Breast Feeding AND Formula Feeding

I just thought that I would start up a bit of chatter between those people that do a bit of both.
The majority of the time I BF but I do give Gabby a formula bottle for her last feed. I have done this from an early age (and it was done in hospital) because my milk supply took a while to really get established.
I found that it created a good little routine for Gabby and she was sleeping through fairly quickly (though I realise it could just be a coincidence - she may have slept through even if she was fully BF).
I am hoping to continue this way until she is 6 months and then I might consider giving her some formula during the day and eventually weaning her off the breast. I still want to take it as it comes though. I am happy that I have been able to make it this far with BFing the majority of the time as I was very close to giving up altogether in the first few weeks.

Does anyone else give top-ups or supplement feeds? If so, I would love to hear your story :)

Hey Deb, as you know we give supplimental feeds still, of course since Felix is alot older it's not really the same thing as your dealing with but I just wanted to congratulate you on continuing with breastfeeding when you've experienced such a hard time!

I sometimes wish I'd given him a bottle of formula when the health issues started to suplliment instead of being so stubborn about it, because it would be easier for bulk up the calories in it, and maybe we would ahve avoided the NGT, but anyhow what's done is done and he gets beefed up formula twice a day now as well as breastfeeding..it's so hard o know sometimes which way to go, you think, are they just thin naturally? or do they really need the extra help?

I think you're giving her the best of both worlds, it's a great system that you've worked out for you and Gabby and she is truely blessed to have a Mummy that thinks so hard about what goes into her mouth..

Hi - I did both for a while at around 6 weeks when I felt I had trouble providing enough milk myself. I did a lunchtime formula feed so by mid to late afternoon, I felt 'full' enough to feed. This apparently, is supposed to decrease your supply, but it worked for me.

And then again at about 6 months her last feed of the night was a formula one, and like you, found she slept a treat 8-10-12 hours. Some of the books talk about 'nipple confusion' - that the baby won't be able to deal with a nipple and teat - I never found this.

It's good when you get onto something that works well for your baby. Have you tried the receipe on here somewhere for increasing supply - something about activite and powdered milk, or something ??


Cheers,
Barb.

Deb, it is in the past now, but I did a comp feed of formula for Olivia from when she was 4 months: the mid afternoon 4.30pm feed, and BF all the the other feeds. Then I would give her a long BF before bed at 7pm. As soon as we intoduced this she started sleeping 7pm to 7am and was perfectly fine with nipple and teat and it was the best thing we ever did!

With Asha, I breastfed her exclusive until 3 months (I think LOL) and then began to give her bottles during the day and continued to breastfeed her first thing in the morning and last thing at night. This worked so well for us and I continued to do this until she was about 6 months then weaned her to the bottle full time.

I breastfed Jack until 6 months as well but he got a bottle in the afternoons and before bed but he was my big boy (he was 9lbs 8ozs at birth) and breastfeeding wasn't enoughf or him at night.

I gave up breastfeeding Emma on 24th Dec 1995 (she was born on the 9th) when I went to hospital with horendous mastitis and just decided that it was too hard! So she was bottle fed from 2 weeks.

Anyway good luck ... I am sure you will work out what is best for you.

Cheers

Hope you don't mind me answering this post, I am very interested in what you are all doing.

I haven't given Matthew any formula at all but think that we may have to once I head back to work. I will be gone 6.30am for 10 hours and feel that I will not be able to express enough to keep him satisfied during that time. He usually has 3 feeds during that period and 2 lots of solids.

So can I ask, does it really matter giving him 1 or 2 formula bottles during the day as well as 1 breast milk?

With Caitlin I BF her until about three weeks when she developed a major tongue sucking habit that she wouldn't stop even when feeding. After a lot of trouble and many tears I started to express all of her feeds. This went on for about four weeks after which time I decided that spending most of the day feeding or expressing or washing bottles was going to drive me insane and cut down to just 3 EBM feeds a day.
I kept that up for about 6 weeks but have now put her fully on formula. I can honestly say that I haven't seen a single change between giving her EBM and formula, except the stinky nappies.

She actually started sleeping through when I was expressing all of her feeds.

I figure that there are so many babies that don't get BF at all that she was lucky to have got quite a bit. It was still a hard decision to go to formula thou. But after 2 lots of mastitis, nipple thrush and lots of pain in both BB then wrists she is better of with a healthy mum.

Leanne

DH Brendan
DD Caitlin 31/03/05

Wow... thanks for all your replies guys!!

Leanne - I am with you - any amount of BM is better than none, hey? Good on you for persevering as long as you could. You are right - better that Mum is healthy and able to attend to baby's needs than if you are continually getting sick whilst BF. Having to express all the time is no walk in the park either.

Nell - I really don't think that giving Matty some formula will hurt him in any way. Of course it's not as good as the BM that you can provide but BM is truly amazing stuff and nothing is gonna top it. I would say because he is now past the 6 month mark, he should be fine with it. Whether or not he drinks it is another story! He may not like the taste. All you can do is try, hey? Good luck with it - I know that it will make it much easier for you to go back to work knowing that he will take formula as well as EBM.

Kelly - it just goes to show how each child and each circumstance is different, hey? I have never had mastitis so I can only imagine how hard it is to push past it. I probably would have given up for sure if I had got it early days.

