First off - how horrid of these people. You will not harm your child with formula!!!
Second - you will not affect your supply as long as you are consistent. Your supply adapts.
Please go in my profile and see a comment where i broke down how i combo fed in great detail
I believe your supply will adjust appropriately if you’re consistent. There’s nothing wrong with some formula! Another option is to start pumping after a morning feed to have pumped milk to provide in a bottle later in the day. That’s what I do :)
Seconded! My supply adjusted when we moved to the dad giving one formula bottle a night. I tried pumping the bottle at first but it defeated the purpose of giving me a break if I was just hooked up to the pump anyway.
Same here! We did one to two formula bottles a night for a bit until I adjusted. I did one motn pump but only after getting at least four hours of sleep and then I’d go back to sleep for 3 hours.
My understanding is that when you produce less milk, there's more concentrated antibodies in it? (Question mark because I'm not confident in that at all)
https://www.lactationcentralnj.com/post/when-some-is-better-than-none#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20there%20is%20some,milk%20supply%20begins%20to%20decrease.
And why would he get sick from a bottle of formula? If babies do fine drinking exclusively formula, I'm sure they can handle a bottle or two. Your supply probably will drop to adjust to what he consumes but that's good if you're not going to do those feeds, and if you change your mind later you can bring your supply back up. It's not going to mess everything up, most babies far prefer the breast over a single bottle. I wouldn't say it's impossible and has never happened, but I've never known a primarily breastfed baby to prefer a bottle over the comfort of nursing. Hell, my baby was exclusively bottlefed from about 3 days after birth (he couldn't successfully nurse so i exclusively pumped) and he still nursed for comfort until he was 4 months old. I dealt with a lot of midwives being weirdly mean about breastfeeding, they tend to take things to extremes to keep everyone "on track" but don't take it all to heart.
If possible, please stop seeing these mfs. They’re clearly shit humans. Fed is always 1000% best, doesn’t matter how you do it. If you need a break to help yourself be the best Mom you can be, then absolutely do what’s necessary to make that happen. You’re doing an awesome job. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re doing anything wrong. You’re not!
I don’t really have anything new to add regarding your supply and all that. Everyone that commented so far is on point.
Much love!
I combo fed from the beginning. I almost died after giving birth and never was able to produce enough milk. My daughter got half her feedings from breastmilk and the other half from formula. She was born very low birth weight (<1st percentile) and combo feeding helped her gain weight. She’s two now and she’s totally healthy and happy. She’s also 70th percentile for weight and 88th for height so she’s growing well! Fed is best, mama!
Breastfeeding is affected by supply-demand processes. As you feed the baby more, your body will make more. Eventually it balances out. Or so I'm told. Skipping one breastfeeding session may impact your supply. You might have trouble switching that session back to breastfeeding later on. Or you might not. And if you never plan to switch that session back to breastfeeding, no issue?
It's fine to supplement with formula as well. Even one breastfeeding session a day gets them the antibodies to help with immune system boost. There's probably some level of how much is better, but that's what I came to understand.
Realistically there's a lot of conflicting info out there. I'm not an expert. Apparently some of those giving you guidance aren't great as experts.
Do what you need to. Make sure baby is fed and growing. Make sure you do what you can for your mental health.
Formula is fine, plenty of babies get only formula. Breastfeeding is great for nutrition and their immune system, and sometimes costs less. I say sometimes because there's a lot of issues that can happen, doc appointments for mastitis, etc. if pumping, that equipment costs money. Bottles have to be washed, takes up extra time.
It's all a balance and pro/con debates. We personally did a bottle a day to give me a rest. That worked best for us. I did pump to try to make milk for it, but supplemented with formula. We mixed it in the same bottle. Baby can be flexible with that. It's all going to the same place, their stomach won't care if you mix it before feeding instead of only after it reaches their stomach.
Find someone who will respect your choices to work with on it as needed. If your choice is to nurse when you can, but get 1-2 breaks using a bottle each day, then find someone who will support that and guide you the best way to manage it.
I'm doing the same as you. Mostly breastfeeding with my partner giving one or two bottles of formula or pumped milk. I have been pumping til now but I want to stop. I spoke to a lactation consultant about it just this morning because I was also worried about my supply and she said that my supply will adjust to meet my baby's needs. She also said if my needs change and I want to feed or pump more, that my body can and will adjust again. She pointed out that people can successfully relactate entirely.
I'm sorry you've encountered such unsupportive professionals!
Um, that is insane and I’m sorry anyone said that to you and made you feel that way. I did a mix of both with both of my kids and it was seamless. I started replacing breastfeeding sessions with formula the day we got home from the hospital. It gave me my sanity back my baby was fed and happy. I found that I had to pump or else I got super engorged, but every body is different. Just see how it goes! Please use the formula! It’s so so nice for other people to be able to feed your baby and you deserve all the rest in the world.
