from bf to mixed feeding - help needed please!

7 replies

olivhohoho · 20/12/2006 21:45

my dd is 4 months and I would like to move from bf to mixed feeding but am not sure where to start. she has taken bottles of ebm at (my) bedtime since about 7 weeks so i know she is ok (for now!!) with bottles and this week I have used formula instead of bm which seems to have been ok.
will i still produce the necessary milk if I give formula for another feed, maybe during the day? I would like to move to total ff over the next six weeks or so and was thinking of changing one feed at a time - she still feeds around 7 times a day/night. is this the way to do it?

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Original poster

olivhohoho · 21/12/2006 09:18

bump

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clairemow · 21/12/2006 09:36

hi olivhohoho,

My Ds is also just about 4 months, and I've been doing the same thing as you. I've dropped 2 feeds in the day time now - I decided which one to drop (mid morning) and then went cold turkey, which meant a bit of soreness for a couple of days until the supply readjusted itself. Then a few weeks later I dropped mid afternoon feed and replaced with formula. Went cold turkey again, and had to express a little for a couple of days until supply sorted itself again. Now I've dropped doing the evening expressing (yuk, so glad that's gone...), and was engorged this morning, so fed DS and expressed as well to be comfortable. I think it's best probably to leave a week or so between dropping each feed.

So basically now I'm feeding DS myself first thing in the morning and at his bedtime, and he's having a bottle of EBM mid morning, and formula mid afternoon and for the late feed when we go to bed.

I haven't had any trouble with mastitis or anything, but if you're worried about that, you could drop the feeds more gradually by cutting down how long you bf at each feed and giving increasing amounts from a bottle at each one you want to drop.

Your supply should adjust to cater for exactly what your baby is asking of it.

Original poster

olivhohoho · 21/12/2006 10:21

thanks clairemow. i think i'll try and pollow a similar pattern to yours, so i'm ending up feeding her myslef just n=morning and her bedtime. then maybe i can carry on with that when i'm back at work.

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Original poster

olivhohoho · 21/12/2006 10:22

pollow?? follow !!

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clairemow · 21/12/2006 12:05

hi again. the only thing I am a bit worried about is that some people say their supply drops hugely after they go down to just 2 feeds a day. It may just be that it FEELS like that because the breasts are only producing enough for 2 feeds and so you don't ever get engorged any more. I'm not sure. I'm going to carry on expressing as well as feeding first thing in the morning for as long as I can to try and keep up supply. At least then I can top up if I need to at bedtime with EBM instead of formula for as long as possible...

Original poster

olivhohoho · 21/12/2006 14:32

was wondering about that myself - i rarely feel engorged anymore and that is only with dropping one feed. the expressing drives me mad but i think i'll do it a bit too.

let me know how it goes!

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clairemow · 21/12/2006 14:36

know what you mean about the expressing - the evening one was awful, you'd just get relaxed with the children in bed and have dinner, and then you'd have to get out that bloody pump! I figure expressing in the morning isn't so terrible...

Don't know about you, this is my second baby, and my breasts have been much less engorged anyway this time. Maybe they just get more efficient the more they're used?!

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