Combined breast and formula feeding - how long between feeds

[Rawrsome13]

Hi there,

Just looking for some advice as health visitors have gone awol in the pandemic.

Our 8 week old was initially EBF but we have introduced one bottle of formula most evenings so DH can give me a break- DS is variable in how much he takes, some nights about 50ml sometimes 120ml. He is still BFing very much on demand and quite frequently in day - max gap between feeds is about 2.5 hours but probably more like 90 mins however feed durations are quite short- I definitely have quick let down though so not sure how much he is taking...

If we wanted to introduce an extra bottle feed of formula during the day (e.g. so I could leave DS with DH and not be terrified of him howling the house down) is there anything I need to be aware of in terms of timing next BF, e.g, if he takes a bottle with DH then looks for boob 30 mins later is it okay to still BF him or is there a risk of over feeding? I know you should leave 3 hours between bottles if formula feeding?

Any good websites or resources to support combined/mixed feeding?

Thanks so much in advance x

There is no recommendation for 3 hours between formula feeds - you're supposed to feed on demand regardless of feeding method

Feed on demand regardless of breast or bottle. Also be aware that the more bottle you introduce is a slippery slope. Through experience I've found babies tend to prefer the bottle in this situation and your milk supply reduces and the number of bottles becomes more and more. By 4 months dd2 totally refused breast from me starting as you have.

I mix feed as DS will only take reflux meds in a bottle so we use formula. His dream feed given by DP is also formula. Never had issues, he takes breast first for anywhere from 10 to 40 mins then a bottle top up with meds straight away. Ds goes through phases. Sometimes he'll only take the breast, other times for some feeds he'll only take a bottle.

Feed on demand. Look up paced bottle feeding to ensure baby isn't given too much via bottle, or too quickly. Remember that the boob is more than food, so it might be 30 minutes since the bottle, but he might want boob becuase he is scared, or cold, or lonely, or has a tummy ache, or needs a pooh etc etc etc... so boob away :)

He won't over feed at the breast. He COULD over feed from a bottle.

Every feed he has from a bottle is a feed your body doesn't know about, so if it is more than just a one off, you should consider pumping or hand expressing to tell your body about that feed, to prevent a potential dip in your supply due to your body thinking baby is feeding less than he is :)

Thanks everyone for your help. I don't anticipate the daytime formula feed being a regular occurrence at the moment, just good to have the option. I appreciate the advice about possibility of DS preferring a bottle but at the moment he seems very keen on breast and we introduced the evening formula feed at 4 weeks. I totally appreciate that BFing provides all sorts of other functions as well as nutrition, and would love to continue with it in the majority for that reason, I just wanted to make sure that I don't cause harm by breast feeding very soon after he's had a bottle of formula. I'm really struggling with sleep (a whole other issue) so being able to share a bit more of the care with DH will be helpful.

Thanks again

I do this my ds. He's just about 6 months now and has been having a bottle on an evening for a few weeks now. It took weeks to get him to accept a bottle and he will take between 2-6oz but still demands a bf after.

During the day I can leave him if I have to and he'll take a bottle from dh. Dh just makes one if ds gives his feeding cues, again anything up to about 6oz. It's not that often so it makes little difference to my supply other than full boobs but can pump it off.

If it's not going to be regular you can pump off the excess for the skipped feed.