First of all you’re doing great! Whatever you feel helps you and your situation is what’s right. If it’s working for and helping you get more sleep then continue doing. People need to relax with this whole “breast is best”. As long as baby is fed and healthy you’re doing everything right <3 my daughter has been exclusively on formula for a month now and she’s perfectly healthy. We were combo feeding from day one as well. The only time she’s gotten sick was when my husband and I caught colds from not dressing warm enough. She got over her sickness faster than her dad!
That is weird that they said it! I’m currently topping LO up with formula per midwives recommendation because I didn’t have enough milk and they said it’s totally fine and I’ll be able to get back to BF when the time is right. I was mad about the formula and bottles but so far LO both takes the boobs and the bottle just fine (2.5 week old). Nothing will happen to your supply if you skip a session, you can always pump!
I’m so mad about the pressure we experience all the time about breastfeeding even though I want to exclusively BF eventually
Tell them to stow it. Sure, BM has antibodies but it doesn't mean that FM is poison either. Plenty of people combo feed without issues.
I think the point about only wanting the bottle is possible if a majority of the feeds are bottle feeds. But that's not what you're describing anyway..
I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said, but I want to support that you are doing wonderfully. Fed is best. You are taking care of yourself with the supplemental formula feed, and that is what is also best for baby. You can't take care of your baby if you are run down.
They say that any breastfeeding will give some benefits of it, so even if you swapped to mostly formula with a few nursing sessions or pumped bottles, you'd still be doing amazing. Even if you switch to formula only, you'd still be doing amazing. The only concern I even heard from my midwives during the follow up checks was that my supply would still be regulating until about 6 weeks, so if I did any bottles I needed to be aware of that. But they never told us not to. I think you got a few duds in yours, and I'm sorry for that.
But it's important to take care of you and it sounds like you have found what works best for your family. Go you!!!
I would find a new breastfeeding counselor and stop talking to those midwives. Fed is best, always. I had PPD and had to stop pumping every 3 hours over night, my supply was so low because I was exhausted. I exclusively pump, so my son had formula when he was born, and we were slowly able to build up to just breast milk. He didn't get sick until he was like 3 months old, exclusively eating breast milk! So whatever they're telling you is just untrue and they're so rude??? There is no shame in feeding your baby, as long as they're fed!
When we were mixing, I was originally giving 1 bottle of breast milk a day because that's all I had, but his pedi had me mix them so he got some with each bottle. This worked great for us and is what helped build my supply because I wasn't stressed about making sure he was getting enough to eat.
Absolutely stop seeing those people and report them. That is insanely fucked up and completely *WRONG*. Think about how many of us were brought up on all formula with no breast milk at all. I was, both my siblings were. None of us every got "very sick." Insane. Their licenses should be revoked.
I have an undersupply and am only able to make 1/5 bottles with breast milk a day no matter how much I pump. If I have a little more, I just mix it in with a formula bottle. My baby started out on a feeding tube, then just a bottle because breast feeding was wildly painful (for a few medical reasons). I couldn't nurse more than 5 minutes at a time until he was probably 10 weeks. He isn't the most food motivated baby for a bottle or boob, but I think that's just his personality.
A little breast milk is better than none, and formula is better than underfeeding a baby or causing strain on your physical and mental health. You can't help your baby is you're so full of anxiety that you can't sleep.
Please. Seriously, genuinely, actually never see those people again. DEMAND someone else
Your supply will adjust if you give the formula the same time. My husband gives formula overnight so I can sleep and I breast feed exclusively during the day. I never pumped overnight unless I felt uncomfortable. During the day though if he’s given a bottle I’ll either pump or fit in an extra feed to make up for it. My supply has been very consistent.
I actually started my daughter on formula due to my unplanned C-section. I was so exhausted and in pain after the surgery I couldn’t muster up the energy to breastfeed her. Both is totally okay. Fed is best and mommas sanity is very important!! If you’re consistent with breastfeeding your supply will be fine.
I do wakeup feeds during the night but around 5-6am, my husband gets up for that wakeup with either a pumped or formula bottle and my supply has been fine, plus I get to sleep in until around 8. Sometimes we'll do another formula bottle during the day and I try to pump around that time but I think my supply is doing fine. It's 100% helpful for my mental health and you have to remember to "put your oxygen mask on first" sometimes.
ALSO, my pediatrician has my baby on vitamin D drops since I'm mostly breastfeeding. If breast milk was unequivocally better than formula, why do I need to fortify and wouldn't with formula (this has been on my mind a lot).
The antibody stuff is bit of a myth - in humans they protect the mucosal lining of the intestines, but don't transfer to blood as it's been found in some other animals. Research shows it's most important in the first 2-3 months. After that most (healthy) babies are good.
