Advice on combi feeding for first time mum?

[Lalarosex]

As a FTM I find the information on breastfeeding, pumping, bottle feeding so overwhelming it seems like you need so much equipment.

I hope to initially breastfeed my baby but express so my partner can give him bottles too. Potentially looking to combo feed with formula but again, it’s hard to plan

can anyone give me any useful tips on this? And what equipment I will actually need

thank you mamas!

Certainly bottle feeding (my first) was a lot better for my happiness and mental health, and a lot more 'balanced' between parents than EBF.
That's the thing though, nobody can really know what will work for them until they try it. I introduced a bottle with DC1 at about 4 months to get him used to it just for one day out. It was absolutely not worth the effort and I didn't bother even trying with DC2. The ease of just being able to bf anywhere with no planning needed far outweighed any benefit of DH being involved for me. At night time with DC1 he took over and resettled after I'd fed, with DC2 he was still with DC1 who was a toddler and regressed to night wakings so he was plenty busy while I was feeding in the night.

No right or wrong way to feel about it but just impossible to predict. Which makes planning hard.

True, bf anywhere is great, but that's the beauty of mix feeding (if it works), you get all of the plus points, none of the negatives.

Want to feed half way up a mountain, whilst a plane is landing or whilst also wheeling a trolley round a shop - yay for boobs.

Want to be able to rest when you've got a D&V bug, have a night out with friends, or stay sane when your baby demands milk hourly - yay for bottles.

Personally I found 100% bottles easier than 100% boob, but I also had a husband who alternated the nights with me, and who did half of the bottle admin. I'll take 8 hours straight sleep 3-4 times a week over being able to feed easier on the go if I could only choose one. The ability to chop and change is win win though 😁

I found breastfeeding difficult and combination fed early on - breast, pumped, formula top up. The main things that made it easier - ready made formula bottles which would be very expensive to use if you were doing them all the time, but as an emergency they are a lifesaver. A good quality electric breast pump so that pumping is quick and easy if you want to do it. I have to say, I used bottles early on with breast feeding because I struggled with the breast feeding, and while being able to combination feed was great, I found the bottle things so much hassle compared to whipping out the boob, that LO went fully breast feed until he learnt to use a feeder cup! Pumps are amazing, and bottles are amazing, but your boobs don't need warming, cooling, or sterilising!! Get a good pillow to help you support the baby in the right position, and Lanishon nipple cream is your friend - use it liberally! I ended up cutting all bottles by 2 months and going straight to a feeder cup at 5/6 months when we began to introduce solids. (Still breast fed beyond that, but would use a cup of breast milk or water WITH the solids and then breast feed at different times.)

I mean, what would I know, I've only been a breastfeeding counsellor for 20 years so clearly you're far more experienced than me.

No, just different. My experience is just as valid as yours.

I find it quite shocking personally that in mix feeding, if a dad is feeding formula that he wouldn't take responsibility for it. So it shouldn't be any additional work for mum (unless it's expressed).

You're probably going to see more of the nipple refusers than bottle refusers in your counsellor experience - bottle refusers wouldn't need your help.

And yeah, of course dad can do everything else. Mine did. It wasn't enough to offset the enormity of the 24 hour/7 days a week come whatever life throws at you, commitment that comes from breastfeeding.

Perhaps it's worth it, perhaps it's what we should do because we are mammals. But for me it certainly wasn't 'easier'.

Have you fully fed a baby both ways btw? Not just the occasional bottle, but full formula feeding to compare. I'm not saying you need to have, to have a valid opinion, and it's wonderful that you enjoyed breastfeeding - it's got a lot of positives, but it's useful surely to see how people who have done both, have found it.

I mean, respectfully, if people didn’t breast feed, your entire career would be in jeopardy. Similarly to someone who perhaps works in a factory and says that robots won’t take over their job, they need to advocate how they are needed. Same same, but different.
So of course you’re going to say establish breast feeding before introducing a bottle. But in my experience I see mums crying because their baby won’t take a bottle and they feel stuck with EBF because of scare mongering advice like this. You can do both, I’m doing it and I feel fantastic about it. So it’s possible.

It’s important to consider the possible motivations that any woman may have to want to introduce a bottle. It could be that they need to get back into work soon, they have chronic fatigue and need help, or even more controversial, they just don’t want to exclusively breast feed (imagine the horror).

So, OP, don’t be afraid to try both, introduce the bottle early, and be consistent with boob, if you have a problem with supply, that will exist no matter what you do.

You do you.

