idea when DS will want his next feed, he goes from 1hour to 3hours between feeds.

I'm thinking of swapping a late night feed (10/11 o'clock) for formula, & expressing that feed, just so I can get a freezed supply of BM.

 

[cat lover]

Hi Emmy and everyone

I combi feed. I EBF for 2 weeks but was very miserable as I just couldn't seem to satisfy LO and she had lost weight (although I have now found out early weight loss is quite common). I would be stuck to the sofa literally all day and not able to satisfy her. i think I would have ended up with PND if I had continued EBF. I feel much happier in myself now, I can enjoy her more as I am happpier in myself. I truly believe combi feeding is the best of both worlds xxx

 

[Emmy1987]

Cat lover, my LO lost a lot of weight too, my first home visit was with a nazi midwife who basically made out that I was starving my baby and I should try harder (bearing in mind she would only latch onto my right breast). I ended up in tears with bleeding nipples and my nice midwife told me the next day that newborns lose weight to begin with!

Daisy was weighed earlier and now weighs 9lb 1oz! She's finally hit and passed her birthweight!!

 

[confused87com]

i combi feed with nurtiprem2 as my lil boy wasnt gaining weight well on just breast milk. i didnt want to combi feed but i tend to bottle feed when out and in the night and breast feed whenever else. My pump was rubbish so have just got a better one, waiting for its arrival. hoping it will work. I am getting frustrated with the downsides of combi feeding, fed up of pumpin as i did this for 8 weeks solid before lo came home. sick of bottles and sterilisers and feeling guilty every time i bottle/ breast feed. He has reflux and breastmilk comes back up easier so i feel guilty, but then feel bad when i bottle feed. we ahve an outpatient appt soon so am gonna see if i will ever be able to exclusively breast feed, if not then i may in a month or so exclusively bottle feed.

 

[Seity]

I started to combo feed at 3 months due to his being diagnosed with failure to thrive due to a low milk supply. I had been feeding him nonstop and tried everything to increase my supply, but it wasn't working. I was working full time since 2 months and pumping twice a day at work, going home at lunch to BF him, but I could never get much of anything with the pump, which didn't help matters because I could only pump enough for 1 bottle and he took 2-3 when I was at work.
When I first introduced formula I would BF him and after we would top him up with 1-2 oz of formula, but my husband would give him a bottle of EBM (as much as I could pump the previous day) and then formula for any other bottles he had to give him. At around 6 months, I quit pumping at work because the frustration of not getting much of anything for the time involved was creating more negative energy then it was worth. I'd still BF morning, lunchtime, evening, and for every night waking (every 2 hours at night) and he got formula from my husband for all bottles. By around 9 months, I started offering a bottle of formula before his bedtime, so that I would have enough milk to make it through all the night wakings. It had started to take over an hour to feed him and I could tell he was still hungry by some of the later morning feeds. This definitely helped my supply make it the night and I didn't want to have to deal with a crying, hungry baby in the middle of the night while I attempted to put together a bottle of formula.
As he started to eat more solids, we dropped the lunch and dinner BF and I was only BF during the night. At 11.5 months we started to mix his formula with cows milk and by 1 year had moved him completely from formula to cow's milk for his bottles and at 11 months he finally started to sleep a 5 hour stretch at night, so I was really only BF him 2-3 times a night and at 1 year + 1 week he was sleeping 8 hours and only waking to BF in the morning before getting up for the day. So, I'm still combo feeding, but down to just the one BF in the morning and cow's milk for all his daytime bottles.
We use the NUK bottles, they seemed to help prevent extra gas and he was always a burpy, spitty-uppy baby. We used the generic Up&Up Target brand formula. Cheaper than a name brand and just as good.

 

[cat lover]

Cat lover, my LO lost a lot of weight too, my first home visit was with a nazi midwife who basically made out that I was starving my baby and I should try harder (bearing in mind she would only latch onto my right breast). I ended up in tears with bleeding nipples and my nice midwife told me the next day that newborns lose weight to begin with!

Daisy was weighed earlier and now weighs 9lb 1oz! She's finally hit and passed her birthweight!!

I'm happy that Daisy has passed birthweight sometimes MW are more trouble than they're worth! xx

 

[VieraSky]

I don't produce enough milk to support Rowan, so I have to do both breastfeeding and formula feeding.

 

[Emmy1987]

i combi feed with nurtiprem2 as my lil boy wasnt gaining weight well on just breast milk. i didnt want to combi feed but i tend to bottle feed when out and in the night and breast feed whenever else. My pump was rubbish so have just got a better one, waiting for its arrival. hoping it will work. I am getting frustrated with the downsides of combi feeding, fed up of pumpin as i did this for 8 weeks solid before lo came home. sick of bottles and sterilisers and feeling guilty every time i bottle/ breast feed. He has reflux and breastmilk comes back up easier so i feel guilty, but then feel bad when i bottle feed. we ahve an outpatient appt soon so am gonna see if i will ever be able to exclusively breast feed, if not then i may in a month or so exclusively bottle feed.

I hope you get what you want and you can EBF your little man

 

[ticktock]

Glad to have found a combi feeding thread!

I've done both since day 3 as was poorly so couldn't feed Lawson so started using formula. I gradually built my supply up so now hes pretty much ebf except for a bottle before bed and one during the night.

Even so he only really takes an 1 or 2oz before bed and during the night. Sometimes the bedtime one is expressed milk. I tried not using bottles but honestly I think without combi feeding him I would have jacked in breastfeeding by now as is such hard work and 2 bouts of thrush hasnt helped either!