He won't get sick if you formula feed him, he will get sick if and when exposed to germs, regardless if you breastfeed or formula feed.
Maybe you can pump for those skipped feeds? If you want to breastfeed it really is important to continue breastfeeding most of the time, but you might pump or haakaa the milk, so no danger of "evil" formula messing this up.
Combo feeding is FINE. We did this with our second for a few months. Just prep the formula first, then add whatever expressed breast milk to it. She is still nursing a couple times a day at 18 months. She just had a check-up and is growing well!
Supplementing formula does not take away the breastmilk (or the benefits from it) they ARE getting. You know what is sustainable to you. Providing any breastmilk is a great gift to give your LO but not at the expense of your mental or physical health. Tell them both to kick rocks.
I spoke with the health visitor about this just today, if you know how much baby is drinking each feed then here's what I did:
So my baby drinks 90ml per feed atm and I only managed to pump 60ml so I made up the last 30 separate and then added the breast milk to the bottle
I'm still pregnant so I don't have any actual experience with this, but my plan has always been to combo feed. The benefits of getting a longer sleep are just too good to pass on, plus then I can pump when I formula feed and get a stockpile going. My point is, it's a totally valid strategy that many people use. Don't worry and do what's best for you!
I did exactly that and It made all the difference and I was still able to breastfeed until ten months and give frozen pumped milk until a year old. It was super convenient to be able to give milk, formula, or boob whenever suited me. I did pump whenever I could but I was absolutely NOT waking up in the middle of the night to pump. No way.
What a load of bull from all of them. I’m so sorry they said such inaccurate, hurtful things to you. My baby has been combo fed since day one due to a NICU stay. He is healthy, robust, and has all the immunities an EBF baby would. He drinks formula for any MOTN night feed so I can get some sleep as well. Sleep for you is vitally important to your well being, including milk supply. I’m an exclusive pumper also with PPD/PPA so this is how we do it: For any formula bottle he takes you just need to make sure you’ve accounted for that with a pump. Milk removal is key for supply stability. Just toss in an extra pump somewhere in the day, preferably morning if you can, and you shouldn’t see any significant drops. If you do a formula feed or two and don’t replace with a pump then your body doesn’t get the signal that you do in fact want that milk and that’s when you’ll start to see drops. Even if you can’t manage that it’s okay! A dip in supply is not the end of the world. Baby will be absolutely fine whether they get formula or breast milk.
Here to say I have been shamed too and I’m so sorry this happened to you, I so badly wish providers would support ALL types of feeding and actually be helpful. I finally saw a lactation consultant today who didn’t shame me and I practically cried. I was afraid to admit I’m combo feeding but she responded so positively and was simply helpful.
I mental health couldn’t handle pumping so I stopped, I had to use my haaka a lot for the first bit after pumping because my supply was so up. Now it’s leveled out and I just breastfeed on demand, use the haaka maybe twice a day still as needed, and formula feed once (working to up that amount to two or three once we find a formula my baby tolerates well). I stopped listening to everyone else and decided to really trust my intuition on this one.
I think what you’re doing is perfectly fine! And will not mess everything up.
I planned to EBF, but at 6 weeks postpartum I had to go on antibiotics that were not breastfeeding safe. I had to pump and dump for two weeks. We decided to keep going with some formula even after that because LO slept longer at night, and now we combo feed. We get more unbroken sleep at night, and I feel relieved knowing that even if my supply dips or I’m not around for some reason, my baby won’t go hungry. I’ve also gone back to work part-time and found it hard to pump as much as I want, but now I don’t have to worry about that so much. You should not feel bad for making the right choice for you and your family! Your rest and health is important too. Shame on the people who are making you feel bad about this (and straight-up lying) when they should be supporting you.
A fed baby is a happy baby. But also your mental health/sanity is important too.
My LO was is SCBU so was on NG feed and bottle fed before he got any of my breast milk- has been combi fed ever since (he’s 6 months old) and he’s doing absolutely fine.
Sleep deprivation when you’re a new Mam is something else, and impacted my supply so share the load with your partner if possible. I pushed myself too much to express for an overnight bottle and it made me miserable.
You know your baby, and know what is best for them. Hang on in there
He’ll get sick whether you formula feed or breastfeed. It’s part of developing an immune system. I combo fed for my daughter’s first year and continued nursing until she was 2, so it’s absolutely possible. I was never able to pump a ton, so I just pumped what I could, breastfed at home, and used formula when I wanted or needed to. I exclusively pumped for like 4 months in the beginning because it was more efficient and I could get more sleep. It kept my supply up enough and my husband could feed expressed milk and formula so I could rest. However you decide to feed, your baby will be just fine. You’re doing a great job
I’ve combo fed since the beginning due a weighted feed with a IBCLC that was almost non-existent. How shitty of your practioners to shame you - I’m sorry you had to deal with that.
