Mixed feeding advice

[frekkles]

I'm going back to work in September and my baby is 4 months old now. I'm freelance, so not working much, 4 full days and 16 half days up until christmas. I was planning on expressing milk for him on these days. but over the last week I was trying to express for a night out, and ended up only getting about 4oz a day. My boy takes 6oz and still wants more on the occasions he gets bottles. I just don't know how i'll be able to express enough milk to leave him. So I'm wondering about formula on those days. will it effect my supply as it's sporadic? which formula is the best? can i mix it with breast milk?

If, when you are away from ds, you can express instead of feeds, rather than in addition to, you'll probably find you'll get much more.
I struggled to get an oz a day when at home with dd, but got 6oz no problem in half an hour in lunchbreaks at work. A double electric pump made a world of difference too (Ameda Lactaline, not cheap but fab).

Remember that at 6m he can start solids, which, although they won't get much nutrition into him at the beginning, will fill him up a bit and keep him interested, and may lessen his demand for milk.

Afrais I have no helpful advice as dd never had formula, but do remember that 99.9% of the stuff on the tin is marketing hype, so unless you have particular wants (vegetarian, organic, whatever) you might as well buy the cheapest.

Your supply might be a bit erratic (eg I was always full to bursting by Monday lunchtimes after a whole weekend of demand feeding) but tbh this will affect your comfort more than ds's...

I'm currently moving to mixed feeds (back to work in September) with DS2 who is 6 months and am expressing and topping up with formula (as when am back at work I will not be able to express so need to get him used to formula) - currently 1/2 and 1/2 ratio (started off exclusively BM and gradually reduced BM and increased formula). I find if I express at 4 in the morning (basically when your boobs are painful) I get about 9 oz in 10 minutes - but if I express later in the day I get less and less (usually around 4 oz) and DS2 takes a 7 oz feed, sometimes a 9 oz one. I'm freezing unused BM at the end of the day in ice cube trays (each cube is approx 1 oz) so it can be defrosted and used to top up smaller expressed bottles. Will wind down the expressing (doing 5 mins less each time), dropping a day time feed in the morning and then the afternoon one, over the course of the next week to prevent engorgement and mastitis.

Ps if you do mix formula with BM, do the formula in the bottle first to make sure you get the water powder mix right and then add the BM.