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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To give baby one formula feed instead of expressing

44 replies

LloydColeandtheCoconuts · 04/10/2017 07:56

My 8 week old won’t sleep unless on chest or in sling. If I put her in Moses basket she sleeps for 5 mins until she realises where she is. As a result bfing can be a fraught affair with a screaming baby and a race against time.
Would giving one formula bottle reduce milk flow drastically?
What are people’s experiences?
Thanks

OP posts:

haveacupoftea · 04/10/2017 09:29

It's actually a good idea to see if you get can get baby taking bottles now because friends tell me it can be tricky if you leave it too long then when you want to go out for an evening you're scuppered.

But nothing will stop your baby wanting to sleep on your chest. I spent the first 3 months struggling to stay awake (and often failing) while DS slept on top of me.

orangeowls · 04/10/2017 09:30

My LO struggled to put on weight (not due to lack of milk) so from about 2 weeks old she had one bottle of formula alongside me breastfeeding. It didn’t affect my milk supply at all. She had this until about 4 months where I then started increasing the formula feeds just to give myself a bit of freedom.

SingingMySong · 04/10/2017 09:34

We mix fed for quite a few months with DC1, mostly expressed milk but some formula. I found it a bit fraught tbh as she was forever refusing breast or bottle and expressing was a palaver. It was also expensive with the number of different bottles and teats we tried. But not all babies react like that.

My advice is feel free to try it, but if it doesn't work, just stop. Don't waste any sleep or tears over it. I vowed that I'd go with the flow with DC2 and if that meant all formula, so be it.

Original poster

LloydColeandtheCoconuts · 04/10/2017 09:36

Thanks so much for your responses.
I’m interested to hear how much you express in one sitting - I know it’s a “how long is a piece of string?” question. But I’d be interested to know.
Thanks.

OP posts:

mamatobabes · 04/10/2017 09:39

With a single electric pump, about 6oz in half hour (15 minutes each side). A manual pump was much harder work and didn't seem as effective for me so much less.

PickleSarnie · 04/10/2017 09:46

Both of mine had a bottle of formula in the night from about 2 weeks. Didn't cause any problems at all. Although appreciate the plural of anecdote isn't data.

I tried expressing but I hated every second of sitting, being milked by machines like a cow and getting hardly anything out.

Adviceplease360 · 04/10/2017 09:58

Expressing is thea worst of both worlds, having to pump sterilise and store and breastfeed on top of that. I would carry on nursing it gets much easier and you will be glad you persevered

SingingMySong · 04/10/2017 10:46

V much a piece of string, but about a full feed's worth if you do it at the same time every day. Best time for me was early morning after I'd fed the baby.

SingingMySong · 04/10/2017 10:47

I only ever had a manual pump.

TammySwansonTwo · 04/10/2017 11:35

When my twins were born they went straight to nicu. I started expressing right away. It was 1 week and 3 weeks before I could try latching them and it was a disaster in every possible way - I persevered but looking back they clearly had tongue ties and were dribbling out way more than they got so they were starving. I had to pump every 2 hours because I never produced anywhere near enough for even one of them (a second stay in hospital with one of them tanked my supply completely). As a result I detested every second of pumping but it felt very important at the time.

When the smaller one came home he had an ng tube - I was trying to bf him, then having to top up with expressed milk by tube, then pump, then go to hospital and try to latch the other... the nurses told me to just give a bottle of formula and I did. I suspect this also played into my reduced supply.

Sorry, this was a really long winded way of saying that if you can bf, I would bf as much as possible. I'd get a haakaa pump and use it on other side while feeding - chances are you'll get enough for a bottle a day using this technique, and you shouldn't get a reduction in supply since you're still producing everything he has. Personally I wouldn't give a bottle without also expressing for now, so you may as well express and give that - mine both had to have formula from an early stage but that was because I didn't produce enough.

TammySwansonTwo · 04/10/2017 11:36

adviceplease360 YES! It is the worst of both worlds. Looking back I have no idea how i kept it up for so long.

BertrandRussell · 04/10/2017 11:44

I'm more puzzled now-your subsequent posts don't seem to bear any relation to your OP!

But anyway- bear in mind that some people find expressing very difficult- I had gallons of milk and found bf easy, but just couldn't get the hang of expressing. I hated it, so I suspect it might have been psychological rather than physical.

Original poster

LloydColeandtheCoconuts · 04/10/2017 12:34

Do you not think Bertrand, in my head they’re all linked?
I think I will continue to nurse. For now.
Thanks for your comments.

OP posts:

crazycatlady5 · 04/10/2017 12:39

Honestly if you want to carry on with your bf relationship I would persevere. I coslept since the very early days after 2 weeks of pretty much no sleep (as @Tittygolightly says it’s just very much a case of a new big bad world for baby and they’re not used to it). Slings for daytime naps are a bonus as you can still do lots round the house, and cosleep at night - lots of babies become accustomed to being out down at around 2/3 months.

Also I have heard of something called the virgin gut - if you give baby even one bottle of formula it radically changes the good bacteria in the tum and it takes about two weeks to repair itself. I have absolutely nothing anything formula feeding!! But I personally feel you may as well just do one or the other xx

crazycatlady5 · 04/10/2017 12:40

Nothing against*

TittyGolightly · 04/10/2017 12:50

I expressed all of DD's milk when BF didn't work out (8 months worth of pumping every 4 hours fed her for a year).

I had good flow and an amazing double pump and would get 12-16oz per session. (Supported by fenugreek, oats and cake when supply dropped.). I did suffer blockages and mastitis but they didn't stop me.

For me it was the best of both worlds and the positives far outweighed the negatives.

affectionincoldclimate · 04/10/2017 12:54

Successful mix feeder here.

Successful as in at 6 months DD is s happy bottle feeder and gets the breast too at night and when I’m out and about and don’t want to faff with bottles. Formula was introduced early as my milk was late and she ended up at NICU with dehydration at 4 days old. I will never forget the relief of seeing her sleep peacefully after 4 straight days of screaming with parched lips. Formula has its place.

One bottle of formula at night won’t kill your supply. I’m pretty sure she’ll wake you up at least once to feed from breast and will stimulate your milk production that way.

As for co sleeping - a co sleeping cot like Chicco next to me is a great one. Baby is within your reach but not in the bed with you which I personally found uncomfortable as I kept worrying about bedsheets, rolling into her and other stuff.

Sleepyhead is a bloody lifesaver too.

alittlebitcountry · 04/10/2017 12:55

Hi LloydColeandtheCoconuts

sorry if I'm repeating - only time to skim read...
I pumped for nearly 5 months with DD after we were recommended to intro bottles by the paed/hv during problems establishing BF in the first few weeks. But even doing it religiously every 4 hours never really got more than 5-6 oz total over the course of a whole day. Its one of those weird things where not everyone responds as well to a pump as to a baby.
2nd time round with DS we had issues which led me to combi feeding - but I was quite strict and always bf before a bottle and only bf through the night. it was the best of both worlds for us as after the first few weeks he had a bottle feed with his dad sometimes, and I could pass him on to have an extra nap in the evening to prepare for the night.
carried on like this for a year then gradually dropped the formula as he weaned onto solids - just waiting for him to decide to stop the last bed time comfort feed now he's big.

TammySwansonTwo · 04/10/2017 18:41

If you do decide to pump separately (rather than just using a haakaa which i would recommend trying first) look up the Stanford pumping technique as this can help increase supply. Sadly I was never able to hand express more than a few ml.

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