I've had to give my daughter bottles dairy free formula because of her allergies. And I can 100% say that just boob alone is far easier than bottles. But I've cut everything out my diet so I can give her the boob and occasionally she does get the odd bottle but not much tbh

It’s so personal and people have really strong opinions on this topic, here is mine.
I would have a small amount of pre made formula to hand and some sterilised bottles just in case, but wait to see how you get on with breastfeeding before investing in anything more. I was really scared of breastfeeding, heard horror stories and was convinced it would be painful. After a traumatic birth my baby latched within 20 minutes and not once in 12 months has it been difficult or painful. I love breastfeeding my child. i know this is not the most common experience but it’s mine. I ended up buying an Elvie stride hands free pump so that my husband or nursery can give ger a bottle, but my advice would be to see how you go with breastfeeding for the first little while because if you start supplementing with formula straight away it *can mess with your milk supply. If it’s not working out for you though or you just don’t want to EBF nothing wrong with pumping or formula. Fed is best.

I ended up combi feeding due to my supply not being enough (a tongue tie did not help.) i won’t come in on the supply advice stuff as you get so much - a lot of it a little contradictory. Also my friend had her baby 2 weeks later and she had so much supply she couldn’t pump as she supplied so much.

my biggest advice is the infant feeding support (whether at a children’s centre or more volunteer based and held in a hall/church)is available when you are pregnant. More time & instruction when not dealing with birth (beyond nct) would have helped! Go in the 39th week if you get it off.

I agree with the first post re: equipment. nuby rapid cool (don’t bother with the thermos, doesn’t work) just get a bottle (40quid). You can rent a hospital pump from medela. I also use an elive stride - though I wish it didn’t need to be dry. Mam anti colic bottle with smallest teets. I never leaked/ experienced pain but baby only hit birth weight by week 6! (Currently 12 weeks old.)

"I mean, what would I know, I've only been a breastfeeding counsellor for 20 years so clearly you're far more experienced than me."

@Babyboomtastic

‘No, just different. My experience is just as valid as yours’

• I’m not talking about my personal experience of breastfeeding, I mean the 20 years I’ve spent supporting women with feeding choices and issues. Do you have 20 years worth involving hundreds of women and babies?

‘You're probably going to see more of the nipple refusers than bottle refusers in your counsellor experience - bottle refusers wouldn't need your help.’

• I often help parents with transitioning to bottles, both of expressed milk and when parents decide to switch to formula. Bottle refusers still need help.

@Readytoevolve

‘I mean, respectfully, if people didn’t breast feed, your entire career would be in jeopardy. Similarly to someone who perhaps works in a factory and says that robots won’t take over their job, they need to advocate how they are needed. Same same, but different.
So of course you’re going to say establish breast feeding before introducing a bottle.’

•It’s really cute that you think I get paid to help parents with feeding. The govt & NHS doesn’t value breastfeeding, so 99% of breastfeeding support is provided by charities and volunteers. I’d love it if people no longer needed my help. I wouldn't spend my day off, and evenings and weekends supporting parents that have been let down by the NHS.

‘But in my experience I see mums crying because their baby won’t take a bottle and they feel stuck with EBF because of scare mongering advice like this. You can do both, I’m doing it and I feel fantastic about it. So it’s possible.’

•I didn’t say to only breastfeed, I advised to get breastfeeding established first and then introduce bottles. You’re the one scaremongering with talk of mums in tears “stuck” with no choice but to breastfeed.

‘It’s important to consider the possible motivations that any woman may have to want to introduce a bottle. It could be that they need to get back into work soon, they have chronic fatigue and need help, or even more controversial, they just don’t want to exclusively breast feed (imagine the horror).’

•With respect, we are trained to consider all these things.

This is exactly my take on it. Combi feeding has always been my intention and preference, however if I couldn't make it work, I would prefer to formula feed than exclusively breastfeed, if it had to come down to it. This attitude has been met with horror by some midwives and breastfeeding peer supporters I've encountered.

I mix fed both my children without issue (as in, no issues with supply/mastitis/nipple confusion or anything else they tell you will happen if you try combi feeding early on...) from being around two weeks old. DC1 was fully formula fed from 12 weeks as I was still in severe pain breastfeeding despite seeking support from loads of people so I had to pack it in for my mental health really. DC2 was fully formula fed at 10 months, I felt it was best for both of us at that point for various reasons.

Personally I would never want to exclusively breastfeed. I relied on my DH to help with a few night feeds each week, and more if I was ill or had to go somewhere without baby etc.