Mix feeding from beginning - how much to give?

[1978andallthat]

Struggled to bf last time though in end did it as part of mix feeding for 15 months until pg with no 2. This time going to do through choice as a) was brilliant dh and my mum being able to do occasional food while I slept and b) know too many babies who refused bottle when their mums wanted to stop bf so I want this baby if possible to be happy with both breast and bottle.

With dd she got so little out of me early on that paediatricians insisted we ff as well as she was getting dangerously ill. Obv this time maybe (hopefully) it'll flow. But even if it does I want to mix feed.

So my question is - how much ff do you give a newborn who may also be getting breast milk? Just offer what they recommend for exclusively ff babies and assume baby will know when to stop?

I think it would be best if you exclusively breast fed for a couple of day just to make sure baby gets the colostrum (the first milk with all the antibodies in). I doubt baby will refuse bottle if you wait a week.
Not sure how much formula you should give though sorry.

Thanks but really I just want to know answer to my question so I have that information ready if I need it. Will decide what to dow hen baby is here.

The answer is, really, that there is no simple answer. Although usually babies will drink far more from a bottle that they will a breast and even offering 20ml 'top ups' after feeds with a newborn may damage your milk supply.

As you mention that you want to be able to have your DH or Mum give the occasional feed whilst you rest or something, why not just either use expressed milk or formula at the times when you feel you need it? That way you will also be making sure you accomplish 'b' too.

However, I do agree with the poster above that the most likely way to maintain any breast feeding and be able to continue mixed feeding is to start of by EBF only and then add the formula later on. Obviously it is your choice though.

I mix fed DD for a month. Initially she was having 2oz of formula and the same of expressed milk. This rose to 3oz after a couple of days. I was just expressing though, no direct bf after the first day, so I'm not sure that I'm being very helpful to you.

I started mix feeding after 5 days of EBF. I introduced one bottle of formula each night around 10pm so that I could have an early night and DH would do that feed, and I would breastfeed when DS woke overnight. My supply was definitely negatively effected, and I eventually had to give up breastfeeding around 3 months as DS was still so hungry all the time after a breastfeed

As others have said, it's a personal choice and as far as I found there are no specific guidelines.

I mix fed my ds from day 2 on advice from dr, he was a 10 pounder and I was told a 2 oz top up each feed every few hours. He didn't manage that at each feed (i would bf about an hour then give him some formula each time he seemed hungry) but that was the aim. He had blood sugar problems due to my undiagnosed GD. I was devastated at the time as had been dead set on ebf, but actually found it worked really well for us to give 1 bottle of formula a day (i think 2-3oz at the start increasing to 4-5 oz by the time he was about a month old- but he was 98th centile so I would imagine ate more than most at each stage!) on top of bf once we got home and his sugars had settled a bit. When he was 8 weeks though I stopped combination feeding and went back to ebf due to a suspected cows milk intolerance. The great thing was that i was quite confident in my feeding by that point and managed to express and keep the 1 bottle per day routine going. Expressing at the beginning I found really tough! I always found it strange that there was little support for combination feeding when it worked so well for us at that time. It is such a personal thing. I've never posted on here before, but wanted to post a positive mix feeding experience! I don't think i found many at all. I am a great believer that any breast milk is good, even if it is supplemented. I know you have to be careful with your supply but it definitely is possible. Hope that helps a bit! Sorry that was a rant but your post has struck a
real chord with me. Good luck, I hope all goes well with feeding this time round!

Exclusively breastfeeding for the first couple of days / weeks might be easiest so you can establish your supply for the long term :) Then adding in a small amount of formula or expressed milk, if that is what you want to do. Be aware of when the growth spurts happen though, as a lot of mums that mix feed get very concerned when these come around about their milk supply.

Best of luck!

Thanks all. That is helpful. With dd I was gutted as wanted to ebf. But topped up on medical advice. Never managed to exclusively bf but as I said, did mix feed until 15 months so also count it as a positive mix feed experience in the end. I never got my flow up enough to ebf but I believe this wasn't because of top ups but it just wasn't to be - for weeks I massaged and pummelled and expressed and bedded in with dd. The result? Not enough milk but bruised tits and exhaustion.

Hopefully this time will be smoother for you :)

I mix fed from early on due to weight loss (and also, like you, I really wanted baby to be able to take a bottle!).

On day 3 I had to start giving top-ups due to weight loss. He weighed about 7lb 13oz, and was on 50ml after every breastfeed, every 3 hours. After a VERY long struggle with getting BF established (took around 10 weeks), I EBF for about 3-4 weeks, and then introduced one bottle a day from then on. I pumped as well.
He is still being mix fed at 7 months, mostly bottles, 1-2 BF a day.

If I had my time again, I would EBF for the first 4-6 weeks, then introduce a bottle once every couple of days. I think having a bottle so early really damaged our BF relationship, and that it's very important to really get BF established before bringing in a bottle. (I also would have ignored the weight loss issue...but thats a whole other thread).