Anyone mix feeding??

[forevermore]

After EBF for 4 months I am now trying to mix feed. I battled with bottle transistion and now DD1 who is 20 weeks this week will take 5oz at 10am and 5 oz at 7pm and I BF at night (10pm ish, 2 am and 5am) and in the day (12ish 2ish and 5ish). However since 7 weeks she has only really fed for 5-10 min so no idea if she takes close to 5oz at these feeds or less.

I am concerned that the formula says 5x 7oz bottles at this age so wanted to hear about the quantities of formula others give their otherwise BF babies. Should I try to increase the two feeds to 7oz??

If I want to introduce another bottle should it be instead of the three days time feeds. I mean how many bottles / ozs should I be aiming for between 10am and 7pm?? I do eventually want to stop BF by 6 months well just at night if she wants it. Is that possible????

TIA.

Thanks

Try increasing to 7oz, she might not take it all at first so dont worry. You can never tell how much they are taking when BFing, she's probably just an efficent feeder, it took DS1 40 minutes to feed, and DS2 10 mins! They know when they've had enough.
See how the 7oz goes for a couple of weeks I guess, you might find you have to feed less at night if she takes a whole bottle at 7pm. Then try replacing the day feeds with another bottle, I would imagine one bottle would be enough, though depends on the baby.
When are you thinking of introducing solids?

i want to wean ASAP to be honest not enjoying this whole BF/Bottle thing but know from experience that it may be many more months before i have an 'good' feeder. in fact DD1 and i 'battled with bottle feeding (her taking the 'right' amount) and food till she was 2 years old.

I have the legacy of a heightened sensitivity to feeding issues which i am battling with but not winning. DD2 seems to know thats my thing and now has decided to play me up as well.

since this morning she had a brief BF at 7ish then i offered bottle at 9.30 and she vomitted up the half she had happily taken and now won't take anymore.

now i'm in a tis; she would not take BF which i offered due to vomit and i know i shouldn't but i am in tears because i just want OUT. by OUT i mean text book baby (7oz every 3-4 hrs and BF at night or low and behold sleep all night).

its like a wind up....she'll take bottle twice a day happily and BF otherwise happily one day then the next it falls apart.

can you make any sense of what i have just written....and to think i started mix feeding to get out ofthe BF trap now I am having bottle battles and still trapped...

I wouldn't worry about her not taking any more milk after vomiting-she might have had too much from the bottle as it is easier to drink from it than from the breast and she got rid of the excess.

Have you just started introducing the bottle? I think replacing bf with bottles should be gradual, remember it is not only the breast milk she's getting when bf but also cuddles, closeness to you and comfort. I think she might find it difficult to have all that taken away, it would be easier if you replace 1 bf with bottle, then after a week of so 2 etc.

She is not winding you up but trying to get what she needs and that is you, your breast, your cuddles.

Re 7oz x 5 per day...tbh, I was when I noticed the table on the formula pack saying that 4-5 month old supposedly drinks 7oz. Looked at my 5 m/o DS - there is no way he would be able to drink that amount at once! The best he's ever done was 4.5oz and no way I can make him take more.

But then he feeds (bf) every 2-3 hours during the day so he is getting less at a time but more often. Your DD seems to be having 8 feeds (if I counted correctly) in 24 hours so no wonder she doesn't do 7oz, same as my DS.

I know its easy to say, but try to a bit more relaxed about it, if shes hungry feed her, if she sicks it sometimes dont worry its normal, she's unlikely to want to feed straight after, but will obviously get hungry sooner.
Its better to change gradually to FF I guess, but not the end of the world if you do it quickly.
I have a friend who hated BFing she didnt change gradually just swapped to FF in one go. She was alot happier and relaxed after, yes breast is best and you've done it for 4 months but if its stressing you out then you need to way up the pros and cons.

moz thanks for the reassurance; i feel under so much pressure (mainly from myself) to have that 'textbook baby'. BF has the advantage of not knowing what they take just trusting that they know what they need. but I do want to stop as I don't want to be the one responsible (solely) for feeding her which emotionally and physically drains me. You say your 5 mo takes 4-5oz formula, when is this and how often. i presume you are mixfeeding??

I do worry that by stopping and not having her take the 'full FF' then i am somehow interfering with her development/weight gain, as she was BFing fine and now not FFing correctly; does that make sense.

I will try to relax and trust that she knows how much FF she needs too. its difficult though when she only take 3-4oz and the guide says differently. she is happy and helathy otherwise which i am grateful for...

BTW i have been trying to introduce a bottle for about 6 weeks with her mainly refusing or only taking 1oz; then about 2 weeks ago started taking 4ish 0z at 10 am then this week i introduced again at 7pm and again max 4 oz now want to introduce to replace afternoon 2 hourly BFs, dont mind BF at night / late eve....does my supply just adjust accordingly??

I sort of fluctuate between mixfeeding and bf only . More bf than bottles so I don't always know how much he's taken.

Have you considered expressing - that way you're not solely responsible for feeding and she would still get the nutritious bm.

I personally think the guide is rubbish. If she only fed 5 times/24 hrs and took 4oz then it's worth worrying but she is a frequent feeder so she is absolutely fine. Ignore the guide and just trust her.
Seriously, I don't believe a baby would starve himself with plenty of milk on offer.

The supply is supposed to adjust to decreased demand, might take a day or two though.