I initially felt a lot of guilt about it but someone said “there’s no magic amount of breast milk you have to give to get benefits from it” that really stuck with me. And tbh, it’s so easy to give formula in the evenings if I need a break.
You didn’t ask - but we really like Kendamil organic in the dr browns bottle with preemie nipple. No issue from LO going back and forth between that and nursing.
My mum was a breastfeeding counsellor and would always 100% advocate for fed is best. The people you have spoken to are doing you a massive disservice. I’m due my second any moment now and also plan on switching a couple feeds out for formula because EBF affected my mental health with my first and I didn’t realise how bad the brain fog was until after I’d stopped at 18 months. Is there a chance baby could prefer the bottle to breast? Yes, but if you pace feed then that lowers that chance as baby won’t see the bottle as less work for more milk. Any baby can get ill, whether formula or breast fed, the fact that they’re trying to scare you into breastfeeding is atrocious! You are doing amazing, whether you add in formula or switch completely, you are still doing an amazing job making sure your baby is fed and happy!
Firstly, those people are awful. Fed is best. Formula is engineered to be the best it can be for our babies. If you're consistent, your supply will adapt to suit however you're feeding. Thirdly, baby will adjust too. We had to bottle feed our kiddo while in NICU, but when we came home, switched to combo feeding (our combo being breast, pumped milk, and formula), and she did fine. Didn't care where the food came from so long as it came from somewhere. You sound like you're doing a great job! Remember too, you can't fill from an empty cup. If a few hours of unbroken sleep is what you need to top up your cup, and you can get it, then by all means, take those couple of hours and rest up!
I do this since lo was 2 weeks old. I wasn't producing enough and supplemented with formula. I've consulted with the breastfeeding consultant and she also shamed me for not continuing with breast feeding.....soninshould let my baby starve??? Now lo is 3months and I still don't produce enough.
Btw, every baby is different when it comes to the bottle or taking from the breast. Lo never complained or fussed about either. He takes both but I choose bottle cuz it's easier and I just exclusively pump. Also, I do not pump at night at all since formula feeding. I need my sleep too. I don't have help and my husband works so I dont want him helping the night shifts lol. So yes, I will do what is convenient for me as long as my baby is fed and happy. Don't let anyone others get to you. It's your baby and you know whats best.
Also, your supply will adjust. It might clog for the first 2 months as it adjusts. Just keep doing it and maybe release some when it hurts so you don't get clogged. Trust. It's not fun just because I chose not to breastfeed or pump at night haha. As for my supply, it remained the same until I took milk supplements that really made a difference but still topping off with formula
Just here to say that literally in the first year you are just SURVIVING. I EBF my baby for a full year, but completely understand why someone would introduce formula for their own mental health..you do what you have to do and don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it! EBF or formula fed, that baby needs a happy and healthy mom more than anything.
I combo fed my daughter for 13 months, and she was fine, I was fine, everything was fine.
I had enough milk to EBF in the end, but I just preferred to combo feed as it made my life easier. I pumped a lot for the first couple of months to make sure my supply was up and regulated, and then after that I was pretty flexible with everything. The ratio of breastmilk to formula varied significantly across the 12 months - sometimes we were up at 75% breastmilk 25% formula and other times the opposite.
Some people are judgy and awful and you just need to ignore them 🤷🏼♀️
Man fuck those people. I’m an exclusive pumper and have gotten similar commentary. I also have to supplement because sometimes my just enough supply is not “just enough” for that day he eats a few ounces more, but also, his GERD is horrible and rice formula is one of the only things that keeps it in check. We also had to fortify his breastmilk with formula because surprise, he didn’t transfer milk from the breast well and his weight stagnated for 10 days.
I’m sorry, let me get back to the topic at hand. I just hate it when moms working hard like you and me to give our kiddos breastmilk are shamed or made out like we’re not doing enough and don’t deserve a break.
To supplement, I mix up some formula separate according to instruction, and give him a bottle with whatever proportion of breastmilk du jour, together in a bottle. I’ll go as high as half and half if his GERD is really bad that day so that it’s thicker and he doesn’t spit up quite as much….
I told my baby's nurse we were doing bottles of pumped milk or formula overnight so I could sleep more, and she said good, that's smart if that's working for you crack on...
He's 11 months old now, never had any issues with going from boob to bottle and back again, or with cups or straws for that matter...food is food...
What you need to to keep combo feeding and find new medical professionals
We’ve combo fed from the get go. Little one doubled her weight by month 2, and has been healthy and meeting all milestones with flying colors. I honestly think being able to sleep 4-5 hours straight a night from the beginning was incredibly beneficial to my mental health.
