Mixed feeding.... thoughts?

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I'm really interested in possibly mixed feeding. I'm due our first in April and definitely want to try and breastfeed however have read that expressing is really hard work and is sometimes quite draining. I am thinking of feeding little one the occasional formula feed... mainly so DH can do nighttime feeds and also so he doesn't miss out on that bonding time with his son. It'll also make it easier to leave him with grandparents etc. Has anybody else mixed fed? How did you find it? The world of feeding is leaving me quite overwhelmed so any advice will be appreciated!

Fathers of breastfed babies are no less bonded with the babies than those who were giving their babies bottles. I can assure you that it has no impact on the bonding of the father to the baby. Please don't let this be a reason for you to mix feed. If you want to breastfeed then do it and then if you feel you need to then introduce the odd bottle when baby is older. If you plan to mix feed from the start then you'll almost certainly end up formula feeding but breastfeeding is so much easier once it's established. Imagine never having to worry about how much food you have for baby when out for the day. Not having to sterilise bottles all the time etc

Just read that back and it sounds really harsh, it wasn't meant to be. I just wanted to say to please stop thinking that fathers of bottle fed babies are more bonded. They aren't

My husband gave DD a bottle at 11pm every night for the first 3-4 months. This didn’t disrupt our breastfeeding I think because it was same time every day and only a little. However, night feeds are the ones that up supply so if your husband does all feeds of a night it could affect supply (and if your supply is established you’ll wake in a puddle with rock hard boobs if you miss those feeds, painful, wakeful and mastitis risk!), or if too many breastfeeds are replaced by bottle, then your body doesn’t get the stimulation at the breast to let it know to make milk and supply dwindles which is why lots of mix feeders end up switching entirely to formula quite quickly.

Breastfeeding, if you take it easy in the early weeks (I stayed in bed I’d lounged about the first two weeks with my son whilst my husband brought me meals!) Doesn’t have to be draining. Having a baby is draining as they wake up and need you a lot, but that’s just babies. With support around you you’ll be grand! My PIL used to take my daughter out for a lovely long walk whilst I napped each week which was awesome! I’d feed her before they left and on return.

I don't think it's a great idea if you want to breastfeed tbh. Breastfeeding works by supply and demand which means the baby needs to suckle in order for the breast to get the message to make the next feed. If you miss feeds you aren't stimulating the breast and you could interfere with the supply. You would also become pretty full and likely leaking. There is also potential for mastitus if you miss feeds which I've heard is painful. If you did give a bottle you would almost certainly need to express the milk from the feed you are missing. When expressing you can't get the full amount out as the baby would so you would probably need to express another time to make up a full feed but you could then use that milk.
I don't mean to sound negative. Maybe if works for some people but imo establishing a good supply of your own milk is more important.

I wasn't successful in trying to mix feed, but I have a friend who managed it really well with both her little ones and she kept up the breastfeeding side of things much longer a result! The advice is to establish breastfeeding first. I have heard 6 or 8wks suggested. However, my friends opinion is that that's too late and baby won't accept a bottle at that point. Her view is to introduce a bottle at 3 or 4wks. Good luck, I personally think its a good plan if it works.

If you do it you'd need to stick to the same time everyday as your body will learn this and your boobs shouldn't get too full at that time. As pp said night feeds are the most important for maintaining supply so I'd try to schedule the bottle for 9/10pm. Finally I brought an elvie pump and honesty it's amazing, I tend to pop it on whilst I'm giving DD her first feed and get a full bottle which I can either freeze or give to DH to use. Can honestly say though that bf in the long term is so much easier in terms of just going out without worrying about having enough milk. Initially I would also agree with pp that if you just relax in bed with supplies it's not too bad.

It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine when it's alluded to that fathers need to bottle feed to bond with the baby. There's so so many other ways to make a bond than putting a bottle into a babies mouth. I breastfed exclusively and DH didn't miss out at all. (In fact with no night feeds or bottles to wash it make I think he had it quite cushty!)

That aside - I've had multiple friends who wanted to mix feed. None of them managed to breastfeed last 6 months because their babies started preferring the faster flow of the bottle and their milk started to dry up. Whilst I'm fully aware it is possible I'd be very careful as I've not seen it work in reality.

Best of luck with whatever you choose and I do agree expressing is a bit of a faff! I only expressed for a few days each time before I needed to leave the baby and I also had about 3 or 4 bottles worth in the freezer if ever I came down with a bug and needed the baby to get a quick feed whilst I had a rest!

I combi fed as just didn’t have enough milk. I’d breastfeed as much as I could and top up with formula if needed. Pumping is very hard work and I tried it for a couple of weeks but it was too much for me. I moved into formula full time after 6 weeks.
Please do what you are happy with. Newborns are hardworking and as long as baby is fed, it doesn’t matter if it’s breast, formula or a mixture of both. You bond from being close, snuggling and your smell. It doesn’t matter if it’s a nipple or teat in baby’s mouth x