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Infant feeding

Impartial advice on combination / mixed feeding!

7 replies

dodi1978 · 17/10/2016 19:31

As a follow-up thread to this one which I started earlier...

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/2751030-Has-anyone-ever-implemented-a-successful-mixed-feeding-regime-early-on-and-managed-to-keep-it-up-for-a-while?watched=1&msgid=64299270#64299270

Things are going well so far - he is taking both breast and bottle well, is gaining weight and has outgrown the jaundice.

Long term, I would like to move to a system whereas, rather than offering breast then bottle each time, I do full breastfeeds and full bottle feeds at specific times of the day (probably more breast during the night as supply is better, and some full formula feeds during the day and in late evening. This would allow me to go for a swim, have a break etc.).

The question is - where can I get impartial advice on how to implement such a system? I suspect breastfeeding groups are rather biased, and I found little on the web on this.

La Leche League? NCT helpline? Are they more biased towards breastfeeding, too? I rather suspect it :-)!

Many thanks for all tips and advice!

OP posts:
CatsCantFlyFast · 17/10/2016 19:43

I can't answer your question about where you can get advice, but are there specific questions you're looking to have answered?

To me it would seem more sensible to choose which feeds would be bottle feeds and give whole feeds that way, as otherwise you aren't really getting the benefit from either method of feeding? (Ease of bf/no prep etc vs somebody else being able to do feeds with a bottle)

dodi1978 · 17/10/2016 21:20

NotWithout - Thanks, yes, that's the plan, to shift to whole bottle / breast feeds rather than doing half/half.

The question is - how do I switch from the current system of breast and formula top ups to the new system of full feeds of one or the other without messing up my supply and without threatening weight gain... and without ending up painfully engorged?

Shall I try to do it step by step? What do I do if, after a breastfeed, the little one still requests bottle? Just offer breast again until he is satisfied, until that feed is established as a full breast feed?

I think by chance I have managed to switch the last night feed to formula only already. Have feed at about 8am and planning to go down for the night with little one at about 10. Boobs not painful, so will offer that last feed as formula only. The early morning feed (normally about 4.30 ish) tends to be breast only as he tends to simply fall asleep afterwards.

OP posts:
dodi1978 · 17/10/2016 21:21

That was meant to say... without jeopardising weight gain... sorry, am quite proficient in English but sometimes my native language interferes still!

OP posts:
caprifun · 17/10/2016 21:32

I haven't read your first thread I am afraid, but wanted to say that I did exactly this. With first child my I was trying to bf and then top up with formula and / or expressed bm and then express between feeds to increase supply, which was not working at all. So I took the decision to mix feed and keep the bf and formula feeds separate. The best way to adapt is to pick what feeds you want to do formula and stick to those consistently, which seems to be OP what you're already doing with the late feed. For the first week or so i expressed just enough to relieve the pressure at times when I otherwise would have ben breastfeeding, and my body soon got used to not producing at those times. I would do a formula feed at 11 am and then at 11pn, and all other feeds were bf. That worked really well for me from about 10 weeks old to about 8 months when I began to phase out bf . Good luck with this, I know it sonetimes not easy.

CatsCantFlyFast · 17/10/2016 21:34

Personally I'd bite the bullet and swap whichever feeds you want to swap, one at a time, allowing time for each one to establish in between. So maybe a week or so between each feed you change.

So say you want to switch a mid afternoon feed to be bottle. I'd not offer a top up on the feed before the one you want to swap (allow more time at the breast or accept they may come back for more bm in between feeds). Then just offer the bottle at the next feed. Your supply, when you change one feed at a time slowly like this, should adjust without pain or issue. Babies vary their intake from the breast from feed to feed anyway so I wouldn't worry too much about them being hungry etc - you will see signals if they are

Kennington · 17/10/2016 21:35

Kellymom is a good site

CelticPromise · 17/10/2016 21:43

You could get support from a bf group, I've volunteered at a group for several years and supported women to mixed feed, stop bf, whatever they need. I always ask what someone is aiming to do.

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