Is it possible to ff and bf?

[Soon5kids]

I have been having so many issues with baby taking to breast so what I am wondering is can I still give hime breast milk in a bottle and ff? Or do I have to choose one? Thanks in advanced ladies!

 

[Hellymay83]

Yes you can combination feed. There is lots of info about combination feeding on the net. x

 

[Itsychik]

Sorry to hear you've been having trouble hun

There's definitely a possibility to express and put this in a bottle (check out the bf'ing forum for info on exclusively expressing!) This is really hard work though, but worth it to many moms.

My LO is combi-fed because I have a low supply. he latches fine, just doesn't get enough, so we've been combi-feeding him since 4 weeks old. This means I try bf'ing him, then he gets a bottle of either expressed milk (EBM) or formula. And when DH is caring for him (or when he's at daycare) he gets either/both and he takes them with no problem.

He has gone through phases where he preferred one over the other (usually EBM over formula) but after a few days that usually passes as well.

So yes, it's definitely possible!

Have you gotten any help though with getting your LO to latch (either hospital staff, or a local bf'ing support group?) I hired a lactation consultant when DS was 3 weeks old to help me (I just googled until I found someone in my area). Just a suggestion

Good luck

 

[aliss]

I have been having so many issues with baby taking to breast so what I am wondering is can I still give hime breast milk in a bottle and ff? Or do I have to choose one? Thanks in advanced ladies!

Yes you can. Since you have 5 I assume you are probably an experienced breastfeeder already, you need to pump the same feeds that you give formula for (just as when you express). 8-12x a day, just as a breastfeed. Good luck.

 

[ahcigar1]

Yes this is very possible. I have had to start doing it because i cant keep up with my LO. I exclussively pump and bottle feed her and at the moment I am having to give her 1oz formula and 3 oz breastmilk.

 

[VieraSky]

It's definitely possible to do both. I didn't produce enough milk after Rowan was born, so I had to supplement with formula.

 

[Amygdala]

Others have answered your question but I just wanted to add something about LO not latching. IF you want to bf (I'm assuming you would from your post but if you don't, just ignore this), have you tried nipple shields? We had a terrible time of breastfeeding for the first two weeks. Bottles, formula supplements, the lot. But I tried latching her with a shield again (she'd refused them at a few days old) and she suddenly took to them. She's been exclusively breastfed ever since and about 4 weeks ago she's finally come off the shields too. Still uses one occasionally but for the most part she's fine without now.
Combi-feeding is a viable option of course but this might save you time expressing and sterilising equipment. Good luck either way!