Tips from those who managed to combine mostly breast feeding with an occasional / daily bottle please?

[Twixed]

We failed last time to ever introduce a bottle. I say we because although I could express loads and never had any supply issues it was my dh's responsibility to try a bottle a day. So that's the first mistake I'm not repeating. It was too easy for him (although fantastic in all other ways, I would say better at the parenting & domestic bit than me overall) just to hand baby back to mum.

I'm slightly dreading being so 'trapped' again for months on end (I get that that's the deal to begin with but not 4+ months in!) so would welcome advice from those who were successful.

I will also not be waiting until the recommended 6 weeks!!

We tried: different bottles & teats, me out of the house, hungry ( though I could never wait until starving), not too hungry, freshly expressed, doidy cup. Nothing ever took.

We introduced a bottle at 3 weeks as I had thrush and BF was agony. Luckily my DD never had any problem going from breast to bottle and back again. I think it might just be luck of the draw. Some babies find it easier than others.

Both my DDs had a bottle of expressed milk, offered by DH (or when available DM, or DMIL, from 3 weeks) but had all their other feeds directly from the source!

With both babies, we had either a Midwife, or a Health Visitor tell us it was 'too soon' or 'confusing and might lead to nipple confusion, or rejecting breast feeding' but we just ignored them!

In the early weeks, most frequently, we opted to give the bottle feed as the 'late evening feed' so that I could go to bed after I'd eaten my dinner and sleep until the baby woke in the night for a feed. With DD2, DH used to wake her at 10 pm, DD1 used to wake up by herself any time from 10 pm to midnight and he'd give her the bottle then.

Early days we used newborn teats (and then medium flow teats) with small sized feeding bottles. I'd express 200 mls or so, and then get three little sterilised bottles and put a third of the expressed milk in each. This was so that if the baby didn't want a 'big' feed DH didn't have to chuck away precious expressed milk because the bottle was no longer sterile.

With DD1 expressing was bit hit and miss and we sometimes used formula, and this didn't seem to have any 'confusing' effect on her digestion/nappy filling.

We introduced a bottle or two at night from day 2 and haven't had any problems going between the two yet - only 14 weeks in though so you never know! My DH gives her the bottles most of the time rather than me as I thought it might confuse her but she doesn't seem to have a problem taking them from me either. It might have been easy for us because we started it so early. Or it might just be that she's an easygoing baby in general!

Also, we were taking the risk that my supply would be affected, that she'd get nipple confusion or that she'd end up rejecting boob altogether for bottle. So if you're committed to bfing it might not be wise to do it as early as I did. I have heard that even babies who take both from birth can just wake up one day, often at around 4 or 5 months for some reason, and decide they're having no more of this bottle business so there are no guarantees.

I didn't start mix feeding until DD was 4 months but have no regrets, baby has gone quite happily between breast and bottle. Still breastfeeding her at 7 months, she has 2 bottles a day and I feed her twice a day. I love the freedom this affords me and, for me, was totally right for our family. I won't go into our breastfeeding issues but I had many and quite frankly I'm amazed I'm still feeding her at all!

The danger of introducing the bottle before 6 weeks is the nipple confusion argument, but the health professionals I spoke to didn't believe in it. I personally think I would wait until after 6 weeks to make sure the milk supply is properly established. Also, my RL experience of people who mixed fed before 6 weeks is that the baby went on to prefer the bottle and they stopped breastfeeding completely sooner than they would have liked.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

I'm having a nightmare with my 4 month dd. I waited until 6 weeks to try her on a bottle and she's having none of it! Tried loads of different bottle, cups etc but no joy yet. When/if we have more kids, I'm terrified they won't take a bottle and I'll get "trapped" again, as I'm not particularly enjoying breast feeding. No help really but waiting 6 weeks might not always work!

Ds had occasional (once a week max) bottle of ebm from 6 weeks- no set time - just if I needed to go out.

Just started (5 months) giving a bottle of formula in the evening which he takes with gusto!

I do wonder if the fact he had a dummy (from 4 weeks) helped him take the bottle as he was used to having something other than a boob in his mouth.

DS (4 months) has had some expressed bottles from 2 weeks old (at first was so that on some nights I could go to bed a bit earlier). Because it was expressed milk and everything was going fine with BF I wasn't worried about it having a negative effect on my supply. From 7 weeks he has had a formula feed now and then if I haven't been able to express - I would have waited longer but my mum was looking after him for a few hours and I forgot the milk out of the freezer so had to get a carton from the co-op. He took it absolutely fine.

Thanks for your replies with you various experiences, it does seem to really depend on the individual baby!
I will see how things go, especially with when to start, and after all I guess it's such a short time in the grand scheme of things.
Interesting about the dummy notwoo, I do remember trying one when the comfort sucking (but not feeding, trying to build supply maybe?)) was at its peak and I was in agony but it never took. But that passed quickly.
I hope things improve for you Liz!