Introducing combination feeding at 5 weeks

[Iren_iren]

I am exclusively bf and LO never had a bottle and will be 5 weeks this Saturday.
I was reading mixed advice on if you want to mix feed to introduce bottle ASAP so they get used to both and then not to do it till 6 weeks when supply is established..so I am confused..
Bf been going good till probably last week and now every time after 5-10min he comes of the boob, screams, latches/unlatches and we both stressing out. I want to introduce 1 bottle before bedtime to get a bit of sleep, but want to do it a smart way not to make things worse with bf or LO digestive system.
I know there are bf and ff forums, but as there is more people here and I want to do a mix, I thought I'll ask
-if you had experience of combination feeding at around the same stage?
- which formula to use (ok to try ready made?!)
- what to do with my breasts expires or just wait tip next feed if I use formula once a day?
- nipple confusion? How common is that?

Thanks!

 

[Ktothema]

I can't answer your other questions I'm afraid but it's ok to use any of the formulas, and ready made would probably work out most cost effective for you if you're only doing one bottle a day (though don't hold me to that!). Hipp or aptamil may be best to start with though as they are thinner and more gentle on babies tummies.

Good luck

 

[NickyKB]

Formula at that age apologies hope someone else will be able to help with those questions but I did start a bottle around then.

I BF until 6 months but from 4 weeks LO had 1 bottle at night (although this wasn't absolutely every night until 6-7ish weeks once i sorted out expressing). From 4-14 weeks this was expressed milk after which we changed to aptamil final feed. I started at 4 weeks with a bottle as my sister waited til 8 weeks and had problems getting LO to take it, I had seen a lactation consultant as LO had tongue tie and she was happy for him to have a bottle 'once feeding is established and going well' which is difficult to know! The 6 weeks isn't absolute if all is hunky-dory before that we had no problems trying sooner. (If you're having issues with latch at the minute i might wait a few days and see if they settled again as milk flow is much faster and easier from a bottle and there is a risk LO might decide not to bother with boob)

When you do start a bottle stick with the newborn teats for a while if you're still breastfeeding to try and avoid problems with LO getting used to a faster supply of milk. Also make sure you burp them regularly as they will take in more air than BF. NIpple confusion wasn't an issue for us if anything he got a bit more confused on the bottle if he hadn't had it for a couple of days but it didn't cause a problem for BF.

With giving a bottle when LO was getting up frequently during the night I didn't express at night as the whole idea was that I would get a bit of a rest (also he was a cluster feeder so the bottle was often only an hour or so after he'd come of boob anyway so there really wasn't much to get out) but I did express after the 4-5amish feed as my boobs were really full LO wouldn't have taken all of it and this was the easiest way to get enough milk for the bottle. When feedings became more separated at night i did express at the time my OH was giving the bottle so that my supply didn't drop by missing a feed (I carried on expressing at 10pm until 6MO). At only 5 weeks I prob would express at some point to keep up with your supply as it's still adapting and if you want it to keep going it's probably a bit early for missing out altogether also you may well find your awake at night as your boobs hurt from engorgement if LO is going a long time between feeds). If you want to do formula I know a lot of mums do without problem hopefully someone will give advice on this I used expressed milk as I was able to produce it without too much heartache and also I knew LO was OK with this milk so I wasn't to worried about causing gas etc.

When we did give formula for the first time we used those little ready made cartons and they were fine. If you're doing it regularly they are more expensive but to begin with when we just wanted to see that he was OK with the aptamil we didn't want to have a giant tub of powder if he didn't get on with it.

HTH

Sorry I'm a serial waffler hope I actually answered some of your questions there!