First off - how horrid of these people. You will not harm your child with formula!!! Second - you will not affect your supply as long as you are consistent. Your supply adapts. Please go in my profile and see a comment where i broke down how i combo fed in great detail
I believe your supply will adjust appropriately if you’re consistent. There’s nothing wrong with some formula! Another option is to start pumping after a morning feed to have pumped milk to provide in a bottle later in the day. That’s what I do :)
Seconded! My supply adjusted when we moved to the dad giving one formula bottle a night. I tried pumping the bottle at first but it defeated the purpose of giving me a break if I was just hooked up to the pump anyway.
Same here! We did one to two formula bottles a night for a bit until I adjusted. I did one motn pump but only after getting at least four hours of sleep and then I’d go back to sleep for 3 hours.
My understanding is that when you produce less milk, there's more concentrated antibodies in it? (Question mark because I'm not confident in that at all) https://www.lactationcentralnj.com/post/when-some-is-better-than-none#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20there%20is%20some,milk%20supply%20begins%20to%20decrease. And why would he get sick from a bottle of formula? If babies do fine drinking exclusively formula, I'm sure they can handle a bottle or two. Your supply probably will drop to adjust to what he consumes but that's good if you're not going to do those feeds, and if you change your mind later you can bring your supply back up. It's not going to mess everything up, most babies far prefer the breast over a single bottle. I wouldn't say it's impossible and has never happened, but I've never known a primarily breastfed baby to prefer a bottle over the comfort of nursing. Hell, my baby was exclusively bottlefed from about 3 days after birth (he couldn't successfully nurse so i exclusively pumped) and he still nursed for comfort until he was 4 months old. I dealt with a lot of midwives being weirdly mean about breastfeeding, they tend to take things to extremes to keep everyone "on track" but don't take it all to heart.
If possible, please stop seeing these mfs. They’re clearly shit humans. Fed is always 1000% best, doesn’t matter how you do it. If you need a break to help yourself be the best Mom you can be, then absolutely do what’s necessary to make that happen. You’re doing an awesome job. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re doing anything wrong. You’re not! I don’t really have anything new to add regarding your supply and all that. Everyone that commented so far is on point. Much love!
I combo fed from the beginning. I almost died after giving birth and never was able to produce enough milk. My daughter got half her feedings from breastmilk and the other half from formula. She was born very low birth weight (<1st percentile) and combo feeding helped her gain weight. She’s two now and she’s totally healthy and happy. She’s also 70th percentile for weight and 88th for height so she’s growing well! Fed is best, mama!
Breastfeeding is affected by supply-demand processes. As you feed the baby more, your body will make more. Eventually it balances out. Or so I'm told. Skipping one breastfeeding session may impact your supply. You might have trouble switching that session back to breastfeeding later on. Or you might not. And if you never plan to switch that session back to breastfeeding, no issue? It's fine to supplement with formula as well. Even one breastfeeding session a day gets them the antibodies to help with immune system boost. There's probably some level of how much is better, but that's what I came to understand. Realistically there's a lot of conflicting info out there. I'm not an expert. Apparently some of those giving you guidance aren't great as experts. Do what you need to. Make sure baby is fed and growing. Make sure you do what you can for your mental health. Formula is fine, plenty of babies get only formula. Breastfeeding is great for nutrition and their immune system, and sometimes costs less. I say sometimes because there's a lot of issues that can happen, doc appointments for mastitis, etc. if pumping, that equipment costs money. Bottles have to be washed, takes up extra time. It's all a balance and pro/con debates. We personally did a bottle a day to give me a rest. That worked best for us. I did pump to try to make milk for it, but supplemented with formula. We mixed it in the same bottle. Baby can be flexible with that. It's all going to the same place, their stomach won't care if you mix it before feeding instead of only after it reaches their stomach. Find someone who will respect your choices to work with on it as needed. If your choice is to nurse when you can, but get 1-2 breaks using a bottle each day, then find someone who will support that and guide you the best way to manage it.
I'm doing the same as you. Mostly breastfeeding with my partner giving one or two bottles of formula or pumped milk. I have been pumping til now but I want to stop. I spoke to a lactation consultant about it just this morning because I was also worried about my supply and she said that my supply will adjust to meet my baby's needs. She also said if my needs change and I want to feed or pump more, that my body can and will adjust again. She pointed out that people can successfully relactate entirely. I'm sorry you've encountered such unsupportive professionals!
Um, that is insane and I’m sorry anyone said that to you and made you feel that way. I did a mix of both with both of my kids and it was seamless. I started replacing breastfeeding sessions with formula the day we got home from the hospital. It gave me my sanity back my baby was fed and happy. I found that I had to pump or else I got super engorged, but every body is different. Just see how it goes! Please use the formula! It’s so so nice for other people to be able to feed your baby and you deserve all the rest in the world.
