Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

mixed feeding - has it worked for you?

44 replies

Susiemj · 31/01/2008 09:13

For various reasons [long and probably tedious story] I am giving my 4 week old daughter breast, some ebm and some formula. I know this is far from ideal for establishing bf. BUT has this sort of arrangement worked for anyone in the long term?

I do want to get back to exclusively bf. Just looking for some moral support in case it's not possible to do so.

OP posts:
SydneyB · 31/01/2008 09:31

From what I understand, mixed feeding usually does lead to the end of bf. I started like you because DD and I were readmitted to hospital as she was losing too much weight. We gradually managed to get to just one bottle of formula a day and after a long while she was exc. b/f. For a long time I thought mixed feeding would work but then I realised that my supply was just not keeping up properly. There are loads of brilliant experts on here who'll come along soon though!

morningglory · 31/01/2008 09:37

Not necessarily. I had some formula top ups in the beginning with DS1 (wasn't producing enough and nipples in agony). I had no guilt in topping up, but just perservered, and by 2 months, he was exclusively BF without any problems.

Mungarra · 31/01/2008 09:38

I exclusively breastfed my DD for the first 4 weeks, but I've got two older children and needed to get off the sofa. For the last 3 and a half weeks, I've been giving her a bottle of formula at lunchtime and one at bedtime and breastfeeding the rest of the time. No expressing though.

My supply has adjusted itself and seems to be able to keep up with the times I breastfeed. I don't give any bottles other than those two a day. I think it can work if you're consistent with it and don't chop and change.

BITCAT · 31/01/2008 10:16

Yes it worked for me i managed it for 6 months like Mungarra i had 3 other children and didn't have time to sit all day feeding, she was very greedy and at least i got some sleep. Yes consistency is the key, i'd bf night, and mornings just more convient at night and couple during day. She was exclusively bf until 6 weeks, it can work very well. Ds1 was exclusively bf until 6 mths started getting teeth at 5mths and bit me once that was it!! Good Luck hope you master it and continue to bf!!

Poledra · 31/01/2008 10:23

Like morningglory, I did formula top-ups with my first baby, usually in the evening when in tears with sore nipples. Eventually went to exclusive bf about ~7weeks, bf till she was 11 months. At the same time, one of my friends who had her second baby did mixed feeding from the beginning, so she could get some more sleep. Didn't cause her any problems at all, and her dh quite liked his 'quiet time' giving the baby a bottle feed late in the evening after my friend had gone to bed.

Original poster
Susiemj · 31/01/2008 12:06

nice to hear it is possible. many thanks. i'll keep my pecker up!

OP posts:
Original poster
Susiemj · 31/01/2008 17:25

just wondering if there is anyone else?

OP posts:
IorekByrnison · 31/01/2008 18:01

Yes me too. Had wanted to bf exclusively but didn't work out for various reasons. Gave a mixture of bf/ebm and formula in varying quantities from very early on. We did manage a period of exclusive bf from roughly 2 months or so to 5 months - which was the period from when bf was fully established for us until I started doing some work outside the house. Still breastfeeding now at 2.4.

From my experience I would say the key thing is to ensure that you make bf the priority until your supply is absolutely established - ie the majority of feeds come from you, with maybe one bottle of formula a day after she has had as much bm as you can reasonably manage.

Is it because of bf problems that you're supplementing or for other reasons? If you want to talk through it in more detail you're sure to get some really good advice on here from the experts.

Congratulations anyway, and good luck.

LadyJogsAlot · 31/01/2008 18:11

i gave one bot before bed from about 8 weeks i think. (up to 6 months when i weaned).

pollythepolarbear · 31/01/2008 21:29

With DD2 I introduced one bottle of formula at 4 weeks and my supply adjusted accordingly. At first I always gave it mid-afternoon, then when that was established I could change it to the mid-morning feed some days with no problems.

