Mixed feeding, how do you do it?

[Gapants]

I have a 6wk old DD who is EBF, I have been expressing and have about 4/5 feeds frozen in the freezer. However with a 3 year old DS, finding time/energy to express is a bit of a low priority, and I have given DD one FF bottle. I did leave me massively engorged, so I expressed anyway.

So....I am thinking, DH can give DD the 9/10pm feed for now, and I will pump to maintain my supply and build up a bank of BM. Does this sound OK, and when could I drop pumping altogether, should I just pump a little to relieve the pressure, or till I empty the breast? So basically I want to drop one BM feed, and make it a FF instead.

If you have mixed fed successfully, can you please tell me how?

I fed my DS till he was 2 and he NEVER took a bottle, so we never had any success with this.

Any personal experience would be very useful. Thanks.

Congratulations on your new baby.

It's been a long time since I was a new mum. I remember at 8 weeks post natal crying in my mum's kitchen as I had to go back to work and DD would not take a bottle. My mum gave me very good if now very out of date advice and I breastfed until DD was 14 months. You have a good plan but would DH be better to give an earlier feed so that you don't wake up engorged and sore in the night. This would also make latching on harder in the wee small hours for both you and your daughter.

The above is not the advice from my mum. At least your LO has taken formula from a bottle.

Good Luck. xx

P.S. you should pump until you empty the breast in case you end up with mastitis.

xx

I mixed feed because I had problems with the milk supply. I bf no problems in the day but seemed to have very little left in the evening. The bf counsellor I spoke to and my hv both said that when you are tired it can affect your supply thus explaining why I struggled in the evening. From this I reckon changing your evening feed like planned when you are more tired is better than dropping a day feed when supply is probably better. But I am no expert just going from my experience.

When I started doing a formula feed around 10/11pm I didn't bother expressing at all - kind of defeated the purpose of getting an early night

Do you feel like your supply is well established now?

Hi, thanks for your replies. I do feel like my supply is good, and is settling down, basically she wants it, the milk comes!

rita I might try and drop expressing altogether, I feel like that is my aim now.