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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

I sit possible to mix feed from birth?

29 replies

belair · 04/03/2008 13:12

Has anyone done it successfully? My neighbour is trying to bf and her hv said it was ok to introduce 1 ff at night and I think she sometimes does 2. I know a colleague who went down this route and her baby fully ff very quickly but I wondered if anyone has managed it. She is also feeding lots and lots in the day which is very usual in my experience but I wonder will it make up for the bottle/s? I did tell her about supply issues but she didn't take it on board.

OP posts:
Original poster
belair · 04/03/2008 13:14

oops Is it, not I sit. My 8 months old dd distracted me by trying to grab the mouse.

OP posts:
Lulumama · 04/03/2008 13:18

AFAIK, until the milk supply is firmly established , introducing bottles of formula can interfere with the supply. the breast needs to be stimulated and nursed from so that the messages get through to make more milk to keep up with demand. one or two formula feeds at night could mean she is going 4 + hours without the baby going to the breast and in the early days of feeding, that can make a difference. also, there is more prolactin produced at night so breastfeeding during hte night really helps with supply.

why did HV tell her to introduce a bottle of formula if the woman is trying to breastfeed?????????

babies need to feed lots day and night in the early weeks to get supply established

howbreastfeedingworks.com/tag/breastfeeding is a good source of info with the numbers for the breastfeeding support lines, and also www.kellymom.com is excellent too

Original poster
belair · 04/03/2008 13:21

I thought that would be the case but I wondered if anyone had been incredibly lucky and managed it?

OP posts:
jabuti · 04/03/2008 13:24

i dont want to step on lulumama's toes, she is our expert!

i have managed to mix feed from birth. one bottle of formula in the evening. my baby is now 7 months old and is still bf. i never had supply problems but i did bf around the clock in the first 4 months besides the bottle.

Lulumama · 04/03/2008 13:25

my friend introduced one bottle of formula at around 11 pm when her baby was 2 weeks old and carried on breastfeeding for 6 months, but she did feed less towards the end and gave more bottles as she cut down BF.

VictorianSqualor · 04/03/2008 13:42

It is possible in some cases, but as Llulu says can interfere with milk supply.

If you're desperate for a break it is much better to express and use that.

For example, if baby is wanting feeds every two hours, which they often do, if you can express for a few days and store it up, then let DP/H do a few feeds whilst you spend say ten minutes expressing during that time it can give you a break, then once milk ahs been established you can leave it a bit longer between feeds and give EBM if you wish.

I really wish HV's wouldn't suggest mixed feeding because it messes up the whole exclusive breastfeeding ideals, though it is still great baby is getting breastmilk, it's betetr if baby has nothing but breastmilk for the first 6 months, be it from a bottle or a boob.

LittlePumpkinPants · 04/03/2008 13:45

i mix fed from birth without any problems but i know this isnt always the case. plus i chose to do it and wasnt told iykwim

muppetgirl · 04/03/2008 13:50

I mix fed. Ds 2 had his 10pm bottle from Daddy from a very early age 2 weeks ish? I found it helped me b/f longer as I got more sleep and was more able to cope with the nights feeds. I had PND with ds 1 so rest was a huge concern for me/dh. (I stopped not due to not enough milk ds 1 was so jealous it became a nightmare!) If you don't need to mix then I really wouldn't.

jabuti · 04/03/2008 13:56

how did your ds1 showed he was jealous muppetgirl? (if im not being to nosy....) i must say it sounds cute.

muppetgirl · 04/03/2008 14:19

I think he thought H was getting extra cuddles and then demanded 'cuddle' as he put it. So I had O cuddling (round the neck, garroting me almost) me whilst I was b/f H. He also decieded to do his poos whilst I was feeding, bounced on the sofa, made really loud banging noises until I came to see what he was doing. I hated seeing him so desperate for me...

milkgoddess · 04/03/2008 14:29

it is if your violet on corrie !!!!!!!!!

willdaisymummy · 04/03/2008 14:29

I mix fed with DD from about 3 weeks, DS was only 17 months and he got so fed up when she was feeding for 2 hours+ so I'd top her up. It worked ok for us and I fed her for just over 6 months, but I don't think I'd recommend it. Sometimes on the feed after a bottle it'd take me 20 mins to latch her on to the breast. It also took me 4 months to get in any sort of routine with feeding which I attributed to the fact she had bottles as and when.

jenmac · 04/03/2008 14:32

I introduced ff from 3 weeks and then combined b/f and ff until I went totally ff from 19 weeks.

I had a problem with low milk supply and b/f for up to 2 hours each time(despite seeing 2 hv, 1 GP and a midwife) and my DS would have been classified as at risk since he did not gain back his birth weight until 4 weeks and on ff also.

