r/combinationfeeding

I am combo feeding, and my 12 week old is normally fine with formula but sometimes, and usually in the evening, she ONLY wants to nurse. She screams as if being tortured if she doesn’t get it. My husband insists on trying to give her a bottle and gets very frustrated that she won’t take it from him. He’s upset that he can’t calm her the way that he could our first daughter (slightly preferred him and preferred formula). I try to take her and he snaps that he’s not done trying and will tell me to stop hovering. He’ll take her to another room. She screams and cries until he finally gives up and lets me take her. I have the same conversation with him almost daily. It’s not your fault that you can’t give her what she wants.

He prides himself on being capable, so I think it’s an ego hit that he can’t settle her. I guess I don’t really need advice because the solution is simple. Just give me my crying baby. Just needed to rant.

I am currently combo feeding my 4 month old about 60% breast (directly and expressed) and 40% formula.
We’ve had a really rough breastfeeding journey which I won’t go into but it’s really taken its toll on me. I also don’t have the help I thought I would have from family so I’m just needing a break from pumping and struggling to breastfeed him everyday.
What is the minimum amount of feeds/ pumping I can get away with in a day and still maintain a supply. It doesn’t have to be a full supply so for instance if I am able to breastfeed him once during the day and then pump once through the night is that enough to keep that level of supply going?
I am not really ready to end breastfeeding altogether if I can help it but I equally don’t have the mental strength to continue with 6-8 pumps/feeds each day with the way things are.
I will consider seeing a lactation specialist as a separate issue but for now I really just want to know what the bare minimum I can get away with is

My LO is 9 weeks old and we’ve been combi feeding since birth. We get a couple of sole breastfeeding feeds in a day, but most are BF with a formula top up and at night we bottle feed and I pump (I only produce enough for 1 or 1/2 a feed). We’re prep either full bottles or a big bottle of formula (which we pour out from) a couple of times a day and store it in the fridge, then heat up the milk when we feed him.

We’re hitting a couple of challenges with prepping his bottles. Firstly, he goes from zero to 100 when he’s hungry, or hasn’t been fed enough or there is no more breast milk. Seriously no feeding cues to “I’m starving why haven’t you fed me yet”. The process of warming up the milk takes so long when he’s screaming the house down, I want to feed him as quick as possible. The amount he’s drinking is also increasing and varies from feed to feed, so we don’t always prepare or heat up the right amount, so we can extend the feed and how unhappy he is as we wait for the next bottle to warm up. We’re also going away in a few weeks and have been using the pre-made bottles when we go out and they’re such a faff/are so expensive.

I’d love to hear what others are doing, how are you preparing formula quickly for your LO at night, in the day at home and when you’re out? Is there anything you’d recommend we get to help with this?

I have always heard breast milk is supply and demand. as well as hormone driven. but i read on google (google ai... so i take it with a grain of salt) that by 3 months pp, your breast production regulates, and now is supply-and demand, rather than hormone driven?

i am almost 3 months pp. i have always had an under supply and really struggling with it. i cannot continue triple feeding for the next year. IF the above statement is true... would i have more luck boosting my supply with pumping, than i have been? i've been triple feeding for maybe 2-3 weeks now (roughly.. i definitely do miss a few pumps, maybe 50% of after feedings do i pump. i try to as much as i can but i just can't always squeeze it in.) and i've not seen a whole lot of difference in my supply i don't think. it's hard to know since im not exclusively pumping though. i always put him on the breast first and then pump. i only pump half an ounce to maybe an ounce and a half at times.

so is it true that 3 months pp, it is supply and demand driven instead of hormone driven?? and if it is, would i potentially have more luck boosting my supply by then?

I’m a second-time mom due in September. I exclusively formula fed my firstborn because I had bad mental health issues prior to and during pregnancy.

I loved formula feeding my firstborn and honestly feel like it contributed to a pretty good postpartum experience and helped me focus on recovering from the previous mental health issues, which are resolved now.

