Benefits of mixed feeding vs. solus bottle feeding?

[Mo2]

Sorry if this is covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find anything...

We all know exclusive bf is best overall, but is there any research, or anecdotal 'evidence' of the benefits of continuing to bf alongside giving formula?

For example - does the baby still get some of the usual benefits from breast milk - but in lesser quantities?

I guess my question is - if the choice is breast + bottle or bottle only, what are the advantages of the mixed approach (particularly for the baby?)

Antibodies are still there in breastmilk, and giving formula alongside breastfeeding does not reduce the nutritional benefits of breastmilk.

Exclusive bf is probably essential to maximise allergy protection.

Giving bottles can impact on breastmilk supply, and in time can mean the supply is not maintained.

But breast and bottle is better for the baby than bottle only.

(The Dundee study (famous cohort study still ongoing) found that any breastfeeding that lasted at least 13 weeks (with or without formula) showed a measurable protective affect against gastroenteritis, which contnued to toddlerhood. )

Thanks Tiktok -that's exactly the sort of info I was wondering about. DS2 is 14 weeks and already has some formula, but I was planning to try to continue some bf at least until I go back to work in Jan. I know some people manage to continue to bf and express/keep bfing when they return to work, but I feel it's just going to be too difficult to keep going for any significant amount after that.The gastroentertis info is interesting - and what I've always suspected - a friend of mine whose (3 yr old) son was bottle fed from 3 weeks has been plagued with tummy upsets/diahorrea etc ever since he was a baby, whereas ("touch wood" ) DS1 (same age) has never had anything like this...
Thanks for your response - glad I've at least kept going this long so far...

Mo, it isn't difficult at all,honestly. Even if you can't face expressing at work you can still feed first thing and when you get home. I did that for yonks. It also makes stopping much easier for both of you if you drop feeds gradually. And it is a lovely way of reconnecting when you get home from work. And you can got back to fully breastfeeding at weekends, if you like, and not bother with bottles. I found b/feeding very, very flexible.

Mo2 - ds was on breast and bottles from being 2 weeks (long story - problems with milk supply/ds not putting on weight...) - but I only gave up breastfeeding at 13 1/2 months - lots of the info says 'don't give bottles' but as long as you're really disciplined about giving him breast milk at his breast feed times then there shouldn't be a problem.

Mo2 - I would definitely advocate mixed feeding for you. DS was breastfed exclusively for 14 weeks. Then we went to mixed feeding until 6 months. That was approx. 3 bottles between 8 and 6 and approx 3 breast feeds between 6pm and 8 am. This meant I sent 3 bottles to nursery. And fed him when I got home just after 6, at bedtime (10 ish), as required in the night, and first thing in the morning. I did this 7 days a week even though I was only working 3. And my milk adjusted really well.

DS has a pretty strong stomach. He's only had one serious tummy upset and that was the first week at nursery. The nice thing about breatfeeding when you get home from work is it helps you to reconnect with your baby and the two of you can relax together. Also if you do it this way you might manage to avoid having to give formula at night/first thing in the morning ever. So much easier to bring baby in bed with you than faff around with a bottle. Also that one time when DS was poorly (and therefore unable to have formula) I was able to go back to breast feeding during the day for a couple of days. Much nicer for him than trying to force diarolyte down him. HTH.

Go with what feels right, Mo2. Statistics are only statistics- neither of my boys had a bottle at all, or any formula or cows milk to drink till 18 months+ but that didn't stop one of them being hospitalised with a nasty bout of gastro-entiritis at 16 m.o. Do agree with Aloha that breast feeding can be very flexible if you're lucky. Definitely wouldn't have kept it up so long if I hadn't found it an easier prospect on the whole that bottles!

Mo2 I would definately recommend mixed feeding for a slightly older baby. When I went back to work and dd went to nursery I started expressng at work, but gave up after 3 days as it was just too much trouble. I then managed to express 14 oz for during the day by pumping morning and evening. Eventualy this got too much as well as I constantly had either a baby or a pump attached to my boobs, and dd went on to formula at nursery. We still bf once in teh am and once when I get back from work and it is a lovely relaxing time for both of us. It is also a wondrful way to force dh into making our dinner whilst I'm "making" hers
I actually find this easier than bottle feedeing at home - no need to worry about making up feeds and sterilising. But because dd is used to a bottle it means taht I can go out occasionally and leave bottles for her, and I've found that my supply now isn't so much as to cause leakage if I don't feed.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

Another fan of mixed feeding here. My dd had one bottle of formula a day from a few weeks old. (poor milk supply, losing weight etc.) At the time I was devestated, but it worked out brilliantly for us and even though I'd originally planned to try to build up the supply to eliminate that bottle feed, I changed my mind and continued with it.