I was lucky and never had problems switching, since we b/f, expressed and then did the ff at 7pm since I was normally by empty by then.

tiktok · 04/03/2008 14:38

Individual experiences vary, of course, but the facts are clear: introduction of formula significantly reduces the chance of maintaining breastfeeding, and has a health impact on the baby.

There is no argument about this - can give you references if needed

You can't predict which group a particular mother and baby will be in, either.

VictorianSqualor · 04/03/2008 14:42

tiktok, if you're in the mood for providing links, do you have any idea where NCT have moved their 'reasons to bf' page to?
I had it bookmarked and can't find it!

IlanaK · 04/03/2008 14:54

I just want to agree with Tiktok and sorry, but disagree with Victoriansqualor. You say that if you want a break it is much better to express and use that.

The problems that can occur with introducing a bottle have very little to do with whether the bottle contains breastmilk of formula. A baby that has as little as one bottle a day can have trouble attaching to the breast. Although you suggested expressing for 10 minutes as a way to keep up supply, it is well proven that expressing is not an adequate approximation of a baby feeding and will not stimulate the breast as well.

Also, I would disagree that espressing and giving a bottle gives a mum a break. It is far simpler to attach a baby to the breast than to take apart, sterilise, put back together a breast pump. Then to sterilise and watm a bottle. Any baby that is feeding for 2 hours a feed is very likely to be having attachemnt problems. The solution is to see/speak to a breastfeeding counsellor, not to start expressing.

VictorianSqualor · 04/03/2008 15:04

Ilana, nipple confusion can occur, yes, but surely if someone is desperate to get a break, and yes, having breastfed, I do think that sometimes a bottle or two in the fridge so you can get a full hours sleep can be a life saver.

During one of DS's many growth spurts he was attached to my nipple almost permenantly for three days, he ahd no attachment problems, how I wished I'd expressed milk prior to that happening so I was able to get a break.

My main point was that if the OP feels she needs to give a bottle, expressing EBM is much better than giving formula.

Lastly who says she has to be the one doing everything with the expressing? It's possible for her DH/P to wash/sterilise and trhe pump and bottle, her to express and him to deal with it from there.

tiktok · 04/03/2008 15:10

VS - don't know 'reasons to bf' - do you mean 'reasons to be proud'? If so, R to be P is on the sales site as a poster.

I agree with IlanaK's words about expressing not necessarily being a time saver - but as long as mothers know its limitations, then it's up to them.

It's certainly true that any bottle, ebm or formula, given to a baby to extend gaps between feeds, will have an effect (a bad one) on supply

VictorianSqualor · 04/03/2008 15:12

It may have been that one yes, the one that tells you what good it does at each stage.

IlanaK · 04/03/2008 15:13

Sorry, but I think it gives the wrong impression. If a baby is feeding around the clock due to a growth spurt, it is because the breasts NEED stimulating that often to increase supply. Giving a couple of bottles can interfere with this process and prolong the period in which the constant feeding happens.

I also think that having bottles in the fridge "just in case" is exactly the kind of thing that can undermine breastfeeding, especially in the early days. For some mothers it may be a life saver - for others it can be the beginning of the end of breastfeeding.

I think we have a misconception in wetern societies that breastfeeding is a chore that requires a break. When breastfeeding is going well (baby attached well and nothing interefering with breastfeeding), it is best left alone without any added interventions.

This has gone quite astray from what the original poster asked - this is a reply specifically to VictorianSqualor - not the original poster.

VictorianSqualor · 04/03/2008 15:23

I agree Ilana, it can interfer in the process if done too much/soon, and also too often people do see breastfeeding as something that requires a break, but if the alternative to expressing and giving the bottle because you feel it's the only way you can carry on or resorting to a bottle of formula or stopping breastfeeding altogether, then the best thing to do is express and get someone else to have a go.

Sometimes it's just enough to chill you out a bit to be away from the baby, in which case the mother can still express.

I probably should have explained what I meant better but I do think if someone is going to mix-feed then it is better they express and use EBM than mix-feed and introduce formula.

I'm sure either you or tiktok can explain the difference it makes exclusively breastfeeding ( by bottle or breast) to using formula because althogh I know why I don't want to explain it wrongly.

Lulumama · 04/03/2008 15:35

isn;t it to do with the virgin gut ? that introducing any milk other than breastmilk interferes with that?

FioFio · 04/03/2008 15:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

VictorianSqualor · 04/03/2008 15:44

Basically lulu, yes.
Anything you introduce to it except rbeastmilk affects that, and changes the 'exclusively breastfed' positives.
Obviously mix-feeding with formula and breastmilk is better than totally using formula but it's still better not to introduce formula at all.

jabuti · 04/03/2008 17:06

oh poor little thing!!!! (muppetgirl) it is a cuddle, he was right. must be so hard to share attention with more than one. i only have one at the moment, but i struggle as it is to give attention to my dog as well, who was always treated as a family member.