Will I get mastitis by doing this?

[Combifeeding]

Hi!

Baby is due soon and I’d like to combi feed from day 1.

For multiple reasons (main one being this is not first child), I am going to struggle to exclusively breastfeed. In fact it will be near impossible.

I’d like to combi feed so that I breast feed for every other feed, the feeds in between would then be formula.

My question is, if I start this from day 1, would my milk supply likely adjust accordingly? Or will I become engorged and risk mastitis/risk low - no supply?

Thanks!

I think it's very difficult to combi feed from day 1. You need to be feeding very often in the early weeks to get your milk to come in and establish supply. And it's best to wait for bottles till breastfeeding is established.

You risk not establishing your supply well if you don’t feed as much as possible initially
you may find breastfeeding easier than prepping and worrying about bottles when you have an older child - I know i found that to be the case especially when out and about

I know half a dozen people who combi fed from day one with zero issues, and another half dozen (me included) who kept off bottles for the advised period of 8 weeks, and who subsequently had a hellish time getting the baby to take a bottle of breast milk or formula.

However, on the supply front, it might be more practical at first to bottle feed expressed breast milk to help supply stay even.

I had my first bout of mastitis at 8 weeks when he slept for 9h straight after his jabs. But you ant predict it - one of the effortless combi feeders had a girl who slept through 7-7 and didn't express in that time with zero issues.

What sort of support do you have? Can you be a bit strategic about when you pump/feed at first? How old is the older child?