6 week old - combo fed, is this normal?

[msp2023]

Hello!

Six week old, BF with formula top ups (aiming to reduce and mode to EBF if possible).

Baby tends to feed at one breast and then falls asleep. Then wants feeding again in 1-2h. From what I've read, she should be having a full feed from both breasts every 3-4h. I know all babies are different but wondering if she's not eating properly.

I'm giving around 300mL formula per day (split into 60-90mL feeds). Not sure if I'll ever get rid of formula top ups if she's not fully feeding at the breast.

Would love to hear others' experiences at this stage and particularly if yours was similar to mine!

Just to add, she sometimes manages 3h gaps at nighttime or during the day - particularly post formula top up. It's between breast feeds that she rarely lasts more than 1.5-2h.

The frequency is totally normal - neither of mine have gone for more than a couple of hours until around 12 weeks.

I suggest trying to keep your baby awake for feeding in order to maximise feeds - have you tried blowing in their face whilst on the breast?

If they are full from one breast it’s fair enough - and this is entirely possible - but try to get them to have both as it will help keep your supply up.

Personal experience after doing both is that they breast feed every 60 -90 mins until they are about 3 months old. If you want to exclusively breastfeed then you need to aim for at least 12-14 breastfeeds in 24 hours. Try to offer both breasts even if it means waking them or taking them off the first breast before they are sleeping.

Thank you both! This makes me feel much better!

She is coming to the breast around 10 times a day but only at 3/4 of those times is she taking both breasts.

I'll put more effort in to keep her awake and make sure she drinks from both now, hoping this will help! Annoyingly it's easier - especially at night - to see she's satisfied with one and call an end to that session.

My 9week old feeds every 2hrs (2hrs from start of one feed to start of the next) with occasional 2-3hr gaps. He only feeds from
one breast per feed now

I'd say that's perfectly normal, my baby fed very often at that age and definitely didn't go 3-4 hours in the day without feeding.

They breastfeed more often as breastmilk is easier to digest then formula. Also cluster feeding and night feeding really help increase your supply. The issue with adding formula top ups is, A baby will always take more milk from a bottle (regardless of what is in the bottle) as they don't have to work as hard to obtain the milk.

Not all babies will feed from both breast at a time but it's good practice to offer both to start with. They may not take the second one this is fine.

If you want to just breastfeed slowly reducing the amount of formula you offer and offer the breast first at each feed. Getting some additional support from your local breastfeeding group or a charity helpline like BfN or NCT would be useful also.

Good luck op

The only way to increase your milk supply is to get baby to breastfeed more often. Pumping after a feed can help some women as well, but not everyone can pump and its never an indication of supply.

Thank you!

I've got a 4 week plan to gradually reduce the formula so I'll keep putting her back onto the breasts whenever she's fussing and hope this ensures my supply is plentiful!

I do find it hard to wake her sometimes when she's fallen asleep at the breast, even blowing on her face or using a wet wipe doesn't help. She's quite chilled like that!
I'll just try my best but I can't force her to drink from the second breast or she doesn't want to. Whereas the bottle, she'll happily just guzzle even when she doesn't need it (sometimes a lot thrown up).

So lovely of you all to offer your advice and experiences, really appreciate it.