giving the occasional bottle of formula - okay or not?

[Blondeinlondon]

Hello

DS is nearly 8 weeks and breastfed.

I need to be able to go out and leave DS but I cannot express enough in one session to satisfy him. I cannot express and store milk due to thrush.

Would I be okay to leave a bottle of formula for him whilst I go out?

if he takes well to a teat and doesnt get confused by it then i dont see why not. lots of people mix feed.

absolutely, yes. i successfully bf for four months, leaving the occasional bottle of formula. i used to buy cartons of ready made up stuff because a full tin of dried would have gone off before it all got used. dp thought it was brilliant that he got a turn to feed ds!

Like the others have said, it's absolutely fine! I actually think it's a good idea to have them get used to a teat if you plan to stop bf'ing to return to work for example.... my Mum bf my 2 younger brothers exclusively, and when she finally did try to have a few hours away from them neither would take a bottle at all! My Mum bf them both until they were 18mths old. It was very tiring for her and difficult as noone else could help with the feeds.

My DH also loved having the opportunity to feed dd and ds when they were just tiny. With dd (8mths) DH would give her a bottle of formula at 11pm to keep her going until 4am-ish. That way I could go to bed after the last breastfeed and sleep until 4am. It was bliss and really took the strain off me and let me recover physically and mentally.

Thrush is very treatable - and I gather it often causes discomfort in the mum and lower weight gain in the baby. Are you getting treatment?

Also, the more you express, the more you get - it's something you need to get the hang of, if you want to do it.

Of course, formula is a reasonable option, too.