I was looking to post this question in bfing but didnt wanna get pounced on lol, Lawson is nearly 7 weeks now and weighs about 9lbs, and when he wakes during th night around 2/3am he only takes 2oz max before waking at about half 5/6 bf. Does that seem enough for him? Obviously dont know how much hes getting from boob and seems weird he wakes for such a small amount!

also when you mix bm with formula do you use the bm as water to mix with the formula or mix the formula and water then add the breastmilk? Does that make sense? stupid question really

 

[CandyApple19]

Hiiii really glad i found this, what are peoples general opinions on mixed feeding? i mix feed my LO so ym partner can feed him too, plus i know how much hes defo getting from a bottle, but then i know hes getting all the goodies from me too x

 

[neeyore]

hi ladies! I'm a combi-feeeding Mommy too. I wanted to exclusively breastfeed but we had so many of the common problems; poor latch, low supply and slow flow. I was up practically all night every night for the first two or three weeks and glued to the sofa most of the day as my poor baby was desperately trying to get enough milk, but she was starving all the time - I couldn't keep her satisfied for even an hour! I pumped whenever possible but could only get 1-2oz at a time which just wasn't enough. She lost 1lb off her birth weight within 5 days of being born, and didn't go back up to her birth weight of 7lb 11oz until she was 5weeks old. Hence resorting to formula feeding, I was soooooo stressed and down about it all and didn't really make my peace with the fact that this was the only way my baby was going to thrive until she was 8 weeks. Haven't looked back since then! She's now 5 months and doing so well, still has whatever milk I produce first, then formula as a top-up. I just wish I hadn't wasted so many precious moments worrying about it all.

 

[Palestrina]

also when you mix bm with formula do you use the bm as water to mix with the formula or mix the formula and water then add the breastmilk? Does that make sense? stupid question really

Good question, I'd like to know the answer too.

 

[Seity]

Mix the formula with water and then add the BM; otherwise, you'll end up with a constipated LO.

 

[sunshine2010]

Wow - I'm so glad I found this thread! I've still got a while to wait but have been baffled as to how my feeding plan may work out!

I plan to BF morning and bedtime feeds, but EBF throughout the day so OH can give bottles, I figured I may not be able to pump enough for the demand so will fill in with formula when required!

Is it better to give an expressed bottle one feed, then a formula the next feed, or to give mixed breast milk and formula together? Or should it not really make much difference?! (hope that makes sense!)

 

[Palestrina]

Wow - I'm so glad I found this thread! I've still got a while to wait but have been baffled as to how my feeding plan may work out!

I plan to BF morning and bedtime feeds, but EBF throughout the day so OH can give bottles, I figured I may not be able to pump enough for the demand so will fill in with formula when required!

Is it better to give an expressed bottle one feed, then a formula the next feed, or to give mixed breast milk and formula together? Or should it not really make much difference?! (hope that makes sense!)

It's good that you're thinking ahead, just remember that things don't always turn out how you intend them to. Expressing has its purpose, but remember that it's the baby's latch that stimulates your breasts to make more milk, not the pump. Try to BF as much as possible in the beginning.

 

[sunshine2010]

Wow - I'm so glad I found this thread! I've still got a while to wait but have been baffled as to how my feeding plan may work out!

I plan to BF morning and bedtime feeds, but EBF throughout the day so OH can give bottles, I figured I may not be able to pump enough for the demand so will fill in with formula when required!

Is it better to give an expressed bottle one feed, then a formula the next feed, or to give mixed breast milk and formula together? Or should it not really make much difference?! (hope that makes sense!)

It's good that you're thinking ahead, just remember that things don't always turn out how you intend them to. Expressing has its purpose, but remember that it's the baby's latch that stimulates your breasts to make more milk, not the pump. Try to BF as much as possible in the beginning.

Thanks for the advice

 

[ticktock]

Wow - I'm so glad I found this thread! I've still got a while to wait but have been baffled as to how my feeding plan may work out!

I plan to BF morning and bedtime feeds, but EBF throughout the day so OH can give bottles, I figured I may not be able to pump enough for the demand so will fill in with formula when required!

Is it better to give an expressed bottle one feed, then a formula the next feed, or to give mixed breast milk and formula together? Or should it not really make much difference?! (hope that makes sense!)

Hi I've found doesnt really matter when give formula or if I bf, doesn't effect his sleep or his tummy, will depend what works for you. I'd def bf a smuch as possible so you're supply is good but I was able to pump form early on so I'm sure you will. I found pumping while baby feeding on the other side was quickest way to get enough as the milk lets down quicker. Good luck!!!

 

[sunshine2010]

Wow - I'm so glad I found this thread! I've still got a while to wait but have been baffled as to how my feeding plan may work out!

I plan to BF morning and bedtime feeds, but EBF throughout the day so OH can give bottles, I figured I may not be able to pump enough for the demand so will fill in with formula when required!

Is it better to give an expressed bottle one feed, then a formula the next feed, or to give mixed breast milk and formula together? Or should it not really make much difference?! (hope that makes sense!)

Hi I've found doesnt really matter when give formula or if I bf, doesn't effect his sleep or his tummy, will depend what works for you. I'd def bf a smuch as possible so you're supply is good but I was able to pump form early on so I'm sure you will. I found pumping while baby feeding on the other side was quickest way to get enough as the milk lets down quicker. Good luck!!!

Hi, thanks for the really helpful advice