Returned to work at 14 weeks when dd had bf in morning, 1 bottle of ebm, 1 bottle formula and either ebm or bf in early evening and bf just before I went to bed.

We stopped at about 5 months when she dropped the night time feed and got fed up with bf in the morning. I think that can be one of the down sides of any bottle feeding (ebm or formula)... my dd definitely came to prefer bottle. In her case she was v. nosy and didn't like having to put her face in my boob rather than be able to look around at things.

Benefits for baby... happy Mum and a full tummy!

In the end, it's what you feel most comfortable with. I mixed fed because the sluglet was in hospital for a while after she was born, fed by a nose tube. I never established a good supply no matter how hard I tried, expressing resulted in a few dribbles, an ounce at best. The result was a well fed baby, with all the closeness of breastfeeding, as many of the antibodies as I could give, and an opportunity for her dad to be involved as well.

I mixed fed with ds1 for the same reasons as slug (minus hospital, just) and found it worked brilliantly.

Sorry to be negative, but mixed feeding just did not work for me. Like Musica, dd was on breast and bottle from about 10 days because of my poor milk supply, and we continued like that until about 13/14 weeks. We then had a very bad week when she refused the breast completely so from then on it was just the bottle. I did try expressing, but it wasn't long before my milk supply dried up completely. I found it very upsetting as I really wanted to continue breastfeeding for at least a year and in retrospect would have cut out the bottles a lot earlier, but I just did not feel confident that my milk supply was all that it should have been. I do wonder if it had anything to do with my advanced age - I was 41 when dd was born. I had to be induced, as I only had about a dozen contractions before they disappeared completely. IIRC, oxytocin is the stimulus for both contractions and milk production, so perhaps my worn-out body just wasn't up to the job!
Sorry, that's completely off the point.

Sorry to hear about these problems, soothepoo. 'Advanced' age at 41? Ooh, that's fighting talk, I'm 38, not far behind you and saying it's old is an insult to the over 65s IMO! I don't think age has anything to do with it. I had milk supply problems with my first at 35, but things have been much better with my second. Supply was low for the first few weeks but then grew, just like they said it would. It took time though - lots of time. I think formula sometimes works for this interim period, but I respect and sympathise with those for whom it doesn't.

When I went back to work, I was reluctant to give up breastfeeding completely but wasn't sure how I could continue part-time if the baby was having bottles during the day from the child minder. However it worked out fine. I continued to breast feed in the morning before going to work, in the evening when I came home from work and during the night when she woke up, which she did every 3 hours, until she was 14 months old! Meanwhile she had bottles during the day at the child minder. Now my daughter is two and still has a comfort feed most nights before bed after having a bottle and sometimes in the morning will look for a "snuggle" and occasionally at the weekend. I go along with the La Leche advise - don't offer and don't refuse so you can take your lead from your child. Good luck.

Droile - when I said advanced age, I was talking very firmly tongue in cheek ! I think 41 is generally considered 'old' to have given birth for the first time, (how many articles refer to 'young' mothers when in fact they mean 'new' mothers?), though happily it is becoming less uncommon. I was talking purely about my own experience and my completely non-scientific theory on what might have caused the problems. If I do have another baby it would be interesting to see if, as you found, breastfeeding would be easier second time round. I'm 44 now and even 'older' and despite how I feel and look (probably 104!) my insides may not necessarily agree!

Sorry soothepoo, I had my literal head on earlier. Sorry - it's just that I had a 'friend' who would say things like that in all seriousness and thought that at around 47, she ought to be winding down her career and settling into her rocking chair. I've been going the opposite way ever since, but sorry for jumping on you, it's just that she used to use those exact words.

