Breast Feeding, but Not Exclusively

My oldest was exclusively breast fed for the first 4 months, and the sleep deprivation stinks!!! When my second was born, somehow it just didn't stink as bad. I think it was partly because I new to expect lots of wakings. Even though I was told my baby would wake me that often, the reality of him actually waking that much was just so overwhelming to me. When my younger son was born, I guess I just knew that that was what babies did, so it didn't effect me in quite the same way.

My younger son did have swallowing issues and had to be bottle fed. I couldn't keep up with the pump, so we did have to supplement with formula. He did fine. Sometimes his bottle had breast milk, and sometimes it had formula. He didn't care. The kid just sucked it down.

One thing I do very strongly recommend is that you introduce a bottle right away. I really do mean right away ... within a few days. My oldest had a bottle the day he was born, and my youngest was 3 days old. Never had nipple confusion.

I used to see lots of posts that said something along the lines of, "Help! My 6 week old won't take a bottle, and I'm going back to work on Monday." I think very well meaning people have told moms not to give bottles because they cause nipple confusion. My husband used to give the boys a bottle when he got home from work each day. This gave me a little break and gave him a chance to bond with his son. Worked great for us!

My first was in NICU and I had an awful time with BF. I never could get her to do it, even with a lactation specialist that came to help me. We just couldn't get it to work, there is something weird with my nipples. So I formula fed both my kids. They survived. I think you will be ok whatever you decide. If you are unsure, ask the doctor since he/she would be familiar with your baby and situation.

Hi F. B.,

Each baby nurses differently. Your experience with nursing will be helpful but this peanut has NEVER nursed so you will have a different nursing relationship. If you want to nurse, you need to EBF as much as possible at first - I think they recommend not introducing a bottle or any other artificial nipple (pacifier) for 4 weeks. My pediatrician is also a certified LC and she suggested no bottle until after the 6 week growth spurt.

Keep in mind that giving your husband a turn doesn't mean you get a break - it means that you need to pump, then store the milk, then wash the pump and parts as well as the empty bottle. I found it easier to nurse while lying down than to do all of that (I exclusively pumped for baby #1 but EBF for #2).

Since you have a bit of time now, read as much as you can on kellymom.com. It is the best resource out there.

Congratulations - and on your other question. Bumbo only on the floor - and be careful! Seriously, who would put an 8 month old in a Bumbo on a table??? And the peanut thing just came out but discuss with your pediatrician.

Cheers! C.

We did both with both of our boys. In the beginning with the oldest I tried to EBF but he just lost too much weight and my milk took to long to fully come in. We used bottles for formula and I fed from the source for breast milk (I never could pump much of anything) and it worked great. I don't know if it was because we started so young, but he never had any issue switching back and forth between the two. Since it worked out so well with the first we decided to do both with the second as well right from the start, and again we had no issues with nipple confusion or anything like that. I don't know if the formula really helps with sleeping through the night, but I have heard tales and I know both of my boys were sleeping from around 830-530 before hitting 2 months old.

But my oldest did start rejecting me around 3-4 months old, he got to where he preferred the bottle. I don't know if it was just easier for him get the milk out or what, but I was okay with it and his health has always been fine.

Sure, we did that with both kids. With baby #1, she was born in San Francisco, and the hospital she was born at made it seem like you were the worst parent on earth if you even contemplated formula. Then we took the little screaming baby home and realized pretty quickly that her snacking every 45 minutes around the clock breastfeeding was not going to work for any of us. So we did a little bottle feeding (DH did that part), a little breastfeeding, and muddled our way through.

Baby #2 was born in the suburbs where they aren't so judgy about these things, and I had some more experience by then, so we did the BabyWise thing with her (big, hearty feedings, waking her up midway if necessary, so there was no light snacking going on there - just big meals). Doing that, she was only hungry every 4 hours, and so that made breastfeeding WAY easier than it had been with Baby #1. She did bottle feed occasionally (if I had to be away from her on business, for example). I would just pump and dump while we were apart. It worked out fine.

Basically, you should just do whatever works for you and for your baby. However the baby eats, the baby eats! More recent studies have actually shown that the benefits of breastfeeding vs. formula have been overstated in the past, and that the two are actually fairly equivalent. So really, whatever works for you, don't feel badly about doing it.