But I did get a lot of flak for exclusively formula feeding the first time around, and feel a bit guilty in retrospect even though I know it was the best choice for me and my husband at the time. I’m considering trying breastfeeding this time, but am not interested in exclusively breastfeeding.

I’m wondering if it’s possible to alternate between feeds at the breast and formula feeds with a bottle throughout the day from the beginning, without pumping at all? I think it would be the best of both worlds. I am not concerned about not having a complete supply of milk, I’m fine with just enough milk.

Looking to see if anyone else here has or has had similar experiences?

Hello,

My 3 month old is in the 30th percentiles and has been steadily dropping per week (38% to 36% to now 34%). Should I top up the daytime feeds with more formula (currently 3 oz of formula typically) or reintroduce nighttime formula bottles to increase weight gain?

Thanks!

LO is 4 days old , has lost 10% of his weight and I am 4 days post c-section. My milk hasn’t come in yet and I’ve been trying to place him on the breast and supplement with formula every 3 hours for the last couple of days.

My nipples though are so cracked and blistered that it hurts me so much to even place him on the boob. And I guess without placing him on the boob and just massaging it, I am affecting my supply.

I have no idea how to proceed from hereon as it seems like a circular problem. I have tried lanolin , hydrogel pads and warm compresses but nothing seems to work.

I have a 3 year old son who I exclusively formula fed from birth. I was never interested in breast feeding and quite frankly with being a first time mom thought pumping might be too much too. My son was extremely colicky and had a dairy intolerance. It took us almost 4 months before we settled on Elecare and his behavior improved. He still had an intolerance until about 18 months old.

I am 28 weeks pregnant now with my second child. Being a more experienced mom- I am still not open to breastfeeding but am now very interested in pumping. More specifically- most likely a combo feeding approach of formula and pumping. My question is two parts :

1. Has anybody here had a first child with a dairy intolerance found that by giving their second child breast milk they have either not had the intolerance at all or found their stomachs/temperaments to be better?

2. Does anybody have any feedback on a formula / pumping approach and if so can you break it down from birth?

I appreciate any and all help.

My baby is 8 weeks old. We have been combo feeding since 4 weeks old as I was in a lot of pain from exclusively breast feeding and nipples actually started bleeding. Multiple nurses and lactation consultants have said his latch is good, very strong, no ties have been found. Introduced 2 bottles a day just to give my nipples a break once in awhile and allow my partner to assist with feedings which he enjoys. We are using Philip Avent Natural Response bottles (size 2 nipples). He was easily finishing 4 oz in less than 10 minutes so we recently purchased the 8 oz bottles and he is finishing 6 oz without issue in less then 15 minutes. I am able to pump 5 oz easily (5 minutes of pumping per side) so I am assuming he isnt starving the rest of the day after I feed him. He seems content and is eating every 1.5-2 hours.

Is there a point where you limit how much they would eat from a bottle? It seems that most posts I read have babies around 8 weeks old only eating 4oz or less every 2 hours. Unsure if I should continue to increase the size of the bottles until he doesnt drink the entire thing dry in a 15 minute span? Thank you

My 8 week old is healthy and takes about 50% BM + 50% formula. We are looking to transition to powdered formula from RTF. With RTF, I prep several bottles at night for the following day containing half BM, half formula since it’s safe to do so with RTF. Unfortunately, I’m super paranoid about what water to use at home to mix powdered formula with and it has me second guessing if it’s safe to prep several bottles in advance like I did with RTF. I live in the US and usually drink from the filtered water in fridge. If I do this, can I prep bottles overnight for the following day (24 hour rule in mind)?

