Mixed feeding - which bottle is best?

[TinyTwoTears]

Now that solely bfed dc3 has dropped just below the bottom line on the weight chart it looks like I will be supplementing him with one bottle before bed at night.

So, having looked at all the bottle feeding stuff yesterday I came away a little overwhelmed.

Which is the best bottle for mixed feeding? I really want to avoid the dreaded nipple confusion.

Dc3 is 3 months old.

One of the systems like the Medela Calma might work well - the test mimics breastfeeding. They are not free flow so the baby has to suck like when breastfeeding to get any milk.

If you haven't seen it already, have a look at the Kellymom page about how to increase weight gain for bfed babies.

Thank you, I will look for those bottles.

I have seen the kellymom site and have had good advice in general. I am still either not feeding him enough or my milk just isn't enough.

I have been feeding him two hourly in the day as much as I can and setting my alarm for night feeds. And getting up for them this time. I wanted to give it another week but DH is now thinking that a bottle might be a good thing.

Tinytwotears- your baby is old enough not to have a big risk of nipple confusion.

What advice have you been given regarding weight management without supplementing with formula?
Most situations of poor weight gain can be managed without resorting to formula.

We use a supplemental nursing system to mix feed ds. It means no bottles and no nipple confusion, plus there are methods for weaning off if needed in the future. Plus the lo is still sucking so stimulating supply.

I have been told to feed two hourly, and 3 hourly at night. Breast compression and switch nursing.

I have managed 4 hours at night and two hourly in the day for the last week. He has always had both sides. I have to take him off when he is nodding off and doing little sucks sometimes though I know that I should let him come off by himself. I do that generally when I have to go for the school run.
He didn't put on enough weight in the initial weight gaining phase and I know where I went wrong there. Unfortunately he is at an age where weight gain slows a bit.
His latch can be hit and miss but I do adjust. He tends to pull back to have less in his mouth.
I do wonder if I produce too much fore milk although I know he does get the thicker milk because I have a random milk duct quite high up my nipple area that oozes milk very slowly while DS is feeding and I can see what kind of milk he gets from that side!
He had lots of wet and dirty nappies.

Is it that he is just gaining weight slowly, or that he is not actually gaining (or even losing) weight? All the advice you have been given to increase weight gain sounds good - is it a HV that is advising formula top ups?

Could the bottle feed be expressed bm rather than formula? I don't know if you would have the time to express, but there is no reason that it has to be formula (unless you are happy with formula of course).

Also, don't worry about the whole foremilk/hindmilk thing as he will be getting calories from any milk that he drinks, and the consistency of milk changes gradually throughout a feed. Just looking visually at your milk won't tell you anything about the make up of it. Kellymom as usual has a good explanation, also the general explanation of milk production is helpful.

It sounds as if things are going well. A week is not a long time to be expecting results from the new feeding regime, i would be tempted to persevere with increased breastfeeding and give in another couple of weeks.

At 8 weeks I got him weighed and he didn't put on any from the week before. Since then he has gained at least 3oz a week sometimes 5oz. But he is now just below the bottom line.
He got weighed today 5 days after his last weigh in and he had put on 3oz. The hv agrees that he looks healthy and happy though. He has also been referred to a paediatrician.

I have had good advice on mn as well.

I've been using innosense bottles for mix feeding DS- they're mothercare's own brand and for us they've been great.They're tear drop shaped and the flow is very slow so baby still has to "try".- No nipple confusion and he had it introduced at 3 weeks due to weight loss- he just swaps between nipple and bottle and doesn't really seem to care so I'm sure at 12 weeks baby will be fine.