With my first, it took my milk so long to come in that I supplemented for a day or so. Once it came in, I tried to mainly breastfed for about 4-5 mos. I had an oversupply problem, and pumping extra or before and after was out of the question. If I needed to be away from him and he couldn't nurse, I just gave formula. He tolerated it just fine, and because of the oversupply, my supply wasn't diminished (or if it was we didn't notice).
With my last, I did both. I had mastitis, and production was way down. Pumping was too painful, esp since the mastitis was not improving with treatment (subsequently found out it was MRSA). Due to the infection, the milk must have tasted odd, because she eventually rejected me altogether .This was fine because the medication I was on for MRSA was so strong, and I was on it for so long, that I had to go to formula anyway.
Supplementing with formula can affect your milk supply, so tread carefully with this. I had the opposite problem- I could have fed 3 babies at once. Skipping with me was OK. But, it's not usually recommended.

I exclusively breast fed all 4 of my boys. This is a personal choice. Our pediatrician told us to do one or the other. I chose to breast feed. I know it's tough for some women.

You need to do what works for you and allows you to get sleep and be happy and healthy too!!

I did both and it worked out quite well. He started on formula at the hospital and I didn't start breastfeeding until the third day. He never had nipple confusion and we had all sorts of different bottles/nipples. He also never had any stomach issues with switching and I even used three different formulas.

I tried to breastfeed as much as possible before I went back to work, but my mom or sister would feed him a bottle of formula if I was taking a nap or if they wanted to just let me sleep a little more at night. When I went back to work, I eventually went to sending the daycare formula and freezing what I pumped at work. This allowed me to build up a supply for when I had to travel for work. He was still able to get breastmilk and formula while I was away.

I'm glad that I did both, especially since that meant I was able to let him stay with my parents overnight without any issues.

B.,

This is NOT the same baby. Please don't act as if the same thing will happen.

Pump after he nurses. yes, Pump AFTER he nurses. You need to make sure your baby is getting the hind milk. That could be why he was hungry all the time - he wasn't getting the hind milk.

Any way - I did NOT supplement and both of my boys were NICU babies. I had a lactation consultant and she advised to pump after nursing....I had plenty of milk with my first son - even wet nursed two girlfriends kids!! :) My second son?? Like your first - barely keep up.

I refused to give my babies formula - that's ME. I would pump and store to allow my husband bonding time and work out a schedule that works for the family!

i only did exclusively breast milk for a month or two each, sadly, as i found working and pumping overwhelming. both of mine breastfed and took bottles of formula, and did fine with it.
well, the older got his first bottle of formula while i was at work, and we were too young and stupid to have figured out to introduce it slowly first. so THAT was a pretty brutal evening of fighting and howling. but it was the kid and the husband, and i was out of it, so that's okay.
:D
and it's awesome to be able to hand some of that off to the daddy, both for their sakes AND for yours. with my second i didn't screw around with trying to pump at all. my breasts adjusted very accommodatingly to my nursing schedule, and we had formula for the daycare lady and for daddy to feed him.
khairete
S.

I did eBF with my son until he was about 5 months. Started supplementing because I returned to work and also because I felt like I was having supply issues (not sure if I was actually having supply issues since when I look at his photos from around that time, he looked really chunky). It caused constipation and diminished my supply. It was also really hard to get him to take the bottle -- might not be an issue if you do combo from the very beginning. Just some things for you to think about.

I supplemented with a bottle of formula as last feed before sleep at around six months to help my babies sleep through because my milk was always so low in evenings, even after cluster feeding. But if headed out somewhere, we'd give them a bottle if formula rather than me pumping because I just found that annoying.
It was stressed to me over and over how supplementing would affect my milk supply so I pretty much exclusively breast fed on demand for ten months. If I did supplement during the day, my breasts would become engorged early on or at uncomfortably full later on so it didn't make sense for me. If it works for you though I say whatever works :)

i was forced to suppliment with my first due to jaundice. he hated formula too.
my second took to the breast way better and refused all bottles. i never even tried formula with her. she refused brestmilk in a bottle. i would consider pumping and trying to ebf till around 3 months when the milk production is established or you risk not having enough milk and having to go to all formula.