Breast feeding and formula combo?

I don’t have advice but honestly that’s what I’m struggling with, my baby is 8 days old and feeds every hour and as I’m breast feeding I am having to do it all, im thinking to combo feed so that my partner can do some feeds whilst I sleep for more than half hour at a time! Obviously it’s different for everyone but for me personally I am struggling with it a lot and they really try to encourage you to breast feed so I keep putting off trying bottles but it’s important we look after ourselves too, a fed baby is a happy baby wether it’s breast or formula x

I find it absolutely fine throughout the day but the sleep deprivation from no help with feeds is exhausting

I exclusively breast fed for the first month but LO was always hungry cluster fed every night from 7-14 hours for a week so we tried him on formula and he was fine with it, managed with a bottle fine and also had no problem latching onto breast xxx

My milk supply when pumping isnt high. When baby feeds off of me I produce alot! I had nipple trauma the first day of breast feeding and nipples can become cracked and painful! I breast feed 3-4 times a day, pump once and also formula so my husband can feed! I have had no problems with nipple/bottle confusion and my baby girl has gained lots of healthy weight and its growing well. Midwives and health visitors and happy as long as you are happy! Its your baby you do what you feel is right. Don’t listen to anyone else 🥰♥️

Hi 👋🏻. Personally I think it is a great idea wanting to share the feeding role as it will allow you both to bond with baby. You may be advised to wait for 4-6 weeks to introduce a bottle as not to impact the breastfeeding journey, but some babies don’t particularly like a bottle after this period. I’d introduce within the first few weeks if you can. My first could switch between bottle and breast fine, but my second has been a bit fussier with the bottle so it’s taken a few weeks for him to get used to having one/two bottles a day. With regards to formula/breast milk from the bottle- I believe this is completely your choice of what you’re happy your baby has. There isn’t a right or wrong 😊

@Holly this is what I want to avoid haha!

We did combination feeding from birth with my first and didn't have any issues to be honest she preferred formula🤣.. we mainly did formula overnight as it helped her sleep longer stretches and the odd top up bottle during the day if needed.

@Liane thank you for this clear explanation! I know it all depends on baby really but we’ll try intro the bottle as soon as we can x

I’ve exclusively pumped since having my little one so that anyone can feed him not just me. We’ve recently had to try formula for his reflux and I hate getting up to make a bottle in the night so pumping and have some in the fridge mixed with some formula too has worked well. My baby has a bad tongue tie so never latched and has been on a bottle always. Don’t feel pressure to put baby on your boob if that’s not the route you wanna take! They say if you want to do that then baby has to be on just you for 6 weeks so they can perfect their latch as a bottle is far easier for them and they won’t want to go back on you necessarily x

If you want to breastfeed, the general advice is not to pump, but feed on demand for the first 6 weeks, to give a chance to your milk supply to establish itself. I chose to BF my baby and though my partner couldn’t help with feeds, there is a million other things he helped with, from house chores to holding baby at night when she was fed but awake, to doing most of the nappy changes, etc. Just because you’re the only one to do the feeds doesn’t mean you can’t reach a balance with other things! I never felt I was doing “more” than my husband.

Hi! We combi fed from birth - it was so much better for me as a mum but I will say try to establish a good supply early on which means more breast feeding that formula. And try to do the nighttime feeds (breast) as this is when your milk supply is best. Once you get to around 6 weeks your milk will be established. I used to do 1 formula bottle in the early evening (when partner got home from work this allowed me time to shower/eat and relax) and then sometimes 1 of the early morning feeds. Once we got to 8 weeks we were doing bf all day and then 5-10pm bottles and a mixture through the evening. Whatever works best for you. But combi feeding was the best decision we made for our family. I also pumped however I found this more exhausting the BF so didn’t do it for long.

It is advisable to pump when a bottle is given so it doesn’t impact your supply. I understand it’s hard when they cluster feed but they’re doing it to help bring your milk in. There are so many things your partner can do with the baby to bond. We EBF and have no struggles on the responsibilities part.

If dad want to help and you want to breastfeed, he can change nappies at night, sterilise pump etc or do skin to skin after a feed? I EBF before I had to stop due to medical reasons and dad did lots to bond with baby and helped in other ways. When we bottle fed I still do most of the bottles for the first few weeks to reduce bottle confusion and then dad took over some night feeds xxx

One way me and my husband were equal on this was he did the nappy changes (at every single feed day or night) and he did all the baths for the first few months

I’m planning on breastfeeding firs t week or 2 and then formula for this very reason. Interested in combo feeding too!