Help with combination feeding

[Natty_babez]

Hi

I am wanting to try and feed this baby myself again but also feel like combination feeding might fit in better than just exclusively breastfeeding. I was thinking breast when I'm at home and at night time and then if we go out that's when she'll be given a bottle mainly because my other half can help and I am not confident enough to feed her myself in public (no nasty comments please !!)

Has anyone done this before and it worked fine for them ? My sister in law did this but I've not had a chance to properly speak to her about it and want other people's opinions also .....

 

[happynewmom1]

I did this with our first and it worked quite well. He chubbed up way quicker than with the two others.. And I'm not sure if it's because they are girls that they didn't or because I didn't combination feed them. But otherwise it worked fine for us. He took to both just fine so I could switch on and off with no issue.

 

[Hayley90]

X

 

[Natty_babez]

I was planning on expressing as well as to try and not mess my supply up and possibly the milk ive expressed using that for while we're out. I tried to breast feed with my little girl and in the end gave up as I didn't like not knowing exactly how much she was getting and she was constantly on the boob and using me like a dummy but this time I really wanted to give it a good try again but I'm so worried about all sorts of things. The main being going out I know I just won't do it myself if I was only to get one horrible look or one comment that would be it and also when I'm at home and we have visitors I would go upstairs to feed this baby but how long can it take for one feed ?

I have mentioned to my other half I'd prefer not to have any visitors for a day or 2 at first as I'll be so tired as I want to spend time bonding all together as a family and don't want my little girl to feel left out so maybe by the time visitors do start coming round I can just use a muslin cloth or something to cover myself.

Obviously apart from the benefits of breastfeeding I just think it would be a lot easier for night times but I don't want to set myself up for a fall or make excuses. My other half isn't really having much time of he can't afford to so a few days after I've had this baby I will be doing the school runs etc so is it really capable of doing do you all think ?

 

[happynewmom1]

I think it could work and could give you a break. Especially if you would be pumping for the supply issue. Which is something I don't remember being a problem but I did pump sometimes.. Nothing I did was at the same time every day I don't think. Maybe roughly. Babies do tend to want to stay nursing especially in the beginning so I'd say you could try it.

For nursing around people, if you want to give it a shot, Google nursing covers.. There are some really handy ones. Also I found a good way of doing it discreetly is to wear say a t shirt with an under shirt.. That way if you lift the t shirt you have the under shirt covering you and the t shirt covering the top of the boob.other shirts work to do this too.

It's really going to be about what works for you. If you want to exclusively breastfeed then you will just have to consider how much time nursing they need when babies. I used a wrap when a newborn and still use a carrier sometimes and nurse in those. There are benefits either way. When I combo fed breastfeeding /formula with our first I found it really convenient to be able to make bottles when going out or if someone was going to watch him for me. On the other hand, once you get used to it, feeding in public isn't too bad and you don't have to pay for formula and it's easily accessible.

Sorry if I'm rambling.. So tired today lol this might sound lame but you could make a pro/con list and go over it with your OH. If you are thinking of combo feeding so he can help, I'd sit down and discuss with him good luck!

 

[noon_child]

Combi feeding can definitely work but I think it is more likely to if you go in with your eyes open about what is normal when breastfeeding. Otherwise you'll start using the bottles to "fix" breastfeeding problems that aren't really there, and this is the slippery slope to using formula all the time.

Also think about how much you want the breastfeeding to continue and what you are and are not willing to risk to keep it/lose it. For example, some babies develop a very strong preference for bottle teats if introduced to them too early and reject breastfeeding entirely. Not all, but some. I had to use bottles from 2 weeks because LO wouldn't consistently latch and feed and she swapped back and forth fine, but I know other people who really struggled to get their baby back to the breast after introducing bottles. I think around 4 weeks is recommended to introduce bottles and have the most chance of continuing breastfeeding, however those first 4 weeks are often the hardest in terms of stressing out about whether baby is feeding effectively and how much milk they are getting.

Whatever you choose, remember that until your milk comes in proper (3-5 days on average) there isn't much point in using bottles as LO will only need tiny feeds and the colostrum your body produces in small amounts is just packed with the best stuff.

It is OK to want to wait longer than a few days to see relatives as you and baby need to get to know each other. Relatives are an amazing resource for your OLDER child and helping cook meals etc. but you shouldn't feel like they need to be entertained or that your baby is a prize to be passed round.

Im not sure I'm making sense...too early...good luck!

