Combining breast and bottle?? Anyone do it??

[Pheebe]

Hello. My sister in law is bfing her second child (7 weeks) but is finding that she needs to give her 1 or 2 2oz formula bottles a day to settle her. Baby is puttng on weight well and is feeding from mum well too but without the formula bottles is restless, grumpy and doesn't sleep well. She was wondering if anyone else has combined breast and bottle feeding like this? Expressing hasn't worked for her at all either pump or hand. Other bfing mums she's spoken to have been horrified and told her she HAS to bf on demand and not give bottle AT ALL. Has anyone got any experience of combining the two? Thanks

Pheebe I did it, after a traumatic first month with my DS, who just would not bf for the first two weeks.

He would normally have 5-6 bfs a day and I would typically offer boob first and then see if he was interested in a bottle after. Sometimes he was, sometimes he wasn't.

On the plus side, it meant we had a very flexible little boy - didn't have to worry about carrying bottles around while we were out but daddy could give him a bottle if he was looking after him for the evening.

On the negative side, and I think this is what causes the concern among the bfing community, it is more difficult to keep your milk supply well established. My understanding of the theory is that fully bf babies demand more as they get bigger, thus stimulating your production, whereas if they are getting a bottle as well they are not going to be going to the breast as often and for as much, so the gap between what you are producing and what they need becomes wider and wider.

I stopped bf at about 5 months, partly because of this and partly because I was going back to work. So it really depends on what your sister's feelings are: if she wants to breastfeed for a longish period then she will be giving herself a better chance if she can cut back on the bottles as much as possible.

Hope that helps!

It would be worth speaking to a breastfeeding counsellor - there should be a local one and health visitor should have details, or contact National Childbirth Trust or La Leche League. It seems very odd that one or two bottles turns a child from grumpy to happy - that's not how it is supposed to work!

I breastfed with 1 bottle a day from about six weeks. Worked fine for me but you do need to feed on demand apart from the one bottle. The theory is that breastfed babies will guzzle a bottle even when they are full because it is easy - the milk is just pouring down their neck and they like milk. Doesn't mean they are hungry, they will demolish a bottle anyway. But it can cause problems with supply so she would still need to give extra breastfeeds when baby is hungry, rather than go for extra bottles. I am NOT a breastfeeding counsellor though, just a mother for whom one bottle a day worked.

How long has she been giving bottles for?

Six weeks or so is classic growth spurt time and babies do often get fussy and restless. Breastfeeding works on a demand and supply basis - babies "demand" the milk and if they are fed when they ask, the supply is there. If you introduce formula too early on, it can cause problems with supply because your body thinks it's making enough milk, the baby doesn't ask to be fed as often because the formula is sating their hunger and supply often dwindles.

Then women start saying they didn't have enough milk and they "had" to give bottles.

It's possible to combine breast and bottlefeeding, of course it is - but many, many women find that it's not easy to do this early on.

I would suggest waiting till the baby's a bit older to start scheduling feeds too much. If the baby fusses, SIL should nurse her.

I did half breast and half formula from 4 or 5 months with my first two, for about 5-6 months each. I didn't have a problem with supply, it worked for me.

but I think it varies and as Gizmo and Edam say there's the danger of just losing the breastmilk supply. you have to be careful not to just use more and more formula as then the breastmilk supply just goes down.

i do agree with Hunkermunker though that this baby is quite young and maybe just needs more feeds or more cuddling. 7 weeks is a very grumpy age for many babies. however they're fed.

Yup, I think you've got it, Fennel - if I did it again I'd be careful not to increase the amount of bottle milk being given, but let baby nurse for longer as they got bigger.

Or maybe next time I'll get a baby who doesn't fight viciously to get away from my scary boob and actually eats properly

Thanks everyone, I'll pass on your thoughts and see how she does