Combination feeding?

[superchicken]

What are people's opinions on combination feeding? I'm currently EBF and the in the evenings I feel like my son isn't getting enough from my boobs, by the evening time they are super sore and it's really hard for me to have him on for a long time. I've tried pumping in the evenings but can never get a lot for him and he will happily sit on my boobs for HOURS, he won't sleep and just wants to be fed constantly, we don't have this problem in the day. I have seen some people combination feed and give one or two feeds of formula a day, I am thinking about changing his bed time feed to formula to try and help out to fill him up and maybe help him sleep and give my boobs a short break! Anybody else done this? Opinions? Tips? Help a girl out please!

I did this.
Firstly because my milk took ages to come in & baby dropped too much weight.
Then because he was a really hungry baby & my breastmilk wasn't enough for him (he was getting hungry and frustrated - tried everything but formula top up was the only thing to work).

No regrets.

Yes I did this. He just wasn't getting enough milk from me. He was hungry. I spoke to the nurse who advised on formula and combi feeding and went ahead. I had no problems and baby was happy. (Mil was not but not her baby or boobs)

I did it from a week old.

I did it because I wanted to :) it's fine to want a break, it's fine to bottle feed. Your baby will be fine if you choose to combination feed.

You could try it, and if you dont want to keep it up, your supply will build up again. Equally, dropping a feed or two gradually will be fine for you too. Perhaps a little uncomfortable at times but nothing major.

It might just be a comfort thing?
My LO did this and I was so fed up some nights it's so so hard but it's worth it.
I'm combining now she is 7 months and she's enjoying the independence but also wants the comfort of me at night.
So what's right for you both but try not to feel pressured either way 😊

How old is your son? It’s really common for babies to cluster feed on an evening. When my son was tiny i felt like all i did was sit feeding him on an evening - sometimes until gone 11pm. He could be feeding more becase he’s trying to up your supply - in which cause combi feeding won’t help, or he’s thirsty with all the warm weather we’ve been having. Have you got any nipple cream to ease the pain?

I mix fed at the start (due to weight loss), then ebf for a few months and back to mix feeding when I felt I couldn't keep up in the evening. It was around 5-8 months and it was the best thing I did, I felt so much better. Later when DS ate more solids I dropped the formula again so was just breastfeeding.
A dummy is also really useful.

Hi. I did this. My DD wouldn’t stop bf in the evening - we’d sit there all night! The only way she’d settle down to sleep was a few mils of formula. In the end I made this part of her routine. I’d give her a bottle if we were out as well. I mix fed for 16 months with no problems

Combi fed DS for 9 months, after a slow start to BF and hospitalisation for the first week with jaundice. We did a mixture of expressing, formula and breastfeeding to alternate formula with breast milk, so there were lots of accessories to deal with, more so than if we'd stuck with just one method (ie bottles, cold water steriliser, pump, nursing bra, breast pads, nipple cream!).

HV was a bit disapproving but it worked really well for us all, particularly with me going back to work after 5 months, as I shared parental leave with DH (it also meant he could pick up some of the night feeds and I think also helped with their bonding; he is now a SAHD).

DS gained weight well and stayed on the 91st centile throughout after recovering from his initial post birth weight loss.

Only problem after the initial set up and finding our rhythm really was that towards the 7-9 month mark my flow was a bit up and down, as solids were also on the menu and which we think lead to DS weaning himself at 9 months (handily just as his teeth were getting sharp!).

Would absolutely do it again and felt like it was the best of both worlds.

Cluster feeding is normal, it’s their way of upping your supply so they get enough as they get bigger. It doesn’t last though, and he will be getting enough