Best time to start introducing a bottle of formula

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Baby dd is 3 weeks old-we would like to introduce 1 formula feed per day. Is this a good age to I wasn’t sure if it’s too soon or if it’s better to do it now so she’s more likely to accept it ?

As she’s breastfed I assume she will only need 1-2 oz of formula not a big amount as the formula guidelines seem to say more but is that for fully formula fed babies ?

As soon as bloody possible, I say.

I started about 3 weeks. Gave one every other day. It was a massive relief to have it in the background, in case something happened and I had to spend hours away.

I know someone who even at 6 weeks had quite the battle on their hands, the baby just refused the bottle entirely.

I gave a bottle as and when required, probably about two or three a week. Definitely start early so you don't get a bottle refuser

Thankyou that’s really helpful I will start then !
I’m assuming at 3 weeks it’s just the size 1 teat ? I have one mam bottle and one tommee tippee one bottle have size 1 teats for 0+ months I assume will be fine for a 3 w old who has only been bf so far I saw mam do a slower one but I think my milk comes out quite fast so didn’t want to get the wrong flow teat and she refused a bottle if it’s harder work

Yes I think I will be relieved if she will take it I’m actually worried about scenarios like if I got Covid or one of my other dc did
Plus it would be nice to have a little break once a day too but it’s mostly I really feel like we need her to be able to have a bottle just in case

I used the mam bottles I felt they were fab. I tried pace feeding my ds was for none of that. It's definitely a bit freeing when you have the option of bottle or breast

My DD is 12 weeks EBF and we tried to introduce a bottle last week a few times and she is refusing it every time! However when she was 3 weeks old my DH gave her a bottle as a one off and she took it straight away. Definitely start to introduce one now before it's too late!

Why do you want to introduce formula? At this age it's just an extra job you need to do for not a lot of gain.

Really try to wait until at least 6 weeks and your milk is established. That way you'll be sure not to mess with your supply too much.

I combi fed my son. Keep with newborn teats the whole time. Your nipple holes don't get bigger so you don't need to change teats.

No more than 5oz for a bottle and the smaller the better

Pace feed the bottle so that they find it easier to switch between.

I'll be honest I hated combi feeding and much preferred EBF. I never found that giving bottles gave me any type of break and was just extra work.

Mostly I’m concerned given the current issues with Covid that me/Dh/one of other dcs will be ill and I want security in the knowledge dd could be fed another way if needed
Secondly I sometimes need to not be attached to her all the time due to circumstances with older dc and also I’d like a break sometimes too

I caught covid back in March and thankfully it was quite mild. My daughter was still breastfeeding at the time and I side fed through being ill. I also did the same when I got a nasty stomach upset when she was 6 months old.

Feeding her through my illness was one of the best things I could do as she got my body's immune response to it. She caught it as well (whole family got it) but she wasn't very ill at all.

Also remember during the worst days families couldn't get formula in the supermarkets.

As for always being on you, that gets better as they get older.

Like I said though, I hated combi feeding so I'm a bit biased