How are you combi feeding?

[Sunbeam638]

LO has been getting generally one bottle of 4oz (125ml) of Formula a day when we are out.

He feeds every 2-3 hours but more 2 hours at night.

To get the bath bottle bed routine properly in place was thinking of introducing another formula after bath.

What did other people do at this stage or currently with thier LO?

 

[BevG]

a always had to top up, not cos i didnt make enough but cos lo would fall asleep quickly on the boob and therefore not get a proper feed. i started off with 4 bottles of 4 oz a day after bf id offer her the bottle. i did all night feeds and first/last feeds of the day ebf then just the ones in between during the day id offer a bottle after id offered her boob. carried on this practice and as she grew she started refusing bottles or fussing on them so ended up reducing them to 3 then 2 then when weaned she would only take a lil bit of formula and i ended up just getting to the point where she has 1 bedtime bottle and 3 bf feeds a day really now that shes fully weaned and has 3 meals and snacks etc. she loves juice now. when she was teething at 4 months she started really prefering to bf rather than take the bottle of formula. and its not the bottle as if there is juice in it or milkshake she will take it fine (rare treat lol shes had milkshake once so far). mostly she now has juice or water from her sippy cup and just bf's morning and night with me offering during the day if she seems fussy or wants comfort more than milk. i tried to always offer boob before bottle and to never give a bottle in the night so that i never lost my supply and i found that worked really well for me so while i gave bottles i always gave her boob first even if it was just for a min and she wanted a bottle instead, which she sometimes preferred when out and about as shes nosy

 

[Sunbeam638]

Ah thanks hun, how old is your LO now?

My supply at night is good but in the evening it doesn't seem that good, I keep expressing and always get 3-4oz out of one but barely on the other. He has started fussing a lot on the boob and seems hungry most of the time. I've been taking fenugreek to boost my supply but either he is having a growth spurt or I'm lacking.

I did do that the other night boob then offered the bottle so might try that for a 7pm & 10pm feed rather than one bottle of formula.

Xx

 

[BevG]

alyssa is nearly 9 months, at night is the best time to boost your supply, its why babies cluster feed in the evenings at first and the absolute best way to boost your supply is for baby to feed lots off you, maybe feed lo in the evening and then try to express afterwards, you might not get a lot but over time that wil boost supply as it tells your body baby needs more so you gradually increase production. maybe hes fussing trying to up your supply for you lol, them fussing dosent always mean theyre not getting enough, they have fussy times and they feed lots to make more milk whenever they need it. alyssa fussed a lot and upped my supply when she was teething. the more you offer boob the more milk your body will think it needs to make so id deffo try and do boob the most and only top up once hes had as much as he can out of both boobs. i swear i spent the first 6 - 8 weeks expressing, feeding and trying to make my supply as high as possible then i just gave up and only expressed if i missed a booby feed to keep the supply level. oats help supply too and if need be talk to hv/bf guru about domperidone. you only need to up supply if hes not gaining well tho hun, if hes putting on weight fine id take it as a sign that hes getting enough, and it dosent have to be a lot hes putting on, just afew oz is fine really. i could never express more than 5oz between both boobs no matter what id done lol so it is a poor guage of how much you make.

 

[Sunbeam638]

Thanks Bev. He had health visitor yesterday & 11lbs now so gaining nicely. He had a bottle at 8pm I was going to give him another at 11 but I expressed instead & he had that & he took 4oz and went straight back down. I'm not sure if the feeds are anything to do with it but when I put him down at 9 he stayed in cot awake for 20mins then went to sleep without any fuss. I think if I can stick to this way I'll be chuffed!xx

 

[BevG]

cool, you will find a way that works for you and keep doing it. i hate the way that its made to seem as if you have to choose bf or ff and cant find a happy medium between the 2. its why some ppl give up bf completely and i think thats sad that they arent encouraged to try and keep it up as well as giving the odd topup.

 

[Robyn_mcl]

Hey ladies. Im thinking of combo feeding.. My lo eats alot! And has been pretty much cluster feeding since we got home from hospital. Either clusters at night or all day. Last night he cluster fed from 4pm till 12 midnight. And today he been cluster feeding since 9.30am till now, it 6.30pm!
Im exhausted and the couple of times I've form formula he sleeps so much better.
When can I start combine feeding? Lo will be 3wks on thur. I'm worried about nipple confusion.
Atm he is struggling to latch when my nipples go soft.
I just don't know what to do.
X

 

[BevG]

you can combi feed from any age but lo cluster feeding is really to up your supply during growth spurts so beward if you add in too many bottles during this time you might not be able to stop giving them as it can mean your supply dosent increase as it should. i cant say ive seen nipple confusion its actually rare but babies can get a bit lazy about suckng when given a bottle. as for struggling to latch id pinch the nips or get a cold teether to make them stand out again