Want to give odd bottle of forumla for 4 week old

[MmmnoodlesoupIsDueXmasEve]

Hi, I'm thinking of giving my ds a bottle of forumla once in a while so DP can feed him and I can have a little break. Maybe a few evenings a week. He had a bottle of ebm last night and took it really well and is still latchingn well.

I would like to give him purely breast milk but due to cluster feeds I don't have enough milk to pump!

How many ounces for a 4 week old?

It says on the side of the tin, depends which formula you are using for the mix but it will just be one of the litttle bottles. If you are worried ask your health visitor.

I'd call one of the bfing helplines, the BFC will be able to give you that information. She will also be able to tell you when and how to express if that's what you are wanting to do. If you leak, have you looked into collecting you milk in breast shells and giving that?

Bf babies generally take an ounce an hour so if she has 3 ounces it may be 3 hours before she wants a feed from you.

It's also worth discussing with the BFC the effect that he formula may have on your supply.

Thanks for your replies. I definitely don't want him to have a bottle often, maybe just when I really need a break on the weekend. I will call up the helpline

If you do decide to use formula you are probably best getting the ready made cartons. I think the cartons have to be used within a period of time from when they opened.

Thanks Jilted. Good news on the pumping front, managed 3oz today! Pumped while ds fed from other side and it poured out :) will be having a long uninterrupted bath tonight!

A long bath sounds lovely. Hope you get a too

I think giving a bottle works. Don't be too harsh on yourself if you have to opt for formula, it's fine!! For a 4 week old I'd do 120-150ml

3oz is pretty good going! Expressing takes a while to get the hang of. You have the most milk in the mornings if that helps.

I found this useful when I was thinking about introducing a bottle.

Otherwise I would read the instructions & don't force them to finish the bottle. At 9 months me DS will take around 120mls, they are all different.

Enjoy the bath!

Well the bath was lovely but the bottle wasn't successful! He took some the burst into tears and refused it! Put him on the breast and he was happy again. He took the rest this morning though but now my boob is sore and I'm worried about messing breastfeeding up. Hmm

Don't give up - I'm a big fan of mixed feeding. Sometimes giving a bottle is a real help, and your boobs will learn to adjust, especially if you make the bottle a regular one. Both my DDs got a bottle at bedtime. I'd second the suggestion of using cartons if it won't be a regular thing, so the powder can't go off.

After being a human-dummy to DC1 and having some other painful issues resulting in blocked ducts and mastitis, I decided to mix-feed DC2 from very early one, one bottle in the evening most (but not all) evenings, just when I needed a break,

It worked really well for us, and I bf him to 15mo.

I would stick to the bottle in the evenings when your supply is lowest. Personally I loved bf'ing my two and was pleased we found this solution so I could keep going with DC2 for so long.

I will keep it up, unless ds stops feeding every hour I think I'll go crazy! I do enjoy bf a lot but its the sheer relentlessness of it at the moment. I know he's still very young though