The whole 7 oz x5 per day thing is a recipe for nothing but worry and anxiety. The trick is to stop feeding when the baby shows signs of being finished, turns head away, won't take the bottle in her mouth again. And to throw the rest of the formula down the drain and not bother her to finish up the last few ounces.

There you go then, she's just taking her time getting used to the bottle, it wont be long before you can give her all FF in day and just boob at night, I kept BFing DS1 at night until he went through, its just easier than getting up and faffing with the kettle in your PJs! It was till he was about 9 months, Im gonna do the same with DS2 who;s a little over 6 months and still needs a good feed about 5 in the morning....gggrrr!
Good Luck, It will all work out for you Im sure!

feeling much better about it all and will trust baby more thank you all

My 2 fairly "big" babies never took more than about 4/5 ounces at a feed, yet there would be these tiny babies at baby groups that would guzzle 8+!

DS1 even stopped drinking milk in the day by 9 months & only had bottle morning & night.

The main rule HV told me was if they drain bottle, add extra ounce next feed. They will take what they need. Hv also said 20 ounces (including food sources eg cheese, joghurt) was enough for 6 month+ baby that had started on solids. I used to give DS a joghurt to replace the feeds he dropped.

I noticed you have another thread too - I think you need to stick to one method for your own sanity! Dont beat yourself up if BF is no longer for you. I hated it first time round but 2nd time is completely different. Your baby seems to be feeding quite often (i worked out 2 hrly from ur post??????)& your over supply issues maybe due to you swopping between brest/bottle. I am currently mixed feeding as I am slowly stopping BF DS2 as now he is 7 months I feel I am ready to stop & want my pretty bras back!

What i am doing is dropping ONE bf a week so my breasts have time to adjust & settle. At the same time i have been weaning DS so he is going longer between feeds anyway (was 2.5-3 hrs now more 4-5) My plan is to just BF at bedtime & first thing for a little while longer.

Do what you want to do rather than think you should do.

YoMoJo thanks for your post. what i WANT to do is only BF at night if and when she wants it. DOnt mind if its just for comfort to get back to bed or nourishment.

I have been alternating breast and bottle today and trying to stretch intervals to every 3 hours, but struggling. Unsure how to proceed really. As I presviously said i didn't feel confident stopping daytime BF until she was taking 'full' bottles (fear is that my supply dries up and she isn't taking 'right' amount of FF to compensate.... So today has been a little bit of a mess:

7am BF, 9.50 FF (4oz), 11.30 BF, 1.30ish BF, 4ish FF (4oz) 7 ish FF (4oz) 8.30ish BF (to sleep), I will then BF i imagine around midnight and probably once or twice between midnight and the 7am feed. BTW she only feeds for around 5-10 minutes.

any advice on the way forward would be appreciated......I really want to get this sorted before I introduce solids (6 weeks from now)

From what I see you are doing great and not sure there is anything needing to be sorted...

My ds also only feeds for about 10 minutes during the day, ~20 for the night feed. I feel that's enough, half of the 20 min feed he seems to be nibbling for comfort only while falling asleep so I think your dd 5-10min feeds are perfectly fine! She's happy and content afterwards isn't she, that's the indicator she's had enough, she's prbably just an efficient feeder.

I'd say continue with what you're doing and follow her clues...feed her when she's hungry and try not to aim to have a textbook baby, they are all different She is taking a bottle and FF, right? That's great and eventually you'll be able to replace bf with bottles if that's what you wish.

4-5 oz sounds like that is a full bottle for your dd. My ds rarely takes more than 6oz at 7 months.

from my own expereince, I would stick to giving bottle/breast always at around the same times so your supply settles and then wait till baby weaned (3 meals a day) before you drop to night & morning feeds only.

Ds1 was a text book baby but ds2 is far from!!!!, DS2 is far more erratic & tends to take forever to feed and doesnt feed as effeciently!

dunno if it helps but ds routine is roughly
5-6ish BF, 10ish FF, 12.30 lunch sometimes with FF, 2-3ish FF, 4-5isn dinner, 7pm BF, 10pm FF, 1-2, either bf or ff. 5-6 ish bf

last night he had me up at 11.30, 1.30, 3, & 5 but he is teething!

The short feeds could be that she is an effiecent feeder or Sometimes babies can get into a habit of "snacking", you could try giving a dummy or gently rocking baby to stretch her out - even if it is just 10 mins! Also if she is only feeding for a short time on the breast she may not be getting the richer hindmilk which fills her up & that is why she is looking for frequent feeds.

www.kellymom.com is great site for swotting up about bf - saved me many a time!

My Dh has lots of food issues mainly from how his parents dealt with his fussy eating as a kid & so i understand (2nd hand) some of your anxiety. DS1 (2.4) was good feeder till he turned one & now eats hardly anything (IMO) or any variety but is still big for his age so his diet must be enough for what he needs.

Really though it sounds as if things are going well - just trust yourself & baby more - I am sure she is getting just what she needs too (regardless of any text book or guidelines!)

Thank u both. I do feel a little more confident that I am doing ok with it all. I know ideally I should just BF till she weans but it's making me miserable to EBF and I know that the thought of being able to take DD1 out for an extended period knowing DD2 will be ok with a bottle will make me a much happier mummy. I will work on FF at same times each day and also not stressing about how much she takes.