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Is it ok to give breastfed baby a bottle of formula?

33 replies

Topazbutterfly · 11/05/2023 13:19

I have a 2 week old and I'm anemic. I'm totally breastfeeding at the moment but when the babies feeding very often, I feel exhausted. I'm on iron tablets but the midwifes have said it's going to take time for my levels to build up, so I was thinking of giving the baby a bottle of formula at night but I don't know if I should or persevere with just breastfeeding. I have had a word with them about this and their very keen for me to stick with just beastfeeding and I do understand that it's better for the baby but would supplementing with the formula be okay? Many thanks

OP posts:
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Skybluepinky · 11/05/2023 13:20

Ask yr HV for advice, they r the experts.

TwilightSkies · 11/05/2023 13:20

Yes do it! Formula is a great substitute for breast milk. Babies thrive on it. You have to take care of your health so don’t feel guilty.

NuffSaidSam · 11/05/2023 13:22

Yes, it's fine. Mixed feeding can be the best of both worlds. It's better to give some formula and then bf for longer than killing yourself trying to exclusively bf, finding it too much and giving up.

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Hazelnuttella · 11/05/2023 13:22

Any amount of breast milk is beneficial. And the baby will still be getting the benefit of that even with formula as well.

I did exactly what you’re describing from early on - one bottle of formula a night so I could get a longer stretch of sleep.

It’s not ideal as some babies get used to the bottle and then get frustrated breastfeeding because it takes a bit longer for the milk to get going. However it’s the only thing that enabled me to survive so it wasn’t really a choice for me, more a necessity.

TomWambsgansSwans · 11/05/2023 13:23

Congratulations on your baby! If you're exhausted and want to, give a bottle of formula at night. Some of my NCT friends did this and said it helped their babies sleep as it was a bit thicker than breast milk so they were fuller. That might help you alongside the iron too. I started off mixed feeding as my baby had jaundice but I breastfed until she was 17 months old in the end so it didn't impact our breastfeeding.

Do you have a baby bistro or breastfeeding drop in locally who could support you? I found them quite useful in the early weeks.

peachgreen · 11/05/2023 13:23

It’s absolutely fine. HVs are very keen to promote breastfeeding and I absolutely understand why, it IS the best thing for your baby, but formula feeding is really almost as good and absolutely fine if you’re struggling to cope with breastfeeding. I wish I had tried to mix feed much earlier as I ended up trying to persevere with EBF to the point of a breakdown and then switched to formula entirely. If I’d been encouraged to mix feed from the start I would have been able to keep breastfeeding.

Folkishgal · 11/05/2023 13:23

Your health absolutely comes first, however if you don't want your supply to drop (especially as it won't be fully established yet, it generally takes 6 weeks to be established) you would need to express at the same time babe is having a feed!

But if it gives you a bit of a break formula is absolutely fine for your babe to have ❤️

If your really unsure you could contact Le Leche League for some info around it all ❤️

TulipofAmsterdam · 11/05/2023 13:23

Yes, it is a good idea to do this. What's best for the baby is what's going to help you to rest and recover so you can build your strength.

35965a · 11/05/2023 13:24

It’s absolutely fine.

2 of my friends had great success mix-feeding their babies. Even if you choose to stop breastfeeding altogether that’s fine too!

Imenti · 11/05/2023 13:37

Hi, NHS breastfeeding volunteer here.

Firstly congratulations on your baby and well done for feeding right from the off, you're already doing brilliantly and giving your baby an amazing start.

Supplementing with formula can be a very useful way for you to be able to get proper rest for both your physical and mental health. The advice is to not start to introduce a bottle until 6 weeks as the baby may get confused between breast and bottle and then struggle to regain their latch again. However, only you know how you are feeling and I myself had issues with feeding (due to tongue tie) and had no choice but to feed my baby with expressed milk and supplement with formula from a bottle, as I had to exclusively pump for a the first few weeks.

If you do try a bottle, look up "paced feeding". This mimics as close as possible the way a baby takes milk from the breast so is less likely to get bottle/breast confusion

Essentially you hold the bottle horizontally with half the teat filled with milk and they have to work that bit harder to get the milk out, similar to drawing milk from the breast.

In these early days it is also REALLY important to build up your supply, so you really need to try and pump /express at the same time (or before or after if you are the one giving a bottle) to ensure your body knows that you still need to produce milk at regular intervals. In the first few weeks (up to 6) you are establishing your milk supply and any missed feeds could affect your supply.

You can store this milk in sterilised milk bags and can be used for the evening bottle feed (instead of formula) or can be kept in the freezer for use up to 6 months

If possible I would wait until 6 weeks to introduce any kind of bottles to wait until your baby is established with breastfeeding and your supply has regulated, but I do understand the exhaustion and stress of constantly feeding a tiny one. I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to answer them. Good luck, you are doing an amazing thing already! Xx

Imenti · 11/05/2023 13:39

Also, sorry forgot to say have a look at your local children's centres as most should have a drop-in breastfeeding clinic, with volunteers like myself, but also professional lactation consultants. :-) where you can get support and advice xx

Sallyanne1983 · 11/05/2023 13:39

I think what’s best for baby is individual to each mother and child. So if you feel a bottle would help then that is what’s best for you and your baby. I did the same. And that’s what was best for us. My baby is a happy, healthy and almost thriving one year old. You and your baby’s mental well being comes first so which ever type of feeding/combination makes you feel better is best. X
congratulations and good luck

CurlewKate · 11/05/2023 13:45

Of course it's absolutely fine-but it might be better if you can hold out for another couple of weeks until bf is really properly established before "tinkering with the system."! Are you doing it so you can get more sleep? Or is it because it feels as if bf is depleting you? Are you very anemic?

