What will happen if...I give my BF baby one bottle of formula per day?

[Skaramoosh]

Ok, it's a bit of a silly title as presumably nothing terrible will happen! But I am wondering what, if any, would be the reasons NOT to do this?

I BF my DD for 13 months, she never took a bottle though I did try with expressed milk so formula was never an option with her.

My DS is due in 8 weeks and DD is only 19 months and I want to be able to do her bedtime routine still which takes anything up to 90 mins so I thought during this time DP could give DS a bottle of formula (assuming he'll take a bottle). I know I could express but found it a faff last time round even with a great pump and I know that realistically I am unlikely to make time for it as I don't do well on lack of sleep (who does?) and I know two under 2 is going to be a hard slog for me without adding to my job list.

So, having no prior experience of mixed feeding, what should I be aware of? Also any breast feeders with experience of introducing a bottle early on? I think I left it too late with my DD as was concerned about nipple confusion...

Thanks in advance!

There isn't a window of opportunity, so leaving it late won't make things worse- some babies just take to bottles more easily than others. There's no telling really. Nipple confusion is possible, it doesn't happen to every baby but it is a risk to be aware of.

Thinking of the practicalities- like you say, two children under 2yo is going to be hard work: Evening time is a classic time for cluster feeding, which is important for building up supply in the early days. How long does your DD's bedtime routine usually take? I don't mean to put you off mixed feeding if it will work for you, just trying to explore other ways to fit in everyone's needs.

There are loads of articles here about combining breast and bottle that might help you decide a plan. Also speaking to a breastfeeding counsellor might help you.

I give my DS one or two bottles of formula a day and he seems fine with it. He is sick a little bit more with it but no too much.

I use the calma teat from medela which avoids nipple confusion as medela say it should only be used for bf babies. I love this teat and even though its quite expensive and a little bit of faff having to boil it everyday - it's worth every penny! (I believe it taught DS how to latch on properly to me when bf'ing as it mimics the action needed to bf)

MB34: Tell me more about this Medela teat. How is it different?I am right now on my way to give a presentation with baby in tow as he WILL NOT take a bottle.

I remember discussing this issue with my mother-in-law who used to be a bf consultant. From memory, 2 issues came up: 1) she mentioned that it is important to get a teat that means that the baby has to work just as hard to get the milk from the bottle as the breast- perhaps the Medela one is like this, 2) consider the impact on your production/ milk supply. Once you have established a bf relationship it shouldn't be a problem but early on it might interfere.
These are just thoughts from memory. I would get in touch with the breastfeeding network to ask their advice too. Good luck with 2 little ones!

A few possible 'issues' I can think of...

DS has a cows milk protein intolerance & so formula, unless on prescription, is a no, no. Even then it makes them puke loads. The biggest problem this has caused is with sleep. Babies with digestion problems & allergies are terrible sleepers. He was massively unsettled at night for months while we figured it out & got in top of it.

Your supply could be effected if you supplement to early. It has been the beginning if the end for lots of my BFing friend, despite wanting to continue. I know some people make it work, so it's not a given.

The biggest one for me when I introduced a bottle was the virgin gut theory in the first six months. After that, they are more robust I guess.

The medela teat simulates the action of breastfeeding where baby has to suck, using the same action, to get the milk out.

I believe, with regular teats, the milk trickles out and baby has to stop the flow (so I've been told as I've never used them) whereas they have to work to get the milk from the medela teat.

The medela teat does make a noise and you see lots of air bubbles in the milk - which sounds like the baby would be gulping lots of air - but I learned that this is just the air going into the bottle to allow the milk to flow out (not sure what the technical term for it is!) My DS isn't especially windy after using it correctly (he does have a few burps but not loads) so he's definitely not gulping air!

Bought mine for £10 with a bottle in Mothercare - well worth it though!

After 6 months, it doesn't really make any difference. Up until around 6 months, a baby who gets a bottle of formula a day will get the antibodies and the nutrients from breastmilk, but will have the same pattern of gut flora as a child who is exclusively formula-fed, so for things like allergies and gut problems is at simular risk to an exclusively formula fed baby. It comes to down to your reasons for breastfeeding and personal risk levels, really. For what it's worth the link between formula and allergies is a lot less dramatic than I expected it to be. La Leche League have a long and detailed document with the various risk statistics if you are the sort of person who liked to research lots before making a decision. Otherwise, just go with what feels right.

I think it's fine. I would wait until bf is established ( 2/3 weeks), then there is nothing wrong with a feed a day. Baby will have do many other feeds bf anyway. A bottle at say 7pm will like you say allow dh to feed and you should be fine as body will adapt to say a feed around 5pm from you, then another at 9/10pm with a gap in the middle

Thanks all, lots of interesting information here. Will have a look at the links posted. I did find BF my DD easy which is my main motivation or choosing this option again as well as all the usual benefits, so I don't want to do anything that might jeopardise my supply or put baby off feeding from me. But my instinct is that one bottle a day (if needed) should not interfere too much - will be trying expressed milk in the first instance anyway I think and will try to sustain that as long as possible - was surprised to read that just a small amount of formula would give baby the same gut flora etc as exclusively FF baby - did not know this so will look into that side of things a bit more.