what do you think is better,ex bf for 4 months or bf for 6 months with a formula top up

[robinredbreast]

yeah i know your all gonna say ex for 6 months

but whats best for baby outta these two options

Robin - I don't understand. Do you mean ex bf for 4 mths, followed by formula/solids, versus top ups all the way through to 6 mths without solids until then?

I don't understand how this choice would come up on real life. Most people end up doing what is most practical for them, not planning these types of choices in advance. And there are so many other choices, anyway -- what about exclusive for 4 months followed by combi-feeding for 2 months? That's a more common way it happens than the OP's initial options.

Does it matter? Like lljjk says, you just do what you can do at the time. Don't plan so far ahead or second guess what you will be able to do.

sorry didnt make it v clear did i

the choice between ex bf for four months then formula till ready for weaning

or do the bf for 6 months with one bottle of formula top up at night

baby is 10 weeks now and so far ex bf
cant keep this up for much longer though

Thanks for clarifying!

How sure are you that the formula top up would help?

Top ups can undermine breastfeeding - you start topping up and the formula starts to take the place of bf.

It doesn't always happen, of course, but it can.

And then instead of 'mixed feeding' you end up fully ff.

OTOH, some mothers feel that a top up actually enables them to continue bf for longer, as it relieves the pressure.

From a purely infant health point of view, exclusive bf to 4 mths is probably better - but it would be hard to show this with real babies in real life.

What problems are you having with breastfeeding, RobinRB?

as an express bf bottle feeder (long past thankfully) the best thing to do is take one day at a time - say each day - right today I am expressing. Just do it for as long as you can - and use formula as your fall back when you either don't have enough for every feed or you are just sick to death of it.

And find one of the pumping forums - there are a few around - it helps to make you realise you are not the only nutter around doing it. I found expressing while surfing the net a good option because it helps to forget what you are doing and somehow takes the pressure off.

Double pump if you can too - increases production and cuts down the time - win win.

.

by the way - if you can face it - keep trying to directly breast feed - it gets easier as they get bigger - so worth it if you can crack it.