Combination feeding-breast after bottle?

[Beckabub]

My little boy is 7 weeks and I have been trying to exclusively breastfeed since his birth but it hasn't been successful. He was premature, had tongue tie, jaundice, my milk didn't come in properly for a couple of weeks and due to this we continued to try breastfeeding but his main intake was formula. I expressed perhaps 2 bottles of milk a day maximum. We are still trying to breastfeed but it's taking its toll, he will feed for over an hour but then be hungry half an hour later so he can't be getting enough. I've had support from the infant feeding team and they have just said to continue what I am doing but I find all I am doing is feeding/bottle feeding/pumping all day long. I have no time to enjoy being a mum with him. But I do like the bond of breastfeeding and want him to get the benefits from breast milk. Husband has suggested giving a set amount of formula first (say 100ml) and breastfeed him after until he is full. He usually has 150ml of milk so should want some from the breast. Any opinions on this or advice?

Just to add I've tried to breastfeed first and top up with formula but he falls asleep and rejects formula. So can't do it that way round!

If he falls asleep and rejects the formula, maybe he's already full? Giving formula will effect your supply so may not be the answer
For what it's worth, at that age when I BF all he did was eat all the time. If your baby is gaining weight with wet / dirty nappies what's the problem?

Hi! We mix feed our 7 week old but we do 1-2 bottles a day of formula, he has one right before we go to bed and the other is flexible dependent on our plans/if I haven’t managed to express a bottle. It works really well as I’m able to go to bed early and I can feed him in public places that I’m not confident wacking a boob out too.
I have tried the bottle then breast approach per feed and personally it didn’t work for us. I found that (say my son normally feeds for 20 minutes), he’d have his bottle then still feed for 20 minutes. Almost like hes so used to doing it he’d just feed slower so it saved us no time and was just more hassle. Plus I believe it’s good for them to have a mix of hind milk and fore milk, which if he does only feed for a few minutes he may not get both.
Has your baby had their tongue tie fixed? DS had his done this week and already there is such a difference! We had to go private but my god it was worth doing. He too was doing stupidly long feeds and then hungry again after, I enjoy feeding him now.
Im a FTM so not an expert at all but that’s just my experience with it! :)

@YawnyOwl thanks for your reply. I think he rejects the formula because he's half asleep. He's impossible to wake up I've tried everything. But then within half an hour-sometimes ten minutes he wakes up and screams with hunger. I've tried repeatedly putting him to the breast but he just never seems satisfied. When I pump I get minimal out, ten ml sometimes! Makes me wonder if my supply is genuinely low. I've been doing this daily for 7 weeks and apart from when I give formula he never seems happy and full. When I have breastfed all day and not given formula his weight nappies decrease significantly and as he was premature I can't take the risk of him losing weight which is why I have been combi feeding.

@Piccalily19 hello! Yeah he had his tongue tie fixed early on when he was a couple weeks old. Improved his latch but still feeding for over an hour and I don't think feeding effectively. He's been going for an hour and a half almost two hours right now and every so often unlatches and screams like he's starving! I put him back to breast but he grunts and pushes/pulls at breast and nipple with what appears to be frustration. It's as if he isn't getting anything! I'l just don't know what else to try...

Have you heard of an SNS? It's a way of giving the baby a supplement of either formula/expressed milk at the breast while you're breastfeeding. So you get the lovely benefits of nursing, give him your breast milk, get the extra nipple stimulation to keep your supply up, and your baby gets the food he needs to grow.

I have an almost non existent supply and have been using one for every feed since a a week post birth with DS who's nearly 4 months.

@Toega no I haven't heard of that! I will do on some research on it!

Medela sell one on their website or Amazon. You can also make your own out of a NG feeding tube and a normal bottle.

It definitely takes a bit of getting used to but I love it now and it's really saved our feeding journey. If you do give it a go and have any questions or want some tips let me know!

@Toega thanks for the advice

@beckabub you've had some great advice in this thread, I would just add that what you pump isn't actually a reflection of how much milk you are producing so don't let that knock your confidence x

@YawnyOwl thanks! I've heard pumping isn't a good reflection but it's just disheartening not to see the supply increase much! I'd love to exclusively breastfeed him but hate seeing him appear so hungry all the time!!