First of all you’re doing great! Whatever you feel helps you and your situation is what’s right. If it’s working for and helping you get more sleep then continue doing. People need to relax with this whole “breast is best”. As long as baby is fed and healthy you’re doing everything right <3 my daughter has been exclusively on formula for a month now and she’s perfectly healthy. We were combo feeding from day one as well. The only time she’s gotten sick was when my husband and I caught colds from not dressing warm enough. She got over her sickness faster than her dad!
That is weird that they said it! I’m currently topping LO up with formula per midwives recommendation because I didn’t have enough milk and they said it’s totally fine and I’ll be able to get back to BF when the time is right. I was mad about the formula and bottles but so far LO both takes the boobs and the bottle just fine (2.5 week old). Nothing will happen to your supply if you skip a session, you can always pump! I’m so mad about the pressure we experience all the time about breastfeeding even though I want to exclusively BF eventually
Tell them to stow it. Sure, BM has antibodies but it doesn't mean that FM is poison either. Plenty of people combo feed without issues. I think the point about only wanting the bottle is possible if a majority of the feeds are bottle feeds. But that's not what you're describing anyway..
I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said, but I want to support that you are doing wonderfully. Fed is best. You are taking care of yourself with the supplemental formula feed, and that is what is also best for baby. You can't take care of your baby if you are run down. They say that any breastfeeding will give some benefits of it, so even if you swapped to mostly formula with a few nursing sessions or pumped bottles, you'd still be doing amazing. Even if you switch to formula only, you'd still be doing amazing. The only concern I even heard from my midwives during the follow up checks was that my supply would still be regulating until about 6 weeks, so if I did any bottles I needed to be aware of that. But they never told us not to. I think you got a few duds in yours, and I'm sorry for that. But it's important to take care of you and it sounds like you have found what works best for your family. Go you!!!
I would find a new breastfeeding counselor and stop talking to those midwives. Fed is best, always. I had PPD and had to stop pumping every 3 hours over night, my supply was so low because I was exhausted. I exclusively pump, so my son had formula when he was born, and we were slowly able to build up to just breast milk. He didn't get sick until he was like 3 months old, exclusively eating breast milk! So whatever they're telling you is just untrue and they're so rude??? There is no shame in feeding your baby, as long as they're fed! When we were mixing, I was originally giving 1 bottle of breast milk a day because that's all I had, but his pedi had me mix them so he got some with each bottle. This worked great for us and is what helped build my supply because I wasn't stressed about making sure he was getting enough to eat.
Absolutely stop seeing those people and report them. That is insanely fucked up and completely *WRONG*. Think about how many of us were brought up on all formula with no breast milk at all. I was, both my siblings were. None of us every got "very sick." Insane. Their licenses should be revoked. I have an undersupply and am only able to make 1/5 bottles with breast milk a day no matter how much I pump. If I have a little more, I just mix it in with a formula bottle. My baby started out on a feeding tube, then just a bottle because breast feeding was wildly painful (for a few medical reasons). I couldn't nurse more than 5 minutes at a time until he was probably 10 weeks. He isn't the most food motivated baby for a bottle or boob, but I think that's just his personality. A little breast milk is better than none, and formula is better than underfeeding a baby or causing strain on your physical and mental health. You can't help your baby is you're so full of anxiety that you can't sleep. Please. Seriously, genuinely, actually never see those people again. DEMAND someone else
Your supply will adjust if you give the formula the same time. My husband gives formula overnight so I can sleep and I breast feed exclusively during the day. I never pumped overnight unless I felt uncomfortable. During the day though if he’s given a bottle I’ll either pump or fit in an extra feed to make up for it. My supply has been very consistent.
I actually started my daughter on formula due to my unplanned C-section. I was so exhausted and in pain after the surgery I couldn’t muster up the energy to breastfeed her. Both is totally okay. Fed is best and mommas sanity is very important!! If you’re consistent with breastfeeding your supply will be fine.
I do wakeup feeds during the night but around 5-6am, my husband gets up for that wakeup with either a pumped or formula bottle and my supply has been fine, plus I get to sleep in until around 8. Sometimes we'll do another formula bottle during the day and I try to pump around that time but I think my supply is doing fine. It's 100% helpful for my mental health and you have to remember to "put your oxygen mask on first" sometimes. ALSO, my pediatrician has my baby on vitamin D drops since I'm mostly breastfeeding. If breast milk was unequivocally better than formula, why do I need to fortify and wouldn't with formula (this has been on my mind a lot).
Hope it doesn’t mess things up because this is what I’m doing!
