Talk to me about milk and littlies

[Bumblebee39]

Going to be back at work and study FT when baby is 4/5 months old. I have no choice in this as can't afford not to. I also don't get to decide if baby will take formula/latch on to breastfeed etc. As I well know but am I better to just bottle feed from early on or do I have time to try and get some breastmilk in there?
Would combi feeding either breast milk and expressed milk, expressed milk and formula, or breast feeding and formula be a good plan? And when to start it?
Tia X

Bump

No advice but I'm in a very similar situation and would like to breastfeed as much as possible.

I think what I'm going to do is EBF (if possible) until 2/2.5 months and then move to combi feed with expressing.

No idea how it's going to actually work out though!

Hi OP - I went back to work FT when mine was 5months old - I started off breast feeding but I supplemented with a bit of formula as and when it was convenient. In fact my milk came in late after a 48hr stint in the High Dependency Unit so DD's first feed ever was formula. My experience was that I had no problem getting her to switch between the two or between bottle and breast (but I know others have). With my first I found myself expressing and bottlefeeding a lot because she was tricky and I couldn't get a gauge as to how much she was getting from the boob.

Not gonna lie, Brest feeding was agony for a good few days - silicon nipple shields saved me by giving my nipples time to heal. But once past that phase I loved having that option because in the middle of the night (or of out shopping) it was so much quicker and easier to stick her on the boob than faff with bottles.

My advice would be to start out with whichever you feel most comfortable with and see how it goes. By 12 weeks I was probably doing half breast and half formula. I stopped completely with the breast feeding around 4 months - I personally didn't want to be expressing in the office etc, but again plenty of people do. I would def advise introducing the bottle with enough time to persist incase she/he objects - principally so you can avoid the stress this can cause. I have a friend who is a maternity nurse and her view was always that they all accept a bottle when they get really hungry (horrid thought I know 🙄)!

Also wait to see how your little one reacts - they are all different! If you have trouble with the bottle then give it some time - my midwife said they all get the hang of it when they're hungry enough - assuming there are no physical impediments.

Good luck - how exciting xx

Thanks @bumpitybumpbump
I am thinking I might opt to FF. I have done both in the past and think it would be easier on the baby and me to stick with one method of feeding. I can't be a slave to the breast pump again!
I think I've just been struggling with that as a decision but I think it's the right choice (I hope so)
There is honestly so much pressure to breastfeed and I know it is better than formula but it is also hard work. There are other ways to bond too

I think you should do whatever works best for you - I think a content, unstressed (if such a thing exists) mum is more important to a baby's well being than anything else! Do you think this will be your last baby? I only ask because I had two - but have decided not to have a third and when I look back I really enjoyed my time breastfeeding and all the anxieties I had about work timings and getting a routine etc seem so unimportant in comparison now I look back. I wish I had made more time to enjoy moments amongst the madness - but then that's just me! Good luck - hope it all goes smoothly for you x

Can you join a local peer breastfeeding support group or even just join them on FB. I liked knowing there was a group of normal mums feeding their babies (not midwives etc) who had had every problem under the sun and there were always loads who had worked FT/ different shift patterns/had to be away from baby for a few days and the biggest thing was just how relaxed and matter of fact about it they were - left alone it’s easier (If you’re me!) to build these things up to be almost insurmountable and it’s good to know it’s not, it’s common issues everyone grapples with and get ideas on how others did it and anything they’d do differently to make it easier. Good luck.