Breastfeeding

[Danii09]

Hello, We are expecting our baby boy in march, the plan is to breastfeed him (if all goes well) I want to be able to breastfeed and bottle feed him at the same time with either pumped breast milk or formula, so his dad can feed him sometimes too. Whats the best way to do this? and is it something that we will just pick up pretty easy
tyia

[NerrSnerr]

I would see how it goes, went planned for me to express so my husband could do one feed a day but it was too much of a faff. He ended up doing nappies, baths and just holding her to bond. It is possible to mix bottle and breast and I know many that did but would see it goes.

[Uiscebeatha85]

The advice is not to give formula in the first 6 weeks if you plan to breastfeed as it will affect your milk supply. Your milk production is based on supply and demand and if you drop feeds for formula this will affect your supply. Get a good breast pump (maybe Medela swing) and pump some milk for your partner to feed to the baby. Although, ime pumping is a faff and it was easier for me to do the feeds myself. Is there a reason you want your partner to feed? If it's just for involvement, there are other ways and things he can do to feel part of the baby's care.

[BBQueen]

Completely depends on your baby, I'm afraid! I mix-fed my first from 2 weeks (bottle of formula in the evening, didn't like expressing). Baby switched from breast to bottle with no problems and although, I was slightly nervous about my milk supply, it was fine.

Planned to do the same with DC2, baby wouldn't take a bottle no matter what I tried!

I think you have to feel relatively comfortable breastfeeding before you try introducing a bottle, but lots of people find their baby refuses a bottle if they leave it beyond about 6 weeks.

[Inadither]

Hiya. Congratulations.
Normal advice is to get your milk supply established first and introduce a bottle after 6 weeks. Your supply will be affected by supplementing with formula and if you pump you'll be placing orders for extra milk the next day kind of thing and could get engorged. After the first 6 weeks your supply becomes more established and you can get away with more.
Some people take to bf like a duck to water, others like myself it's a battle to get established and I needed lots of support. An awful lot of babies can start refusing a bottle (why have a bottle when you can have draught?!). Boobs provide a lot of comfort as well as nourishment to babies so combining can be tricky.....or not. Babies and yourself are all different so if I were to say one thing it would be to try not to over think, take things a day at a time and remember that although it feels like forever at the time feeding and their dependency on you only lasts a brief time. Enjoy.

[Danii09]

thank you for all the advice... looks like the best thing to do is work at the breastfeeding first before thinking about any bottles. why is expressing milk a pain? do you just pump it and put it in a bottle?

[NerrSnerr]

For me it was a pain because it just took time, it took longer to pump the amount needed for a feed than it was just to do it. Then there's the cleaning of the pump and sterilising bottles and pump bits etc. Others may not think of it as a pain though, I just felt it was easier just to feed.

[Uiscebeatha85]

Yep totally agree with Nerr, it can take a lot of time (of which spare you will not have btw). I could barely have a shower never mind finding 40 minutes to pump. Plus, I didn't get enough for a full feed as she got older. It just seemed futile to me. It took me a while to get the hang of bf to be honest, I by no means took to it like a duck to water. DD had a tongue tie and I had mastitis a couple of times. But, I persevered and it is true - it gets so much easier. Now it's so much handier for me than bottles and I like it so much I'm going to continue to do it until she self weans. The rewards you get with breastfeeding are second to none.

[SerialReJoiner]

Pumping is a faff, and not everyone responds well to a pump. Baby is much more efficient getting the milk out overall. Some people can't get any milk out with a pump, but feed baby at the breast just fine.

[Coconut0il]

I found expressing a pain as it took me so long to get a decent amount. It was easier to just feed than sit there with the pump going. I also found it difficult to find the time as DS2 was a pretty constant feeder. If I managed to get him off the boob for a bit I preferred to have a bath than sit pumping.
I had the same experience as a previous poster, DS1 was happy to go between breast and bottle. DS2 refused all bottles. Just see how your baby is and be willing to follow their lead.

[Crumbs1]

Establish milk supply before attempting to pump. For me, a pump never felt as good as a baby. Trying to replicate that special time just didn't work.