WoolyMammoth55 · 11/05/2023 13:46

Hi OP, congratulations on your baby :) Both of mine were underweight initially. With my first, we had a disastrous intervention (frenectomy to cut his tongue tie) which caused him so much pain that he never breastfed again - suckling hurt him, and he needed the ease of the formula being tipped down his throat :(
With my second, I was more confident/less shell-shocked (!) and I just offered him a bottle of formula whenever he seemed grumpy/restless/dissatisfied with my boob. He turned 2 years old in Jan and is meeting all his milestones, including weight, and still breast feeding when he fancies, so a total success story.
There's a lot of pressure to 'do breastfeeding right' or exclusively but for my son, I know that being flexible and combining breast and formula is what made it work for us.
Wish you all the best xx

Houseupdate · 11/05/2023 13:47

Honestly it’s fine. I combi feed for six weeks and then moved to ebf.

bravotango · 11/05/2023 13:48

Definitely!! If possible I would wait until after the 2-3 week growth spurt cluster feeding. I did this and DH gave DS a bottle of expressed milk each evening at around 7pm as was when I felt my supply was lowest in the day.

YearoftheRabbit23 · 11/05/2023 13:50

It's fine. We supplemented with formula from 2 weeks onwards, there was no nipple confusion and baby gained weight much better and was much more content once he was getting more milk. Do what works for you.

Redlarge · 11/05/2023 13:50

Yes of course xx

Glitterstars · 11/05/2023 13:55

I would try and express if you are wanting to give a bottle rather than formula. Not anti formula at all but if they are used to only breast milk it could affect their tummies as not used to it.
don’t let the HV push you into doing something you don’t want to do , exclusively breastfeeding is a massive commitment so you need to really really want to do it.

Mummyoflittledragon · 11/05/2023 14:35

I think the advice not to stop ebf is because you build your supply up by putting a baby to the breast so the more times you do this, the more you increase supply.

Some women on here, you can see, successfully mixed fed at some stage and some went onto ebf later. In my experience this is more rare and if the goal for you is to continue breastfeeding, a strategy would help.

You may be one of the more lucky women, who has plenty of milk or you may be more like me and have just about enough. Either way, perhaps you could see you way to expressing milk. The easiest time to do this is first thing in the morning before the first feed. You will be storing all that nutritious milk you made overnight, which you thus far fed your baby.

If you express this milk first thing, your body will quickly reproduce milk for the first morning feed (a gap of 20 mins, preferably 30 is needed). It is the afternoon, where I had more issues with supply.

Depending on how much you managed to express, you could then try to use this milk to bottle feed with when you’re feeling tired later on in the day or if not needed, at night. Either way, bottle feeding overnight with expressed milk or formula will give you some respite. NB It may take a little while to increase the amount you can produce first thing in the morning.

The method I’m suggesting was really useful for me. Admittedly dd was older, in the months rather than weeks and an electric double pump was a must for me. I got up at 6, expressed, 20 mins later expressed again (the latter not absolutely essential). Then got dd up at 7 and fed her. I used this milk for the middle of the night feed and slowly built up stock, which I froze, for the odd time I wasn’t around.

Mummyoflittledragon · 11/05/2023 14:36
  • I mean I got dd up at 7 and breastfed her.
TomeTome · 11/05/2023 14:42

I would only do this 6 weeks in to feeding. Can you just stay in bed for a few days with tons of food? I found Yop that sweet yoghurty drink boosted my supply massively. Later a friend from India told me they drink Lassi for the same thing.

Kablea · 11/05/2023 14:43

Yes, we did this after 3days and combifeeding worked well for us. No confusion at all.

DustyLee123 · 11/05/2023 14:43

I did it with all of mine.

Redebs · 11/05/2023 14:48

Topazbutterfly · 11/05/2023 13:19

I have a 2 week old and I'm anemic. I'm totally breastfeeding at the moment but when the babies feeding very often, I feel exhausted. I'm on iron tablets but the midwifes have said it's going to take time for my levels to build up, so I was thinking of giving the baby a bottle of formula at night but I don't know if I should or persevere with just breastfeeding. I have had a word with them about this and their very keen for me to stick with just beastfeeding and I do understand that it's better for the baby but would supplementing with the formula be okay? Many thanks

Breastfeeding at this stage won't make your anemia worse, but it can reduce your milk supply, so any bottles you give now could risk your supply.

I would seriously advise to wait for at least six weeks before giving a bottle. Focus on resting with your baby and feeding on demand.

How anemic are you? Have you been told to get regular checks, or are they just telling you your iron is a bit low? Are you getting supplements or are you needing additional medical support?

At 2 weeks it's absolutely normal to feel exhausted. You need looking after so that you can recover physically and mentally. Focus on resting, eating well, feeding baby, resting a bit more... 😊