Exclusively bottle feed with breast milk/formula from day 1?

[2ndtimenovice2]

I'm wondering if it would be possible to pump and combi feed breastmilk/formula but out of a bottle from day 1?

I've read about breastfeeding for the first six weeks before introducing a bottle for combined feeding but for lots of reasons (one being the potential need to go on medication quite quickly) I don't want to be in a position where baby may refuse a bottle, etc.

I bottle fed the first time so I've no idea about the difficulty/practicality of expressing etc.

Thanks

I waited the 6 weeks before introducing a bottle like I was told, and he never accepted one 🤣 tried every brand possible. Granted I gave up fairly quickly as was too much effort for just throwing breast milk down the sink but next time I would introduce a bottle earlier. However you need to be careful - pumping could cause over supply and if using formula - this could lead to an under supply - baby's are way more efficient feeding directly from you than a pump is. a
Also a few friends who combo fed they're baby declined a bottle preference so they stopped BF.

Sorry for the errors.
Also a few friends who combo fed their babies developed* a bottle preference.

Pumping was horrendous for me, took forever to get a small amount and made me feel like a cow. DS has tongue tie so I had to express until he had it snipped. I had no issues with supply floor a baby but my body just didn't react in the same way to a pump (tried many different ones including the hospital's). A number of friends have found it the same, but my best friend's sister pumps without too much difficulty, so I don't think it's something you can predict

I mixed fed from 6 weeks and baby had no issue taking a bottle from then on.

They tell you to wait to make sure you established a good milk supply, I can't really see how you can't do that whilst also combi feeding, just try and watch how much you're pumping. There's probably a bit of an art to it. But nothing that can't be worked out and adjusted.

The logistics... Only thing I can think that you might need to consider is how old your eldest is and if you'll need to be getting up for them a lot or whether you can sit down for 20 minute intervals. You may just want a wireless pump if you need to be mobile.

I had to get DS back on bf after the snip once he could latch properly and it was hard work and I had to use nipple shields for a while because he was used to a bottle

Thanks for the advice. It would seem perhaps formula feeding will be the best way.

My sister fed all her children from day 1 as mixed breast and bottle. Helped her husband bond with baby and allowed her time to sleep. Also gave wider family time to bond with baby if they were there and baby needed fed. She was lucky that he milk was plentiful so she could do this. They are all healthy children now and didn't necessarily prefer one to the other.

It's worth checking with the Breastfeeding Network regarding breastfeeding and medication. A lot of women are advised not to breastfeed on certain medications unnecessarily. breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk

Otherwise feeding directly is sensible for the first week or so. This will help establish your supply, especially as pumping colostrum for the first few days is really difficult. Also, by direct feeding you can start to understand your newborn's feeding frequencies and therefore can pump to a similar schedule when you want to maintain supply.

@bh2210

My sister fed all her children from day 1 as mixed breast and bottle. Helped her husband bond with baby and allowed her time to sleep. Also gave wider family time to bond with baby if they were there and baby needed fed. She was lucky that he milk was plentiful so she could do this. They are all healthy children now and didn't necessarily prefer one to the other.

There are more ways to bond with a baby than feeding a bottle. My husband and family bonded fine with my EBF baby, I fed her until 16 months. Don't let this be a factor in your decision.

Pumping is absolutely hard work. It's very time consuming and tying. You can easily BF for 6 weeks and then change to FF if that's what you want to do. I wouldn't recommend pumping exclusively.

I pumped from day 1 and topped up with formula. I managed till about 3 months then switched to formula. It’s a lot of work but doable!

In terms of supply if you pump when the baby is having formula you will be building the supply. But if you plan permanent mixed feeding you won’t need a higher supply anyway.

It’s completely possible. I know dm who had a baby with a cleft so the dd couldn’t latch and she bottle fed bm for 4 months.

I’m not an hcp but I would definitely check the advice on medication with the specialist service at the breastfeeding network. Their pharmacist Dr Wendy Jones iirc has a PhD on the passing of medication into milk. She is an expert on what will pass through and what won’t based on the evidence. She helped me when I was told not to feed and gave me some stuff from a textbook iirc. So please do check it as not all the advice out there on meds and bm is up to date. You can then go back to the dr with any info that shows a different view.

I've done this pretty much from the start. I didn't express for a few days or maybe a week or so (that start is such a blur) but I still express and give DC a feed or so of that a day and formula feed the rest. He doesn't reject either feed, but maybe we're just lucky. Never tried to BF directly though.

This is a great book about mixed feeding also to help you use both breast and formula for as long as you plan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixed-Up-Combination-Feeding-Necessity/dp/1946665487/ref=ascdff1946665487nodl/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=500806356660&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8862090570854423853&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007009&hvtargid=pla-1234971416343&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

I breast fed and DH gave one bottle per night from birth (so I could sleep). My baby never refused a bottle and I didn’t have any problems breastfeeding.

I've given ds2 bottles from the start but only very occasionally. He prefers breast feeding but will take a bottle if I'm not about.