Mixed Feeding

entre

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On baby number 2 - thinking about BF through the night and bottle possible in the day/when needs must due to taking DS to school etc.

Anyone any experience of mixed feeds?

I BF 9 months solid with DS.

I need the convenience this time round with DS to think about. Last time I found it quite annoying to pump lol.
 
hey!

congrats on pregnancy - not long to go!

i am also thinking of similar but possibly opposite, BF through day and Bottle at night just so OH can help out with night feeds. in saying that my little one starts school in sept and baby will be 6 months so maybe full time bottle by then anyway.

going to follow thread if you dont mind interested in thoughts, i know when ive done some research the combi feeding has its pros and cons think the biggest concern was confusion for the baby

xx
 
I always gave my youngest 1 or 2 bottles of formula a day right from when he was just a couple of days old, and breastfed the rest of the time. I had seem friends get really stressed out when their babies refused to take a bottle and seen them not be able to go anywhere without the baby, and the thought of that made me feel really claustrophobic! I felt I needed to be able to hand baby over to my partner sometimes, particularly as he was a terrible sleeper. It worked absolutely brilliant for us and I successfully breastfed for 5-6 feeds a day plus 2 bottles until my baby was 4 months, we were well established in our feeding routine by then and I could have carried on a lot longer but I made the decision to switch to all formula at that point as I just felt I had done as much BF as I wanted to (i couldn't breastfeed my oldest at all so I'd only set myself a goal of 2 weeks with the youngest, so I felt I'd done really well by 4 months!) I think because my youngest had bottles plus breast from a young age he never refused either because he was uses to having both. I had a 3 - year old and I wanted to spend time with him sometimes while someone else was feeding the baby, and my husband was working away so I wanted him to be able to do some of the feeds at weekends while he was home to bond and give me a break. I never felt 100% comfortable feeding in public either (think it's great when others do it; it was just something I personally struggled with) so I liked having the option of a bottle if I was out with my brothers or friends without kids for example. It was always formula I gave as I've never liked expressing, it would take me forever to get a couple of ounces, and I liked the convenience of those ready made cartons to keep in the changing bag for out and about, rather than having to keep expressed milk in the fridge.

The only thing I would say is I was lucky my son took to both. He had a dummy from an early age as well actually. I know some babies do find it more difficult and I think the official advice is to wait until 6 weeks before introducing a bottle to make sure milk supply is well established and reduce the chance of teat/nipple confusion. I know the way I did it went against that advice, but I knew it was working for us :) If I'd have had to wait 6 weeks to introduce any sort of bottle then I think I'd have given up BF long before the point as I would have felt too stressed/pressured, by mix feeding it took that pressure off and allowed me to enjoy breastfeeding while knowing I could have a break every now and then too. For me i only wanted to BF if I could give a bottle or two as well, so I was happy to run the risk of baby refusing the boob completely by giving a bottle at an early stage, and I was lucky that it worked out. If you would be absolutely devastated if baby preferred the bottle then I'd maybe say follow the advice and wait until 6 weeks, but if you are like me and only want to BF if you can mix feed, then give it a go! It was the perfect balance for our family and I will be doing the same for any future babies xx
 
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Hi i breast feed bit give one bottle of formula at 10.00pm then bf her. I have been told by hv and breast feeding supporter that you have to feed late into the eve as that's when we release a hormone which helps make the milk. If you don't your dry up. My baby now 5months and im still l doing this.
 
As the others have said I'd just be wary of nipple confusion. I personally won't risk it as my first baby wouldn't latch to my breast and apparently I have "difficult" boobs so I can't risk baby getting lazy and only wanting bottle.. What Ams said has scared me a little in the not being able to have the choice - i'd never considered it the other way around when the baby wants breast and not bottle! I have a 4 year old who is desperate to help with everything so I was hoping to pump some feeds so she can have a go at feeding her.. Good luck with whatever you decide, I guess it's all going to be down to your baby and instincts :) xx
 
Also following this thread if you dont mind. Im exclusively BFing my almost 4 week old atm but ill be going back to work when my lb is 6 months and i won't be able to pump when im at work so might introduce formula st some point. Ill be working day and night shifts so ill prob have to stop bfing completely by that point. I have a pump but haven't really used it as my lb is a boob monster! Interested to see best way to go about it.
 
As the others have said I'd just be wary of nipple confusion. I personally won't risk it as my first baby wouldn't latch to my breast and apparently I have "difficult" boobs so I can't risk baby getting lazy and only wanting bottle.. What Ams said has scared me a little in the not being able to have the choice - i'd never considered it the other way around when the baby wants breast and not bottle! I have a 4 year old who is desperate to help with everything so I was hoping to pump some feeds so she can have a go at feeding her.. Good luck with whatever you decide, I guess it's all going to be down to your baby and instincts :) xx

Aw I didn't mean to scare you sorry! All the babies did eventually tale a bottle in the end, it was just a bit of trial and error experimenting with different types and took a little while xx
 
As the others have said I'd just be wary of nipple confusion. I personally won't risk it as my first baby wouldn't latch to my breast and apparently I have "difficult" boobs so I can't risk baby getting lazy and only wanting bottle.. What Ams said has scared me a little in the not being able to have the choice - i'd never considered it the other way around when the baby wants breast and not bottle! I have a 4 year old who is desperate to help with everything so I was hoping to pump some feeds so she can have a go at feeding her.. Good luck with whatever you decide, I guess it's all going to be down to your baby and instincts :) xx

Aw I didn't mean to scare you sorry! All the babies did eventually tale a bottle in the end, it was just a bit of trial and error experimenting with different types and took a little while xx

Haha that's ok hun! I've just been so fixated on wanting breast to work that it hadn't even crossed my mind what i'd do if baby refused a bottle! :) xx
 
I'm going to be doing the same with the twin its, haven't decided which way round yet but know I will need the extra hands & help & my friend actually yesterday said with combi she would advise to get them used to nipple '& bottle straight away as she had a complete nightmare when introducing it 6 weeks down the line so do what works for you I reckon, that's what I'm hoping lol
 
I might do this depending on how BFing goes. We have avent natural bottles which I think are meant to help avoid nipple confusion etc xx

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Thanks all, I just dont want my DD to be left out mainly. I want an easier life! No point in making things harder than they have to be.
Like a friend always tells me, her brother was bottlefed and grew up fine, she was breastfed and has every ailment going, so I guess yes breast is best but if your going to be ill, I guess it just happens!
 

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