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Combined Breastfeeding and Bottlefeeding

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  • 23-04-2012 5:15pm
    #1
    notsobusy
    Registered Users Posts: 774 ✭✭✭


    Does anyone do this? Apologise if it's been done to death.

    It's something I've been considering as I need to get back to work as soon as possible after the birth. I would like to breastfeed and then express milk and bottle feed once or twice a day from when the baby is about 4 weeks old!


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    #2
    Moonbeam
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,953 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    I did for my 1st and it worked very well.


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    #3
    notsobusy
    Registered Users Posts: 774 ✭✭✭notsobusy


    Moonbeam wrote: »
    I did for my 1st and it worked very well.
    thanks moonbeam! Did you start with one bottle straight away?


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    #4
    Moonbeam
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,953 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    The paediatrician in the hospital that she was born in advised it as she was loosing too much weight so I continued with 1-2 bottles a day.
    I tried with my 2nd at about 3 months but she is allergic to milk so we had to get special formula.


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    #5
    dublinlady
    Registered Users Posts: 1,992 ✭✭✭dublinlady


    notsobusy wrote: »
    Does anyone do this? Apologise if it's been done to death.

    It's something I've been considering as I need to get back to work as soon as possible after the birth. I would like to breastfeed and then express milk and bottle feed once or twice a day from when the baby is about 4 weeks old!

    My babies 10 wks and from two weeks I gave her one expressed bottle at night - at 8&1/2 wks I changed from expressed milk to formula at night and now give her a 10pm feed of formula and a 4 am feed of formula and breast feed all during the day. I wouldn't be able express for bottles during day as find I don't get as much milk out as she seems to!! Even tho she gets formula at 10 pm I still express then ( the only time I do) and usually yield about half a bottle .. I store up a supply and keep it for if Im out during day and someone minding her so they can give a bottle . I also do it to maintain my supply at that time of day as I'm unsure of whether I will keep formula feeding at this time or swap it for a diff time! I go from 10pm til 8 am without touching my boobs! I do wake up engorged but it's not too bad and I'm just glad my supply has stayed thru out the day!
    It's kinda trial and error for me at mo!!


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    #6
    cynder
    Registered Users Posts: 4,128 ✭✭✭cynder


    My daughter got nipple confusion and it was hell, she took a bit of a bottle now and then but after 2 weeks she refused to take the bottle, i tried every teat available and she couldn't latch on to the breast, this lasted for weeks, it was a nightmare.


    * she hated the taste of formula, i tried everyone on the market, i could only express 4 oz of breast milk... the machine i had was rubish.


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    #7
    notsobusy
    Registered Users Posts: 774 ✭✭✭notsobusy


    Nipple confusion :eek:

    off to google it now!


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    #8
    annamcmahon
    Registered Users Posts: 482 ✭✭annamcmahon


    Sometimes what can seem to be nipple confusion can be caused by the difference in flow rates between the bottle and your boobs. Unless you have a fast letdown the milk will flow much faster and more freely from the bottle. I think this is one of the reasons that my daughter was happy to switch back and forth between boob and bottle. Using a tommee tippee closer to nature teat on the bottle probably helped too because it's shaped more like a boob and the nipple on it is the same shape as mine. This seems to be important too and not something you'd think of as a first time mama. I know I didn't.

    I can pm you some bottlefeeding techniques that can reduce the likelihood of developing a flow confusion problem.


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    #9
    notsobusy
    Registered Users Posts: 774 ✭✭✭notsobusy


    Hi anna that would be great thank you :)


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    #10
    edellc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,787 ✭✭✭edellc


    I combination fed for 6mths, feed baby all day on the breast unless we went out then I brought a formula bottle (my hang ups no ones elses) and the feed in the middle of the night, OH fed baby a formula bottle

    Also baby was loosing too much weight in the first few days or a couple of weeks until the milk comes in so the formula helped him gain the weight back and stop him crying as he was starving

    Must say though at the time I didnt find it that hard as I stayed in a lot with the baby, but looking back I dont think I would breast feed again if (a very big IF) I was to have another as it was very time consuming and demanding and I was so knackered all the time and tended not to go out as I didnt really want to breast feed outside (my boobs where bigger than the babys head very hard to conceal 36G boobs :) )


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