Combination feeding - tips?

[FebMama]

It's been almost 3 years since I combination fed DS1. I can't remember the ins and outs of how we did it but I'm planning on combi feeding DS2 soon. He is currently almost 5 weeks old.

He's had the odd bottle of formula early on whilst I was waiting for my milk to come in and he took to the bottle fine.

What tips do you have for combi feeding?

Other than to pace feed the bottle and do things gradually, what else do I need to remember?

I am planning on hopefully predominantly formula feeding in the day and then breastfeeding at night. I did this with my eldest.

Is it best to start with the first feed of the day, or the last? How can I do it so that my breasts aren't super uncomfortable and engorged?

Help please my mind has gone blank!

Anyone? 😊

Everyone's different and it's a case of finding what works for you. I combi fed my first and was very regimented - feeds a, b and c will be breastfeeds. Feeds x, y and z will be formula.

I am much more relaxed with my combi feeding this time round. First feed in the morning and any night feeds are all breastfeeds. Bedtime is either/or depending on who is doing bedtime with the toddler. The rest of the feeds during the day are just very much dependant on what's going on. It's usually only 1 or 2 bottles a day, but if I'm going somewhere she'll obviously have formula if needed when I'm away. I've never had much of a problem with engorgement from it, I went away for a night and took my pump just in case but just expressed a bit off in the shower in the morning 😂

Thank you @BridieConvert! Can I ask how old is your LO?

I would like to do all night feeds as breastfeeds too. No faffing about with bottles in the night 🤣

Did you introduce combi feeding gradually? How long did it take you to establish that routine?
I'm thinking of introducing bottle 1 for 3/4 days, then upping to two for a few days, and so on.

I can't believe how everything has just gone out of my head since my eldest!

She’s nearly 6 months now :)
She lost 12% of her birth weight so we were put on formula top ups at 3 days old. She took the little pre-made bottles no bother but we had a good few weeks of battling and persevering to get her to take an actual bottle!
It was a slow slog to get her to accept a bottle, especially without coughing and spluttering. Think she was about 6 weeks when she regularly had 1 bottle a day. Once she’d done that it was easy enough to get her to take a bottle when it was needed! The way you’re planning on doing it sounds good though, especially if you’re going for more bottles regularly

I combi fed eldest and EBF youngest (have to say I preferred EBF, much easier)

For now make sure your milk is established. Then swap out one feed at a time for a bottle. Try to alternate between bottle and breast for your own comfort and to reduce the risk of mastitis.

I used to do

7am breast
10am bottle
1pm breast
3pm bottle
7pm and overnight breast.

@Twizbe thank you for this!

LO's first feed of the morning was breast today. He then had a bottle of formula at around 11am so his next feed and the rest of today will be breast. Planning on just doing one bottle a day for a few days, then two, etc etc.

Can I ask how old your LO was when you introduced combi feeding?

We combi fed pretty much from the start due to poor weight gain.

It was a nightmare though because he is allergic to cows milk and no one listened to me. He would be fine on my milk and projectile vomit formula. It took until 16 weeks for the diagnosis and that's when we settled into this sort of combi routine.

I really hated combi feeding, but if he'd not had the weight and allergy issues I might have been different.

Like I said, I EBF my second and it was just a million time easier.

Hi OP, just wanted to chime in. My youngest is 2 now and we are still combi feeding - apart from boob he obvs just has a water bottle and only a bedtime sippy cup of cows milk at this point :)

We topped up breastfeeding with formula due to poor weight gain when he was about 5 days old. I just wanted an easy life (!) so I used to BF on demand and then offer a bottle if he still seemed hungry - no timing or counting.

Luckily he got on well with the NUK bottles we had on hand from DS1 and didn't have to worry too much about pacing.

Because I was starting on boob every feed, I didn't suffer with engorgement or mastitis (win!)

Wish you all the best :)

I would establish the breastfeeding for up to 12 weeks first, to establish a good supply; there is much evidence base research on why the body sorts itself out by this point! :)

The breast milk in the morning (first feed) is the most calorific and nutritious.
I would have the dinner time one drop out first? Of course BF is easily digested so doing BF & formula every 3/4 hours won't work initially, you maybe looking at FM, BF, BF, FM, BF, BF, BF - if you see what I mean? (with the FM keeping baby full for longer before feeds as it is harder to digest so sits in the stomach longer). Let us know how you get on :)

Thank you so much for the replies. I know it's best to wait a few weeks for my supply to be properly established but to be honest, I really am not enjoying BF as much this time around and finding it harder to navigate with a toddler in tow too.

I started today by swapping his 10.30am feed to a formula feed. Wolfed down a 4oz bottle no issue. Have continued to BF for the rest of the day. Boobs were feeling a bit on the heavy side come the afternoon but the relief when he had a BF was very much welcomed 😂

I'm going to continue swapping out the one feed a day for the next few days then slowly introduce another formula feed.

Just to update, my LO has come out in a rash on his stomach. GP has advised to come off of formula for a bit to see if this makes a difference so I am going back to exclusively breastfeeding for a little while. Gosh these kids have a way of keeping us on our toes don't they 😬

Sounds like a good plan, you could always look into expressing if you need to in the future. I love EBF, currently nap trapped as we speak :)