I’m a FTM to a happy and healthy 6 month old baby. We have combo fed from the start due to low supply. As each month goes by I seem to produce less and as a result he needs more formula. His tummy is used to 8oz (once prepared) every 2-3 hours when he eats from a bottle and I seem to only make 2-3 ounces in that same amount of time. I’ve been trying to offer the breast before every bottle when we’re at home but he’s also in a very easily distracted stage. I so much as wiggle and he pops off and pushes away from me.

He had a tie and some medical stuff come up that required a release and blood draws a few months ago. And of course he’s had his regular course of vaccines. After all of these distressing times he’s latched immediately for comfort and he’s calmed down so quickly.

We had his 6 months shots yesterday and he didn’t want to nurse at all. I put my breast in his mouth and he wouldn’t latch - just big cries.

I’m already feeling so sensitive about my BF journey not being as successful as I’d hoped - though I don’t know what my measure of success was because I’d always planned to combo feed. This feels like a small rejection and reminder that “I’m not good enough” or “if I’d only tried harder”. I realized breastfeeding is what makes me feel like his mom and not just another caregiver. I know all of this is absurd but I can’t shake it. My husband can’t seem to wrap his head around it either and just thinks it’s concerning that I feel this way.

I wish some of my friends had similar experiences but they either EBF, EPF, or didn’t have the weird mental hang up that I have.

Can anyone relate?

I have a 5 week old, i tried breastfeeding but i just absolutely hate it. It makes me miserable I think its the root reason for my PPD.

i kept being told to wait out to 6 weeks of doing this, well i did. i still hate it. if anything i find it more stressful because he has begun latching and delatching himself frequently during feeds and im just over it.

since my mother in law has been back in town, she sometimes takes baby for the night so we can sleep and thus sometimes had been given him a bottle of formula!

it seems hes finally accepted a bottle can be thrown into the mix and doesn't automatically get angry afterwards anymore. (we tried twice before to bottle feed, but while he would drink the milk, he would get angry afterwards & be inconsolable.)

i finally began pumping last week since id wake up absolutely engorged and in pain when my MIL takes him for the night, which means we get one bottle of my own milk for her to give to him at night too

so i began wondering if its possible i just pump and feed him bottles of my own milk sometimes and formula sometimes and how do i go about this

LO is almost 8 weeks old and currently taking Enfamil Neuropro RTF but will likely transition to the Costco brand powdered formula. I’m also combo feeding with about 50% BM.

My question is what kind of water should I use and how do I mix both? LO is healthy as can be born full term. If I boil water, it’s to kill potential bacteria in powdered formula, do I mix powder in the boiling water then let cool? Do I use distilled? Purified? What are the steps when it comes to mixing?

Don’t see pediatrician for another week so figured I’d ask here first. TIA!

Hey all! We have made the decision to start combo feeding our 6 week old. Currently we are triple feeding with expressed breastmilk with little to no progress towards EBF and I feel for my own sanity, its time for a new system.

For those who combo feed, how do you do it? what does your schedule look like and how do you maintain adequate supply? I would like to continue working on breastfeeding, and pumping to supply breastmilk from bottles sometimes as well, while also making the addition of formula top ups to remove all of the top up pumping ive been doing after every breastfeed.

I would LOVE to drop one MOTN pumping session ideally (baby is bottle fed throughoutthe night currently), but given my output is best throughout the night and early morning, im not sure if thats the best call for supply?

I dont have a lot of knowledge on this topic so I'd love any and all insight you have about combo feeding and your experience with it!

Edit to add: My LO is currently not a very effective breastfeeder and doesn't empty me efficiently, so I do expect a significant drop in supply once I drop the top up pumps. So im wanting to maintain it through strategic full pumps if possible?

Hi! My baby’s 8.5 months old and we’re moving to combo feeding — we’ve done about 2 formula bottles (of 4oz each) a day for the last two weeks.

The problem: baby is so gassy on the formula we’re using (Enfamil Neuropro Gentlease). She’s not inconsolable or anything, but she’s waking up a ton crying overnight to breastfeed until she finally works out a fart, then rinse and repeat. She’s been on probiotic drops the whole time.

