7wk mix fed ds rejecting breast

[1978andallthat]

Ds, 7 wks, mix fed approx 50/50 (which i am happy with) has hardly wanted boob today. Just rejecting it then crying a hungry cry. When I give in after half hour of putting him to breast (one then other) and him rejecting it he greedily has 120ml bottle. Then he'll have both breasts after that. At night he mostly just bfs (co sleeper) so no bottle between about 10pm-8.30pm. Am
Worried he'll start rejecting boob altogether as hoping to mix feed for 18mo as I did for dd

Any suggestions? I think it doesn't come out fast enough to satisfy him when he's really hungry, which he is for the three feeds after night time, after a 3 hour morning nap which I would be very loathe to wake him from as it's when I can get stuff done, and after a shorter afternoon nap.

Any advice on keeping the 50/50 ratio and doing breast before bottle each time?

What kind of bottles are you using?

Tommy tippee with test no 1

Teat not test

The flow from the bottle will be faster and easier than from the breast. Have you thought about trying a different type of bottle? I have used the Medela Calma but they are pricey.

1978 - obv don't know the details of what happened last time, but most women doing 50-50 bf/ff by 7 weeks would not be able to maintain any breastmilk supply for very long.

Bf just has not had time to be established, and I reckon your own insight is prob correct - the milk supply is not responsive or copious enough to meet your baby's needs when he is at his keenest. When his initial urge is satisfied with formula, he'll tolerate the breast, and it's ok at the moment for him at night.

The solution? You'd need to bf more....that's the only way to maintain a supply. What you are doing now will keep bf going for a bit, but it won't last that long - hard to say how long. You could increase your bf frequency and then drop back a bit if you wanted to keep up formula as well....what do you think?

Tiktok. Would like to bf more but he won't. When he's hungry he gets frustrated and gets worse the more I put him to breast. Only way I can think is wake him before he's ready so he doesn't wake up starving but am loathe to do so. And after a feed my breasts are empty (whatever anyone says about them never being empty) and take ages to fill up

But am sure I did exactly same with dd who I mix fed for 18 mo

Have you thought about a Supplemental Nursing System? It would allow you to bf and ff at the same time.

Thanks stargirl but not for me. Wan to be able to be out and about and if he's getting formula it may as well be from a bottle. But don't want to lose my milk supply so want to keep it up.

Some babies will be ok with a slow flow and some won't - in my own experience if they're not it's more of a battle to keep the supply up even with bottle teats that are more hard work.

Could you express to stimulate your breasts to produce more milk?

1978, you're gonna have to feed him when he's not hungry then....sorry for the directive tone, there :)

You're not offering at the best time, if you are only offering when hungry. He's frustrated and impatient - he's not in the mood for waiting for a slower response.

Keep him skin to skin and offer at every moment you think he might take it. Prob no need to wake him at all.

Your breasts might well be empty or virtually empty at times - they won't be completely empty. The rule that 'breasts are never empty' only applies when there is a reasonable and well-stimulated supply....when supply is already low, there will be times when there really is not much there at all.

You can restore your milk supply and at 7 weeks it's early enough for the change-round to be easier .... but it will need a change of approach and it will be time consuming for a little while. That's the biology of it - you have to go along with the biology :)