Combining formula and breast and also introducing a bottle

[First Baby White]

Hello,
I am currently breast feeding which is painful butI am determined to persevere but my hubby is feeling very left out as he cant help calm Harry down when he is upset as this normally means he is hungry. He also wants to feel the closeness of wanting to feed him. I can totally understand this as I feel so close to Harry when I feed him.
So we have bought some aptimal and I am starting to express but what I want to know is if it is ok to combine formula and breast milk. I was thinking about doing a bottle before bed??
If not i could just express and hubby could give Harry that in a bottle but my other concern is how old does it become ok to introduce a bottle as I dont want it to effect breast feeding. Any advice would be great!!!

 

[Lola's Mummy]

Sorry if i sound harsh hun but you really don't want to be doing stuff like expressing and introduce bottles etc yet. Your LO is not even a week old yet

You need to give your milk chance to settle before you start expressing and a bottle might just confuse the LO as feeding from a bottle is totally different.

Why do you want to give your baby formula if he's doing well with the breastfeeding? Your OH can always help with nappies, winding etc?

 

[purple13]

hi hon

i really would avoid this for the first 6-8 weeks. your LO is still establishing your milk flow and any introduction of formula could upset this. also, using a bottle early on can give your LO nipple confusion; they don't have to work to get milk from a bottle teat and this can make them prefer bottles to boobs - if you don't need to, you really should try just to keep bf-ing and leave the bottle for later on.

your nips won't stay sore for long and bf-ing really does get much easier from about 6 weeks. everyone says that, but it is true.

your OH shouldn't need a bottle in his hand to feel close to your baby, but if he is feeling left out, just get him to change the nappies, give the baths etc - and get him to provide you with drinks & food whilst you're feeding maybe get him to learn baby massage so that he can do that??

well done on persevering with bf-ing. it can be bl**dy hard in the early days, but its v satisfying when it all starts going well xxx

 

[muppetmummy]

Don't do it! I had to start topping up Logan with formula from last week as he was losing weight and within about 3 days he was refusing to breastfeed at all. Formula is the worst thing possible for breastfeeding. The babys tummy gets full of hard to digest formula, isn't hungry at his next breastfeed and so your supply is reduced. It's a slippery slope.
Wait until at least 6 weeks then try expressing your breast milk.

 

[Squiglet]

enjoy this bit.... in a couple of weeks your LO will much prefer to play with daddy than munch on your boob... be boob for now.. make daddy cuddle, walk around, change, bath him all the time till around 6 weeks... this time just flies by so your OH won't be waiting for long.... I promise xxx

 

[Tiggy26]

I agree with the others. If you start expressing you could protentially screw up your breast milk supply! On top of that, you LO will get more milk from your breast than if you try to express, i.e you may pull off 2oz expressing and think that becuase thats all that is coming out your breast, thats all your LO is taking in the first place. This is not true, your baby will always take more from your breast and then before you know it you will be saying nothing is coming out of your breasts anymore so you want to 100%formula feed.

I know it hurts right now hun, but once you have got through the painful stage you will feel so proud of yourself. Your milk supply hasnt even established enough yet to start expressing.

Id also like to add that becuase your LO is so young he will be wanting feeds very very often, think about all the bloody bottles and teats that need sterilising and cooled boiled water e.t.c Believe me when I say that being able to just flop your boob out and feed you LO is just heaven, no messing around, no waiting.

T xx

 

[First Baby White]

Thanks for the advice ladies, I am andling the pain fine now to be honest, it only hurts when he first latches on but once he is on its ok, the end of both my nipples are purple on the end though is that normal??
I have spoken to the midwife who said now my milk is through I can express as my milk will top up again within 1 hour and feed them in the evening by bottle. I think i will try this and do one feed by bottle a day. I am just a little worried about him starting to prefer bottle but at one a day Iam hoping it will be ok?
What do you think??

 

[Tiggy26]

Thanks for the advice ladies, I am andling the pain fine now to be honest, it only hurts when he first latches on but once he is on its ok, the end of both my nipples are purple on the end though is that normal??
I have spoken to the midwife who said now my milk is through I can express as my milk will top up again within 1 hour and feed them in the evening by bottle. I think i will try this and do one feed by bottle a day. I am just a little worried about him starting to prefer bottle but at one a day Iam hoping it will be ok?
What do you think??

Your midwife sounds useless and I cant beleive she has even suggested that to you. Ive told you what I think but its your choice

 

[muppetmummy]

I think it's a really bad idea. Your little one will be missing a feed at the breast so your body will produce less milk the next day. The evening feeds are very important for getting your supply established. It's very normal for breastfed babies to want to spend hours feeding in the evenings with very small gaps between feeds.

There are a lot of health bods out there who know very little about breastfeeding and have never actually done it themselves.
Your OH can always bond with baby in other ways, there are always dirty nappies to change

 

[Lola's Mummy]

Your midwife sounds absolutely useless. I wounder how many children she's managed to exclusively breastfeed

It really makes me mad that all the way through your pregnancy it's drummed into you how great it is to breastfeed and how good it is for the LO etc. Then they have midwife's like that who don't have a clue
If you really want to succeed with breastfeeding you've got to give it 100%, If you start slacking and go to 99% chances are you will quit before your ready to do so and regret it later

I wouldn't bother with the bottle at all just yet it will only confuse your LO as a teat is very different to a nipple. Your also risking messing up your supply which isn't good so early on but the choice is yours

 

[Jade&Evie]

Sarah- I ended up giving breastfeeding up because a) it hurt b) it was 'easier' from a bottle and c) John could feed her for me.

It's my biggest regret

Please don't do the same

 

[Tick-Tock]

I wish they would be honest when you start breastfeeding... it hurts at first, your nipples will be cracked and sore, and it takes a few weeks to really get the knack of it...

I wouldn't rush to the bottle... for all the reasons stated above, but also, I tried expressing the other day and to be honest, you don't want to have to do that everyday!! It's much easier for LO to be on the boob than for the pump to be... I was planning on OH doing a bottle at night, but as mt MW suggested expesssing an oz off after each of Evies feeds so as to cause as little disruption to my supply as possible, I would have to carry the pump with me everywhere and it nearly doubles feeding time.... too mcuh hassle if I don't NEED to do it.

It will get easier, and invest in a tube of lansinoh lanolin... it was a lifesaver for me!!!

To help OH feel more involved, my OH does nappies etc, but he also keeps Evie with him when I go to bed (about 1.5-2hrs before him), it helps me get a head start for an hour or so and they get Evie/Daddy time... He brings her up when he goes to bed and shes more used to it now so she stays asleep until her 12/1am feed. (she did used to wake up and want feeding while he walked up the stairs)

Hope it gets better for you
J
XX

 

[Sherlock]

*Edited*

Just read the poll post which explains things so removed this.