Caz10 · 31/01/2008 22:30

this may seem a silly question, but how would you know when your supply adjusts itself?

empen · 31/01/2008 22:51

I bf for 4 weeks, started expressing for the final feed and now ds is 12 weeks old and he has 5 feeds a day - all bf except 11pm which is formula. he is a big baby 16lb and regularly puts on good amounts of weight.
he sleeps through the night - i believe he would be waking in the night if he did not have formula before bed.
if i had not decided to mix feed then i would have given up bf altogether by now.

empen · 31/01/2008 22:53

as for your supply adjusting. the first week or so after i introduced the formula i would have really full leaky boobs at that time. i expressed it for a few days. first 2 nights i got 12oz (both) then it started to go down til i could only get 5oz so i stopped expressing.

Original poster
Susiemj · 01/02/2008 15:30

Thanks all. Am still working out what I'm going to do - muddling through really. But this has reassured me. thanks

OP posts:
Lizzer · 01/02/2008 15:51

Susiemj, if you're still about I thought i'd add my recent exp. of this. I had 2 bouts of mastitis when ds was 5 days and then 3 weeks, I had topped up with formula the first time was still giving 4oz a day when i got 2nd bout, he had 6-8oz a day for a week (in 2 bottles) but still offered the breast every feed apart from eve one.

I was as woried as you and thought we may have to give up much sooner than expected as i wanted to feed for a yr, but tried to be calm about it...

This carried on until the magical 6 week growth spurt last weekend when he cluster fed constantly for 3 days and hey presto, loads more milk and he hasn't had top up for 4 days.

So it is possible AND maybe you could make use of the 6 week growth spurt to increase your milk (ds actually refused a bottle and that's how we realised he was sated!)

tiktok · 01/02/2008 15:57

Sorry to rain on the parade.....but my experience of supporting many, many mothers as a breastfeeding counsellor and sharing experiences with other bfcs, and looking at the research shows that any formula risks undermining bf and leading to full ff sooner than the mum had planned.

No way of predicting which mums will get away with it, of course, sorry!

Susie, if you want to get back to full bf, then of course you can, but it needs planning for and working on.

MissingMyHeels · 01/02/2008 16:06

My midwife told me that it was bad to mixed feed and not recommended due to gastro intestinal issues it can cause. Does anyone have any experience of this? Sorry for the hijack!

I quite like the idea so good to hear of some success stories.

tiktok · 01/02/2008 16:08

Heels, any formula can affect the health of the baby and his tum...excl bf has the best health outcomes. Is this what your midwife meant?

Having said that, partial breastfeeding has better health outcomes than full formula feeding

MissingMyHeels · 01/02/2008 16:10

She said that is was specifically the mixing of the two that caused the problems. Obviously excl bf would be what they promote but they would suggest excl ffing over mixed feeding.

tiktok · 01/02/2008 16:12

I am shocked, Heels. This is very, very bad advice.

I can't tell you how wrong she is.

Did she give you any further explanation about it?

tiktok · 01/02/2008 16:13

I wonder if she has misunderstood the HIV/AIDS feeding info? This shows that mixed feeding is worse for health than excl ff or excl bf....but for women without HIV?AIDS, the same thing does not apply.

MissingMyHeels · 01/02/2008 16:15

No it was in my first antenatal session a week or so ago and I didn't question around it as she suggested instead to express one bottle a day as the reason it came up was because I explained that I wanted to get the baby used to a bottle fairly early.

So, one bottle of formula with every other feed being breastmilk is ok? Not ideal, I understand that but not a disaster!

I'll ask her next week about it again as I wouldn't want everyone else in the session thinking the same as me!

Lizzer · 01/02/2008 16:17

Tiktok, I believe that determination, plus a bit of luck, got us back on track. I wouldn't recommend going down the road i went to anyone btw, but sometimes you find yourself in situations you didn't think would/could happen to you. I think believing in your abilities to fully b/feed again helps, it certainly helped me and we were over-joyed when ds was fully back on the breast.

lennygrrl · 01/02/2008 16:24

Message withdrawn

AitchTwoOh · 01/02/2008 16:28

i was forced to introduce formula at 12 days and struggled to spin out my bfing until 4 and a half months. i'd like to go back and strangle the (male) doctors who confidently told me that it wouldn't affect my bfing at all and was only a temporary measure.

Swipe left for the next trending thread