I tried giving baby a rice-based formula, since that’s what we ended up on with my son when I weaned him at ~8 months (we tried multiple brands, gentle formulas, soy, hydrolyzed… finally rice based he tolerated!). But when I gave it to her yesterday and today she developed a rash on her forehead.

Friends, please help. What formula should I try next?

Thanks in advance 🫶

Baby refusing bottle please help!!

My baby is 4 months and has been breastfed this entire time. We have done bottles every once in a while to try to get her used to it but after the 2 month mark she decided she didnt like them anymore. Every once in a while she'll take it just fine. If its warm and if ny husband gives it to her he usually had had luck. Fast forward to now, she won't take a bottle AT ALL. No formula, no breastmilk no matter how its prepared. She's also colicky. So my nipple has been the only thing to calm her down.

Now that we have that out of the way, we have also come to a conclusion that shes sensitive to something either in my milk or my milk entirely. She loves the boob but I think its giving her the tummy aches and constant gas. I've cut out gluten, dairy, and soy! Its very hard to continue like this. I don't know what to eat and am low key starving and hate thinking about food/cooking. I decided its time to switch her to formula thinking it'll help her stomach. But she just will not budge on the bottle. We tried mixing it with breastmilk to get her started. We've tried hypoallergenic formula and cows formula. Weve tried different bottles ans flows and temperatures Im not sure what to do or where to turn to next. She hasn't really eaten all day. Im extremely desperate right now, any tips/advice would be so appreciated.

We've also been giving her lactose drops to help break down dairy in the formula, but like I said nothing is working. So shes either crying because shes hungry or crying because her tummy hurts and I am so exhausted. PLEASE HELP!!

I’m currently breastfeeding for each feed and topping up with formula during the day. Night feeds don’t require a top up.

I’d like to transition some feeds to be fully formula bottles so I can sleep a solid stretch (this could be at night or early morning/evening). Looking for example schedules from others on what works for you.

Thanks!

Anyone else notice their LO sleeping a lot more after switching from Enfamil to Kendamil?

My daughter is coming up to 4 months old and up to this point she has been EBF via expressed milk (apart from the odd formula top up when I have not produced enough milk). I am currently weaning from pumping and almost at the point where my small freezer stash is about to run out, meaning in the next few days I will have to begin introducing formula. I am completely clueless on how to combi/formula feed, and have no idea how much formula I should be offering.

For context, she currently has around 27oz of breastmilk a day over 6 feeds. She currently weighs 12lb, and was 6lb at birth.

How much formula should I be offering per feed? Should I give her just formula feeds/breastmilk feeds or should I combine the two in one bottle?

Any advice/experience is welcome!

My baby turns seven months old this Saturday. He has been exclusively breast-fed since birth other than supplementing a little bit of formula before my milk came in. I have always made “ just enough” to feed him other than a brief period first thing in the morning where I was making more than he needed for his first feed, so I was able to build up a very small freezer stash that is now almost gone. We currently have formula ordered to try, because we will need to supplement once my freezer stash is gone.

Right now, I am breast-feeding him for his first feed in the morning and then pumping the rest of the day to give him bottles. I typically make enough to feed him all fresh breastmilk for his first and second feeds, and then the rest of the day I’m making about half or less of fresh milk and adding in from our freezer stash.

I have so many mixed emotions on switching to formula. I feel like at this point pumping is weighing me down and I get frustrated when I pump and don’t even make enough for him for one meal. I also pretty much despise pumping. it’s so time consuming and takes over my entire day.

I go back and forth on still pumping to give him some breast milk and just being done all together. I will note that my body is just so tired and sore from the relaxin hormone still in my body, and I have been having insomnia issues for a while now.

Can anyone speak to switching to formula and how it worked out for you and if you felt better once doing it?

Appreciate any advice!