Lucy - I remember you saying that you used to do both with Olivia. It really does help with the sleep issues sometimes, hey?

Barb - Gabby has never experienced "nipple confusion" either. Actually, the midwife @ our ANC said that nipple confusion is really only an issue in the first few days. Once babies learn how to attach and feed properly, there should be no problem between going from the breast to the bottle and vice versa. I have been trialling that actavite drink. I am not a big milk drinker so it's a little hard to swallow but not too bad really. I tried it last week but didn't really do it properly so I have started another round today. I think my supply has boosted a little n e way. My boobs certainly feel fuller.

Shannon - yep... I remember that you did a similar thing with Ziana and I think it was what spurred me on to continue... so thankyou :) I can completely understand why it was important for you to fully BF Jessalyn. I bet it's just the thing that will hold her in good stead!

Katanya - you are right - it is so hard to know which way to go. Especially with your first (cos, let's face it, you have no idea what you are doing in the first few weeks, LOL). I think it's wonderful that you have stuck to your guns with Felix. And you do wonder if they are just naturally thin people when they are considered "underweight". :roll: Thanks so much for your support :)

Shannon - Just a matter of interest can you explain how your 7 mo weaned. Did they just refuse the breast so you offered the bottle or were they just wanting solids?

Hi Girls

I wanted to ask a few questions from those of you who BF and give formula feeds before bedtime. Tommy has not yet slept through the night and I am finding I am getting very tired lately. I desperately want to keep feeding him til at least 6 months and so have been reluctant to give a bottle as I've had low supply issues and don't want to play around with it. I'm also not sure whether it would get him through the night anyway and then I'm doing it all for nothing, plus have the uncomfortable full breasts to go with it.

I guess what I'm asking is, will giving him a BF followed by a comp feed of as his last feed be likely to get him through the night and has it affected your milk supply over the long term? Also how much do you comp feed- as much as they willt ake or limit it?

I was thinking of waiting til he was 6 months and on solids to see if this made a difference but not sure if I can tough it out another 5-6 weeks.

Any suggestions?

Sorry Aussie-Chik... didn't see your post in here. I have answered in the other thread tho...

Gabby is settling down well with her extra bottle during the day as well as her bottle before bed.

Our routine sort of goes like this:

7am - wake up, BF and every second day 2 tsp Farex
9am - sleep
11am - BF and 180mls formula top-up
1pm - sleep
3pm - wake up, BF and 3 tsp Farex
5pm - sleep
8pm - wake up and BF (I try to keep her on as long as possible - will sometimes wait 30 minutes and offer more)
10:00pm - 240mls Formula (she usually drinks most of it but sometimes leaves 60mls)
10:30pm Sleep (usually no wake-ups until 6-7am)

Of course, that's just a rough outline of how the day goes - there's no way the times are the same every day!! LOL

Got a question for anyone that might know....
I use S26 for Gabby and the can states that when babies are 6 months, they go on to the S26 follow on formula (the number 2 one).
My query is, seeing as Gabby is not exclusively bottle fed, should I stick with the number 1 S26 or move to the follow-on number 2?

Also, according to the chart, at 4 months, bottle fed babies generally go up to the 240ml amount but I have just been giving Gabby the 180ml amount because I BF before I give her a bottle (so that the bottle is just a top up). She generally finishes the 180mls but seems content after it. Do you think that's ok or should I be offering her the full 240mls?? I just don't want to waste formula. I offer her more bb before I put her down for a nap too.

Thanks, Shannon!
I think I will stick with the number 1 S-26 for a little while until she gets used to solids (she's only having farex for now and will move her on to real food when she is 6 months). I don't want to have too many changes going on all at once, iykwim? After all, she is still getting BM so she's still getting the vitamins from that.

I know of a few f/f babies that are no where near ready to move onto 240ml bottles and they are well and truly past the 4 month mark. It seems like a lot for a baby to drink all at once! Gabby spews enough after a 180ml bottle.

Oh gosh! That's a lot for a bub to adjust to!

Yep... just going to do it all slowly.

I did a similar thing with Gabby when I moved her from her cradle to a big cot. I waited until a good week after her 4 month injections because I didn't want her to associate the injections with big changes, iykwim? The transition was super smooth. She just loves her cot!

Woo hoo! Tommy slept through the night last night, without the formula top up. I'm glad I waited it out as if I gave him the formula I would've attributed it to that. Anyway here's hoping it becomes a regular thing and not just a one-off. \:D/

bieleemorris - not that I formula feed but my ECHN told me to work out the amount to give by bodyweight and not by the can. She told me it was 150ml per kilo of body weight per day. Then divide that by the amount of feeds per day. So if your baby was 6kg, it would be 6x150 which is 900mls a day, divided by the number of feeds. Say it were 5 feeds it would be 900 divided by 5=180mls. This might help explain why she doesn't want to take the full amount as advised on the tin???

Yay for Tommy sleeping through!! What a relief for you. I hope he did it again last night :)
Thanks for the info, Aussie_Chik. It will definitely help me to know when I need to start making the bigger bottles for Gabby or not. Atm, she's probably barely over the 6kg mark so 180mls is just right.

Well he only went through to 5 this morn, but then i put him straight back down and went back to sleep myself til 8.30. So i'm not feeling as tired as i have been previously. :D

That's fantastic! :)