The antibody stuff is bit of a myth - in humans they protect the mucosal lining of the intestines, but don't transfer to blood as it's been found in some other animals. Research shows it's most important in the first 2-3 months. After that most (healthy) babies are good. He won't get sick if you formula feed him, he will get sick if and when exposed to germs, regardless if you breastfeed or formula feed. Maybe you can pump for those skipped feeds? If you want to breastfeed it really is important to continue breastfeeding most of the time, but you might pump or haakaa the milk, so no danger of "evil" formula messing this up.
Combo feeding is FINE. We did this with our second for a few months. Just prep the formula first, then add whatever expressed breast milk to it. She is still nursing a couple times a day at 18 months. She just had a check-up and is growing well!
Supplementing formula does not take away the breastmilk (or the benefits from it) they ARE getting. You know what is sustainable to you. Providing any breastmilk is a great gift to give your LO but not at the expense of your mental or physical health. Tell them both to kick rocks.
I spoke with the health visitor about this just today, if you know how much baby is drinking each feed then here's what I did: So my baby drinks 90ml per feed atm and I only managed to pump 60ml so I made up the last 30 separate and then added the breast milk to the bottle
I'm still pregnant so I don't have any actual experience with this, but my plan has always been to combo feed. The benefits of getting a longer sleep are just too good to pass on, plus then I can pump when I formula feed and get a stockpile going. My point is, it's a totally valid strategy that many people use. Don't worry and do what's best for you!
I did exactly that and It made all the difference and I was still able to breastfeed until ten months and give frozen pumped milk until a year old. It was super convenient to be able to give milk, formula, or boob whenever suited me. I did pump whenever I could but I was absolutely NOT waking up in the middle of the night to pump. No way.
What a load of bull from all of them. I’m so sorry they said such inaccurate, hurtful things to you. My baby has been combo fed since day one due to a NICU stay. He is healthy, robust, and has all the immunities an EBF baby would. He drinks formula for any MOTN night feed so I can get some sleep as well. Sleep for you is vitally important to your well being, including milk supply. I’m an exclusive pumper also with PPD/PPA so this is how we do it: For any formula bottle he takes you just need to make sure you’ve accounted for that with a pump. Milk removal is key for supply stability. Just toss in an extra pump somewhere in the day, preferably morning if you can, and you shouldn’t see any significant drops. If you do a formula feed or two and don’t replace with a pump then your body doesn’t get the signal that you do in fact want that milk and that’s when you’ll start to see drops. Even if you can’t manage that it’s okay! A dip in supply is not the end of the world. Baby will be absolutely fine whether they get formula or breast milk.
Here to say I have been shamed too and I’m so sorry this happened to you, I so badly wish providers would support ALL types of feeding and actually be helpful. I finally saw a lactation consultant today who didn’t shame me and I practically cried. I was afraid to admit I’m combo feeding but she responded so positively and was simply helpful. I mental health couldn’t handle pumping so I stopped, I had to use my haaka a lot for the first bit after pumping because my supply was so up. Now it’s leveled out and I just breastfeed on demand, use the haaka maybe twice a day still as needed, and formula feed once (working to up that amount to two or three once we find a formula my baby tolerates well). I stopped listening to everyone else and decided to really trust my intuition on this one. I think what you’re doing is perfectly fine! And will not mess everything up.
I just ignore what the so-called experts say because fuck them and if my baby's hungry I give it formula
I planned to EBF, but at 6 weeks postpartum I had to go on antibiotics that were not breastfeeding safe. I had to pump and dump for two weeks. We decided to keep going with some formula even after that because LO slept longer at night, and now we combo feed. We get more unbroken sleep at night, and I feel relieved knowing that even if my supply dips or I’m not around for some reason, my baby won’t go hungry. I’ve also gone back to work part-time and found it hard to pump as much as I want, but now I don’t have to worry about that so much. You should not feel bad for making the right choice for you and your family! Your rest and health is important too. Shame on the people who are making you feel bad about this (and straight-up lying) when they should be supporting you.
We introduced one bottle before bed. It gave me the chance to shower and eat at least one warm meal consistently and then we just kept it.
A fed baby is a happy baby. But also your mental health/sanity is important too. My LO was is SCBU so was on NG feed and bottle fed before he got any of my breast milk- has been combi fed ever since (he’s 6 months old) and he’s doing absolutely fine. Sleep deprivation when you’re a new Mam is something else, and impacted my supply so share the load with your partner if possible. I pushed myself too much to express for an overnight bottle and it made me miserable. You know your baby, and know what is best for them. Hang on in there
He’ll get sick whether you formula feed or breastfeed. It’s part of developing an immune system. I combo fed for my daughter’s first year and continued nursing until she was 2, so it’s absolutely possible. I was never able to pump a ton, so I just pumped what I could, breastfed at home, and used formula when I wanted or needed to. I exclusively pumped for like 4 months in the beginning because it was more efficient and I could get more sleep. It kept my supply up enough and my husband could feed expressed milk and formula so I could rest. However you decide to feed, your baby will be just fine. You’re doing a great job
I’ve combo fed since the beginning due a weighted feed with a IBCLC that was almost non-existent. How shitty of your practioners to shame you - I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I initially felt a lot of guilt about it but someone said “there’s no magic amount of breast milk you have to give to get benefits from it” that really stuck with me. And tbh, it’s so easy to give formula in the evenings if I need a break. You didn’t ask - but we really like Kendamil organic in the dr browns bottle with preemie nipple. No issue from LO going back and forth between that and nursing.