 

[Natty_babez]

Thanks ladies for all your advice it's really helping

How often do babies feed during the day and night ? If I remember right my little girl was wanting a bottle roughly every 3 hours

With regards to the visitors I can't see any of them offering to help out or make meals etc they will just all come round just to see the baby and that's what I'm dreading specially with my other halfs mum she will expect us to go see her which I'm refusing to do this time especially if I'm really trying to breastfeed ... I remember the day after having my little girl and being discharged we were round at hers I think she only came to us once but this time I've told my other half all that will change he has to tell people if they want to see us they come to us but don't just turn up unannounced either !!! Families eh some are a godsend but both mine and my other halfs are a pain in the backside

 

[happynewmom1]

Thanks ladies for all your advice it's really helping

How often do babies feed during the day and night ? If I remember right my little girl was wanting a bottle roughly every 3 hours

With regards to the visitors I can't see any of them offering to help out or make meals etc they will just all come round just to see the baby and that's what I'm dreading specially with my other halfs mum she will expect us to go see her which I'm refusing to do this time especially if I'm really trying to breastfeed ... I remember the day after having my little girl and being discharged we were round at hers I think she only came to us once but this time I've told my other half all that will change he has to tell people if they want to see us they come to us but don't just turn up unannounced either !!! Families eh some are a godsend but both mine and my other halfs are a pain in the backside

Oh goodness. Your family sounds fun! I hope they don't give you a hard time and give you guys some space

As for feeding.. I guess she would nurse every couple hours.. She did a lot of cluster feeding especially in the evenings though so liked to nurse almost non stop for a few hours. Snacks and Netflix helped though

 

[Natty_babez]

I'm hoping so to I have even considered not telling anyone when we've had her for a while but I know they'll probably find out as my other halfs sister is having our little girl when I go into labour. To make matters worse I'm not even speaking to my own mum properly but anyway that's another problem for another day ha !!!

I can deal with it at night time as it'll either be just me and my other half or just me when he goes back away to work. How long does the cluster feeding last do they just grow out of it or does it get a bit easier once my milk comes in properly ? Did you just feed on demand or did you make them wait a few hours in between during the day ?

 

[happynewmom1]

I'm hoping so to I have even considered not telling anyone when we've had her for a while but I know they'll probably find out as my other halfs sister is having our little girl when I go into labour. To make matters worse I'm not even speaking to my own mum properly but anyway that's another problem for another day ha !!!

I can deal with it at night time as it'll either be just me and my other half or just me when he goes back away to work. How long does the cluster feeding last do they just grow out of it or does it get a bit easier once my milk comes in properly ? Did you just feed on demand or did you make them wait a few hours in between during the day ?

I think they just kinda grow out of it. I think it lasted somewhere around 6 weeks but they do go through growth spurts where they will want to nurse a bit more. I feed on demand, definitely. If baby wants to nurse, maybe she needs the comfort or is really hungry so that's just the way I chose to go. As she got older she started spacing it out more. Although now she's teething so nursing more than normal. But remember each baby is so different. Some sleep through the night early, some don't, some babies aren't bothered by teething, some are. Some nap well and others don't. Which is why I try to take a relaxed approach. It works for us and our family but just as each baby is different, so is each family.

 

[noon_child]

Making babies wait between feeds when they are showing hunger signs doesn't really work when breastfeeding for a number of reasons:
1) if you don't feed as often as your child is hungry you will reduce your supply which could mean an end to breastfeeding
2) overly hungry or distressed babies really, really struggle to latch properly so you are getting yourself in to a place where you have a screaming baby but you cant do the one thing she needs to calm her
3) you risk mastitis or blocked ducts
4) some of the benefits of breastfeeding are not related directly to the milk but are more to do with how quickly breastfeeding mums respond to their babies (because of numbers 1, 2 and 3). This results in well attached and secure children (on average - obviously all children are different).
5) it suggests you know better than your baby what they need - but this is an odd idea because how could we possibly judge how often a baby is thirsty or hungry?
6) they may wake more often at night to make up for not getting enough in the day (although frequent night waking in itself doesn't mean they aren't getting enough)

 

[blueblue]

My experience isn't typical but I've managed to combi-feed for 12 months. My LO wouldn't latch until 6 weeks (then had terrible tummy pains at night due to a shallow latch and I had to stop BF)and I pumped every 3 hours for 6/7 weeks, then 4 times a day til 10 weeks when I ran down my supply to quit pumping and decided to try BF again and built up my supply by feeding every two hours in the daytime. I had low milk supply even whilst pumping every 3 hours, prob due to the crash section I had and her not feeding. Again, I'm not sure if everyone's supply would let them do this - we fed on a schedule as she was absolutely tiny and not gaining weight at day 10, carrying on with this after she gained weight helped me build my supply again. It is important to fed/pump regularly at first, but if you do cut down later and your supply drops, it is possible to get it back up with pumping/feeding (I found feeding much more effective for increasing supply). I think it would have been better if I had pumped/fed more but I was happy to top up and it worked for us. I'm still doing morning and evening feeds at 12 months.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing, it can be whatever works best for you x