QUESTIONS FOR mums who COMBIFEED!

[youngwife20]

hey everyone so after 5 months of exclusivly pumping my daughter had her first taste of formula i thought id feel guilty but i feel okay!!

SOO NOW i have questions:

Whats the best milk for babys who combi feed? or whaty milk do you use?

do you pump when your babys havin formula so your supply doesnt deecrease?

how did you first introduce it?

how often do you give it?

how much do they have?

My daughter had 3 ounces of formula then 4 ounces of EMB so i gues she didnt want to much? i was thinking of giving her formula just when were out to give my boobs a break from pumpin when were out.

plesse giveme ur opinions ideas etc?> thanks tips apreciiated

 

[Celesse]

Whats the best milk for babys who combi feed? or whaty milk do you use?

I use HIPP organic. DS only has one bottle a day so we wouldn't get through a tub like the other brands come in before the 4 weeks you are allowed to have it open runs out. But HIPP comes in 2 pouches which can be open for 3 weeks and we get through it before then.

I'd stick to a first stage milk for a combi fed baby. Breast milk is easy to digest. Hungry baby milk is designed to be harder to digest and would be more likely to upset the tummy of a baby used to just breast milk.

do you pump when your babys havin formula so your supply doesnt deecrease?

No. I'm lazy. I have a toddler I can nurse if I want to up my supply. And I HATE expressing as I've had to do it in the early days for both my kids. I associate it with nursing difficulties and some sad times for me.

how did you first introduce it?

DS was combi fed birth - 8 weeks. then at 16 weeks we introduced a bottle by choice. We didn't do anything other than just have OH give it to him.

how often do you give it?

Once a night as part of bed time routine. If DS has been looked after elsewhere during the day he will get a bottle of FF then and I'll just breastfeed him at bottle o'clock instead.

how much do they have?

DS is offered 7oz. He takes anywhere from 4oz to the full 7oz. Average is about 5oz which is normal for a BF baby as they are used to taking smaller amounts.

 

[youngwife20]

thank you for answering! and ive pumped for 5months exclusivly and i can honestly say i cant wait to stop! lol

 

[lauraemily17]

I've combi fed from 3 weeks but do it a little different. I start a feed with breast milk then too up with formula. No idea what he gets from the breast but he takes a good 3/4oz of formula each feed.

I have been using Aptamil which lo has taken happily but due to reflux & wind we've just started him on hipp organic today which I've heard is easier to digest.

 

[Sarachka]

You've done fantastically to pump for 5 months and you shouldn't feel guilty at all. You should feel proud of yourself for doing it that long, giving your daughter an awesome start!

I combi fed for a while. At first she had just her last feed as formula. I think that was when she was about 6 weeks and had about 4 ounces. OH gave it to her normally, it was nice that he was able to feed her. Then I had to go into hospital a few times and it kinda switched to mainly formula supplemented with BFing. It was like her BF feeds were "snacks" between main meals of formula.

I am told that 1am-4am are really important for your supply but I didn't find any issues with my supply when she was just having the one bottle. The illness and hospital stay killed my supply though.

 

[youngwife20]

Thank u for answers ladies i think we will try aptimal she got a horrible rash with sma!

Sarachka- what a beautiful baby u have! Wow! And thank u so much so nice of u to say! I hope ur all well now!

I find it all confusing i hear " a bf baby should poo this many times" " u shud offer a ff baby water" what if ur combi feeding? Do u offer them water? Do they poo different? So confusing

 

[Sarachka]

Thank u for answers ladies i think we will try aptimal she got a horrible rash with sma!

Sarachka- what a beautiful baby u have! Wow! And thank u so much so nice of u to say! I hope ur all well now!

I find it all confusing i hear " a bf baby should poo this many times" " u shud offer a ff baby water" what if ur combi feeding? Do u offer them water? Do they poo different? So confusing

Thanks, I'm quite fond of her I haven't ever given her water. I would consider it if she was constipated or the weather got really hot again (wishful thinking!!) as for her poo ... I guess they have changed in that there's usually two a day, and it's runny and A LOT!! When she was just BF she pooed more often, but less each time.

 

[youngwife20]

Thank u for answering! Ive got alot to learn lol

 

[Mrs Cupcake]

i've only been combifeeding for 3 - 4 days but here are my answers

Whats the best milk for babys who combi feed? or whaty milk do you use?

i use cow and gate, its the cheapest and thought i might as well start with that

do you pump when your babys havin formula so your supply doesnt deecrease?
no i don't pump, im trying to decrease my supply so that i only bf morning and evening so baby ff whilst im at work

how did you first introduce it?
i started by giving expressed milk to get him used to bottles then just went for it with ff. he has one feed a day at mo.

how often do you give it?
one ff at about midday, im going to introduce a seconf ff in the afternoon. he is bf in morn and evening


how much do they have?
at first he would only take 4 oz but now he takes more, yesterday he took 9oz!

i have found it really hard but we have made progress eventually!

 

[youngwife20]

Aww glad hes progressing well!! Wow 9ounces!!! Thats amazing! Did he have any reaction to itl? I havent given my daughter formila since tht day cos she got a bad rash! I think she alergic but my doc says i have to try her on a few milks till they bother testing her

 

[Toes_crossed]

It's been a while since I last combi fed but I did it as a transition to formula.

We use Aptimil (she's now on follow on, but we started with first), She loves it. Tried cow and gate but she refused it. Monkey!

I swapped a BF for FF each week until she was just on bottle. Worked great for me and meant I didn't get engorged.
However if you're not planning on moving to EFF then I'd make sure you pump so your milk supply doesn't decrease. Only took a couple of days of not feeding at a certain time for me to have very little milk at that time of day.

xxx