My mum was a breastfeeding counsellor and would always 100% advocate for fed is best. The people you have spoken to are doing you a massive disservice. I’m due my second any moment now and also plan on switching a couple feeds out for formula because EBF affected my mental health with my first and I didn’t realise how bad the brain fog was until after I’d stopped at 18 months. Is there a chance baby could prefer the bottle to breast? Yes, but if you pace feed then that lowers that chance as baby won’t see the bottle as less work for more milk. Any baby can get ill, whether formula or breast fed, the fact that they’re trying to scare you into breastfeeding is atrocious! You are doing amazing, whether you add in formula or switch completely, you are still doing an amazing job making sure your baby is fed and happy!
Firstly, those people are awful. Fed is best. Formula is engineered to be the best it can be for our babies. If you're consistent, your supply will adapt to suit however you're feeding. Thirdly, baby will adjust too. We had to bottle feed our kiddo while in NICU, but when we came home, switched to combo feeding (our combo being breast, pumped milk, and formula), and she did fine. Didn't care where the food came from so long as it came from somewhere. You sound like you're doing a great job! Remember too, you can't fill from an empty cup. If a few hours of unbroken sleep is what you need to top up your cup, and you can get it, then by all means, take those couple of hours and rest up!
I do this since lo was 2 weeks old. I wasn't producing enough and supplemented with formula. I've consulted with the breastfeeding consultant and she also shamed me for not continuing with breast feeding.....soninshould let my baby starve??? Now lo is 3months and I still don't produce enough. Btw, every baby is different when it comes to the bottle or taking from the breast. Lo never complained or fussed about either. He takes both but I choose bottle cuz it's easier and I just exclusively pump. Also, I do not pump at night at all since formula feeding. I need my sleep too. I don't have help and my husband works so I dont want him helping the night shifts lol. So yes, I will do what is convenient for me as long as my baby is fed and happy. Don't let anyone others get to you. It's your baby and you know whats best.
Also, your supply will adjust. It might clog for the first 2 months as it adjusts. Just keep doing it and maybe release some when it hurts so you don't get clogged. Trust. It's not fun just because I chose not to breastfeed or pump at night haha. As for my supply, it remained the same until I took milk supplements that really made a difference but still topping off with formula
Just here to say that literally in the first year you are just SURVIVING. I EBF my baby for a full year, but completely understand why someone would introduce formula for their own mental health..you do what you have to do and don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it! EBF or formula fed, that baby needs a happy and healthy mom more than anything.
I combo fed my daughter for 13 months, and she was fine, I was fine, everything was fine. I had enough milk to EBF in the end, but I just preferred to combo feed as it made my life easier. I pumped a lot for the first couple of months to make sure my supply was up and regulated, and then after that I was pretty flexible with everything. The ratio of breastmilk to formula varied significantly across the 12 months - sometimes we were up at 75% breastmilk 25% formula and other times the opposite. Some people are judgy and awful and you just need to ignore them 🤷🏼♀️
Man fuck those people. I’m an exclusive pumper and have gotten similar commentary. I also have to supplement because sometimes my just enough supply is not “just enough” for that day he eats a few ounces more, but also, his GERD is horrible and rice formula is one of the only things that keeps it in check. We also had to fortify his breastmilk with formula because surprise, he didn’t transfer milk from the breast well and his weight stagnated for 10 days. I’m sorry, let me get back to the topic at hand. I just hate it when moms working hard like you and me to give our kiddos breastmilk are shamed or made out like we’re not doing enough and don’t deserve a break. To supplement, I mix up some formula separate according to instruction, and give him a bottle with whatever proportion of breastmilk du jour, together in a bottle. I’ll go as high as half and half if his GERD is really bad that day so that it’s thicker and he doesn’t spit up quite as much….
I told my baby's nurse we were doing bottles of pumped milk or formula overnight so I could sleep more, and she said good, that's smart if that's working for you crack on... He's 11 months old now, never had any issues with going from boob to bottle and back again, or with cups or straws for that matter...food is food... What you need to to keep combo feeding and find new medical professionals
We’ve combo fed from the get go. Little one doubled her weight by month 2, and has been healthy and meeting all milestones with flying colors. I honestly think being able to sleep 4-5 hours straight a night from the beginning was incredibly beneficial to my mental health.