Using Formula and breast milk - Your advice please

[Kimmyrich]

I am currently EPG but thinking of going to formula as well to help me just at night.

Can anyone let me know what they think about this and their experiences.

One reason for this is that I am unable to express enough milk for him to stock up in my fridge.

I mean EBF lol

I done this with my 2nd and 3rd baby from 4 months. How old is your lo?
Breastfeeding is exhausting so don't feel bad if you want to supplement to get some rest x

Yes why not? If you feel it will help, it will!

How old is your baby? I think pre 12 weeks it can affect your supply.

Personally I wouldn't do it until you start weaning onto solids, then it's just another new food your baby's having.

I dual fed from about 4 weeks.
DS was only just back at his birth weight and I was having trouble with supply and demand.
We duel fed until 6 months when he no longer wanted breastmilk (I was quite offended to be rejected).
DS is a big boy 95th weight, 110th plus for length.
You need to do what is best for you, and not get beaten down by the breastfeeding "fanatics", plenty of people grow up having never had breastmilk.

I'm with monkey - night feeds are hard and anything that gives you a bit of extra sleep is good for both you and baby!
You've already given the best start you can by breastfeeding and your supply will adjust. I'm back at work and I worried my body would dry up, but sure enough it's ready at 7am and 5:30pm to feed like clockwork! Clever things really aren't they

Good luck x

I combination fed both of mine from an early stage as much to get them to take a bottle as anything. As for affecting supply your body just adjusts. I dropped the 10.30/11pm time feed for a bottle so I could get to bed earlier and still breastfed at 2am and 5am. But do what's right for you

My DS is 4weeks old and I have just purchased a electric pump from eBay to see if I can express more.

Are you exclusively expressing Kimmy? If so, has anyone given you advice on how to optimise your supply, with regard to how often, how and when to pump etc?

If not exclusively expressing, do you mind of I ask why you're expressing at all, as this will make things much harder work for you.

I have mixed from about 7 weeks he has two bottles one and 11 for the night and one about 7pm because after five he wants feeding every hour til 11 (it was killing me!!) i had to stop bf completely for two weeks which i know affected supply but after two days of boob on demand and fenugreek im down to two/three bottles. He does seem to be sick more often with formula

Morning! My DS3 is 11 weeks old and I've been combination feeding him because he wanted to feed for hours through the night and with two other small children I just couldn't function on very little sleep. He's bf all day and then had a ff at bedtime. He's then only up at most, once in the night. I express most days and if he needs feeding in the night he gets this so that DH and I can take it in turns so neither of us are completely knackered. It works really well for us. I did feel guilty about not exclusively bf but I just couldn't cope with very little sleep and 3 small children