Yup, I know people like that too, Droile - it's quite sad. I would love to be like my granny, who sadly died last year aged 92. Apart from some unavoidable age-related complaints she was full of life and I never thought of her as 'old'.
Dh (who is 10 years older than me), dd and I were at the checkout at Sainsbury's this evening. The assistant looked at dd and asked 'Are you out with granny and grandpa this evening?'
I'm still coming to terms with mummy, never mind granny!!

Interesting point about age & b/feeding - I was 42 when my DS was born & I did manage to b/feed for 8 months but, I am convinced, only because I also gave him one, or sometimes two, bottles of formula a day. I did try expressing - but half an hour & 2oz later !!!!!!!!! No thanks. I never experienced 'leaky' breasts & genuinely 'felt' that there wasn't much in there (& it is not becuase I am petite - very big build & hefty!!).

Soothepoo - we also get the 'granny & grandad' syndrome - when we were in the hospital one of the staff came up to my DH & said, very kindly, 'You do look nervous, is it your first grandchild?' !!!

Hehehe, you've cheered me up, Lindy and Soothepoo! I was 42 and DH 51 when we had our youngest and no-one has ever mistaken us for grandparents!! Oh, I've led such a virtuous life, me, that must be what it is. OTOH, our eldest, who is 21 yrs older than his sis, has been mistaken for her dad, tee hee. Not that he really minded cos 'toting a tot' is such a babe-magnet, he discovered.

Lindy and soothepoo, my Mum was 42 when she had my little sister and b/fed her for 3 yrs without using bottles! She hadn't had a baby for 14 yrs at this point. So it proves its possible but I know eveyone's different. I think that the health professionals should do more to help people who are worried about milk supply. I believe that worrying is going to make it worse and possibly hinder the milk production through stress. My Mum also had worries all the way through feeding my sister, especially when my sis seemed unhappy after her feeds (which IMO babies do from time to time anyway no matter WHAT or HOW MUCH they are being fed.) Having the confidence in yourself to be able to provide enough nourishment for your child is difficult at any age and I don't think the health professionals explain how that will feel and what to do about it if it is really tearing you up inside. But then again it all boils down to which particular midwife or HV you see and her personal views, such a pity...

soothepoo - I think if you can get pregnant your body will be able to provide milk. Doesn't make much sense biologically speaking to have a baby and not be able to feed it. Before formula milk plenty women were having babies well into their 40s and feeding them.

Interesting point about being induced though - there isn't enough said about medications given at pre-birth and how they can affect the start of breastfeeding.

soothepoo, well, it certainly seems like your genes predispose you to a long life - which probably means you have extended fertility. I had my ds at 38 and breastfed with no probs (apart from a shaky start with the milk taking quite a while to come in and a hungry little boy), as is a friend of mine of 40, so I genuinely don't think it is age related.

soothepoo - the problem with your milk production would have been made worse by the introduction of formula. For women who do have true supply problems (can happen), if frequent feeding/expressing does not increase supply then Domperidone may work. Women who are expressing for their premature babies are prescribed Domperidone at our hospital. It used to be Maxalon, but now is Domperidone, as it has hardly any side effects.
My friend's sister-in-law breast fed her 1st child for a year. She was a C/S after a few hours of labour at 42weeks. Her second baby was an elective C/S at 38 weeks and her milk supply dwindled at 3 weeks, despite admission to hospital, frequent feeds, expressing and eventually Domperidone. I think that there may be a link between lack of oxytocin and good milk production in individual women. There are of course many women who have elective C/S and breastfeed beautifully. I think my friend's sister-in-law was delivered before nature intended since it was 4 weeks earlier than her first.

Lizzer, I think you're absolutely right about the key to breastfeeding successfully being confidence. My confidence was practically non-existent when I was told I had to go back into hospital with dd so her weight could be monitored. Every midwife had her own opinion on what I was doing 'wrong', my mother's comment was 'Perhaps she doesn't like the taste' (!! that's gone into my mental notebook of things never to say to dd) and when I went to see a b/f counsellor when things were starting to get really bad she seemed to be implying that I hadn't bonded with dd because my breasts didn't tingle when she cried!!

Soothepoo - your comments echo my thoughts I posted earlier on Lizzer's thread about advertising and it's effects on the world etc.
I totally agree with you.