ADVICE PLEASE - morning and evening breast feeding only

[pattymc]

How easy is it to regulate your breast milk so that you can feed morning and evening only and give formula for the rest of the day? only 3 weeks in and really keen to keep breastfeeding but only twice a day if this is possible.

Not an expert so can only give my own experience - I did this for both my DS but from about 10months when I went back to work so by that tme b/f more established.

You will produce what your baby needs so if you are only feeding twice a day this is what your body will produce enough for the babies needs, I think health visitors advise feeding for apx. 6 weeks to get feeding more settled before combining.

I'm sure someone more experienced wil be along soon. good luck.

I'm not sure how well it would work at just 3 weeks in - that is a long time to be going in between feeds when you are only just establishing your milk supply.

If you could manage to keep going for a few more week it would be more likely to work.

Is there a reason you only want to feed twice a day?

What about the night feeds?

Right, I think that 3 weeks is not very long to establish your supply. I think if you are going to choose to cut down to only morning and evening feeds then it'd be better to carry on fully breastfeeding for another few weeks before gradually cutting down so you give yourself the best chance of not losing your supply. Also, you run the risk of your dc refusing the breast when he/she gets more used to the ease of a bottle. I'd say if you really want to do it then you max succeed but it might take work and you should make the decision taking into account the very real possibility that your supply will dry up or you won't be able to continue breastfeeding. There are no easy answers. Can i ask why you want to cut down?

X post sorry!

yeah 3 weeks is far to soon. I have only just cut back to morning & bed feeds last week or so & DS is 7 months. I basically dropped a bf a week once ds was on 3 meals a day.

I tried a similar thing with ds1 when he was 4 months but he then started refusing the breast & my supply was up & down all over the place. I often mixed fed him so I dont think my supply was regular enough to enable me to drop feeds without it affecting my milk supply.

Thx for posting - I was wondering the same. DD is 4 months old and I'm now back at work, where it is not always easy to find time to express. I was hoping to keep going until she is 6 months and then move to morning / evening feeds only up to her first b'day... would be keen to hear from people who have managed it!

After six months, morning/evening only is viable, from what I know. But, as for three weeks, well, studies have shown that if mothers introduce formula before 6 weeks, they generally end up stopping BF before they want to, iyswim, as their supply dwindles. And that's just introducing formula, not having it be a majority of the feeds.

I would have said 4 months- but that was in the days when you started solids at 4 months, so breastmilk wasn't the main food anyway. I wouldn't risk it at such an early stage, if I really wanted to carry on breastfeeding. Unless you have the option to express when you are not with the baby (I did this at work).

I still wouldn't do it at 3 weeks though, not even with expressing.