Breastfeeding & formula milk?
Question by Mum of 1 girl & 1 boy: Can you do both? My baby is 3 weeks old and I am breastfeeding her. I think she isn’t getting enough milk at times. Sometimes I feed her for up to 4 hours on and off. She just cries and cries unless I feed her. When she has been sucking on my breast for a while I notice that my milk supply totally dies off. I have to wait for about half an hour before I have more milk in that breast.
I do use a breastpump but I can only pump successfully in the mornings or when I have not breastfed her from that breast for about 8 hours.
I’m thinking about giving her some formula milk every now and then. It will help when my Mum babysits her as there is no way that I can pump enough breast milk to last her for the night. I would also like my husband to take over and feed the baby formula milk at night time when I don’t have any expressed breast milk.
Has anyone done this? I still want to breastfeed mainly but a little bit of help with the formula milk wouldn’t go astray!
What do you think? Answer below!
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It will work out just fine! I nursed all 3 of my babies and with the last one I had some problems with cracked nipples and I had to supplement on and off until it healed. Just feed her as much as you can from your breast so that your milk stays in and supplement when you need to.
Remember to try and pump when you are supplementing, the pumping time will also help your milk to stay in!
Good luck!
Yes. I do the same. You can supplement with formula. But be aware that the more formula the baby gets could reduce your milk supply. Just be sure to continue pumping / nursing regularly and you should be fine.
even one bottle of formual can effect your milk supply- when your baby nurses a long time on one side she starts to get teh hind milk which is higher in fat and calories and also a whole lot harder to get out- its normal what you are experiencing. babies dont jsut want teh breast for food they dod it for comfot as well- also, 3 weeks is about the time for a growth spurt- they nurse a lot to bring up your supply
If you start supplementing (esp at this age) you can disrupt the whole milk formation. The first six weeks are soo important and yeah, you will be nursing nonstop to keep building up that milk supply.
Even if you think your milk has dried up, the baby is still getting some milk, as well, the actual suckling is what is building milk supply. I made the mistake of supplementing with my first and within two weeks it was all over.
If she has more than six wet diapers a day, she’s nursing enough. I would really suggest calling a local laleche league counselor to talk about your specific needs. They are really friendly and great. I have two friends who breastfed while working full time, no supplementing, so it can be done. I wish you the best of luck, just keep going!
Supplementing if you feel you need to is fine. I do both and have been since day 1. My baby is 5 weeks old and I have a sufficient milk supply. I have been taking fenugreek and have been pumping to keep up my supply. I only give 2 to 3 bottles of formula daily and she only takes about an ounce to 2 ounces at each feeding. She is mostly breasfed and I will continue to breastfeed for at least six months. It also gives me a little more freedom as well and daddy or grandma can take over a feediong or two. Do what you feel is right.
Yes you can do both. When my daughter was 4 months old, she had a weight issue (lost a lb since her 2month visit), and I had to start her on a bottle everyday in addition to nursing. Everything worked out fine, it didn’t have effect on my nursing her. She quit nursing and the bottle (and baby food too) at 11 1/2 months on her own
Have you tried going to the health food store and getting some ‘fenugreek’ i found that it works a treat for increasing your milk supply really quickly. Also try a pacifier. The midwives told me that sometimes babies just need to suck to be soothed. Good Luck
Also, you have only been doing it for 3 weeks, Im sure you are doing just fine, you are just anxious and paranoid like the rest of us were!!! You are doing great.
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