Breastfeeding vs. Formula vs. Combi

[secreteden]

Hi - this is my first post so bear with me!

I am the proud mumma to a 6 day old. I appreciate breastfeeding takes a while to establish but the last 3 nights I have been up every 5 minutes to feed. I've been to the breastfeeding clinic and they've told me my technique is fine however I feel like she is not getting enough as her weight has dropped below the 7%

My DH is insisting that a bottle will top her up and keep her satisfied but the clinic yesterday I was informed bottle feeding increases the risk of SIDS. I am happy to perservere with the breast feeding but looking for some advice, tips, what has worked for others

Anecdotally a lot of people go through phases of one bottle a day and still go on to BF long term.

Could you express through the day to give her a bottle at night as opposed to formula? It's so much more difficult at the start than a lot of people would have you believe but it's so worth it. I'm 8 weeks in and after feeling everything that could go wrong around breastfeeding has we are still going and i wouldnt have it any other way. There's a way of working our roughly what they would have per feed to express but honestly it doesn't seem worth worrying about at this early stage. Baby is trying to establish their supply which is so tiring but it's important they do this through the night due to when your hormones are active. I think if you can manage the first week you've got a great chance of continuing as long as you both want to. Theres no shame in combi feeding but at this early stage expressing is probably more helpful to maintain your supply and help baby put weight on. Good luck!

I breastfed for the first two weeks then started giving formula too, but only because breastfeeding was so painful and I couldn't pump fast enough to keep baby happy and look after her at the same time (I only pumped for a few days to give my nipples time to recover). My milk production was good - I was lucky.

I'm still combination feeding now (as well as starting weaning) and it's worked for us.
Check with the midwife whether baby is being fed enough.

Then it's up to you to decide what's best.

They did tell us that if you introduce a bottle in the first two weeks some babies won't latch on to a nipple properly again.

Congratulations by the way!

Did the clinic/midwife who checked day 5 weight suggest they were worried about the weight loss or suggests you needed to do anything differently?

Assuming not, I’d say keep going! Feed as much and as often as she wants to. At this age it is not just milk she wants but the closeness and comfort of being close to you - this is the 4th trimester when babies just want to be as close as possible to conditions back inside (warm, dark, held closely).

If you’re struggling with the nights particularly then learning to feed while lying down can be really helpful, although you might find it takes a little while to crack it as sometimes baby needs to grow a bit to get the angles right with your boobs.

Weight loss is really common in breast fed babies at first, if the midwives thought your baby had lost too much you’d be back in hospital (mine lost 13% we were forced to top up)
Keep feeding on demand that’s how your supply is increased. It won’t go on for long
Tell dp he can be useful in other ways bringing food and doing housework.
Despite the weight loss, no milk for 5 days to start with and the topping up it only took 3 weeks from birth for my supply to be enough.
If you can express its useful, it didn’t work for me. I did continue to give the odd bottle
Breast feeding is very easy long term

Just keep going. It is worth persevering because breastfeeding is (in my opinion) the easiest option. If you give a bottle now it could impact supply and you might end up in a cycle of combination feeding (works for some people but it is so much more faff)
Try and get DH to do housework/nappy changes etc and you just concentrate on feeding and resting.
Is the baby feeding all through the night without sleeping at all?

Has baby been checked for Tongue tie? It's common and often missed unless people know what they're talking about. Both my son's were tied and we really struggled with weight gain and latch until they were divided.

Try your local La Leche league, they are usually pretty good at pointing you in the right direction. Good luck!