Advice on mixed feeding please...!?

[PurpleLostPrincess]

Hello,

It's early days yet (I'm only 18 weeks) but I've been thinking about feeding when baby is born. I BF both my DS and DD but only for about 6-8 weeks because my milk ran out. This is my first baby with my now-husband and he wants to be really involved and hands on and I wasn't able to express either times before. (I also think he has got a bit of a thing about my boobs !)

Anyway, I was thinking about doing mixed feeds e.g. alternate between BFing and bottle feeding. Has anybody done this and how successful was it? Was a hassle at all? Do you have any valuable tips?

Would love to hear your experiences...

Thanks in advance

Hi PLP, I bf and bottle fed and had no problems. DD sometimes got terrible wind and I always wondered if it was down to mixing. I think you need to bf more than bottle feed as its so easy to go with convenience and just get a bottle. I stopped bf at 8 weeks as dd was not satisfied and still having lots of formula so it seemed pretty pointless getting my norks out all the time and bf for hours for her to go on and have loads of formula after . Good luck. x

Hi PLP. I ended up mixed feeding DS and it did work well for us in the end. However I would really really recommend perservering with exclusive breastfeeding if you can, especially for those first few weeks. It takes around 6 weeks for your milk supply to get established so if you introduce formula in that time it could have a serious effect on your milk supply (and you say you think you've had supply problems in the past). I think after the first few weeks it is easier to get your body to adjust to a mixed feeding regime but still sustain your own milk production.

I wouldn't have chosen mixed feeding, I must say. It is a hassle. I found it very difficult to know how much formula DS was likely to want since I couldn't know how much breastmilk he had. Consequently loads of made-up formula used to get wasted when I misread his signals, or when I just made up too much.

I would say that if it is your milk supply that is bothering you, then mixed feeding is probably not the way to address it. Loads and loads of breastfeeding in the early weeks should give you the best chance of establishing a good supply.

I do it breast then bottle its fab ds 4 mths old now and ive done it since he was 6 weeks old,really took the pressure off me and has enabled me to bf ds for longer

Hi Purplelostprincess

I didn't mix feed but one of my friends expressed after the morning feed and then saved the bottle of milk for after the night feed as a top up and the baby seemed really satisfied, and it helped to keep up her supply.

Perhaps you could try expressing after the morning feed and then DH giving the bottle of EBM in the evening followed by a top-up of formula if needed,that would give you a break.

On your point about him being involved, he will be. I exclusively bf and couldn't have done it without all the help from my DH. He can do lovely things for you like cook the evening meal or fetch you drinks and snacks.

The NCT do some great information sheets, booklets & books on this. You could try "Fathers & Breastfeeding" 50p. "Breastfeeding: How to express & store your milk" £2.50 and "Bottle feeding for Breastfed Babies" 50p

www.nctsales.co.uk/prodlist.asp?cat=69&scat=348&parent=69

Also, if it was me I would phone one of the Breastfeeding Helplines like:

National Childbirth Trust: 0870 444 8708 (8am-10pm)
La Leche League: 020 7242 1278 (24 hours)
Breastfeeding Network: 0870 900 8787 (9.30am-9.30pm)
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers: 0870 401 7711

and talk it through with a trained counsellor.

Is there a Baby Cafe near to you or Breastfeeding Support Group where you could go and meet some mums and have a chat?