Is it ok to breastfeed during the day and give formula at night? Has anyone done this?

Question

with their new born (under one month) and how did your baby react on this?

Answer 1

Hello, It is recommended that you give NO bottle feedings during the first few months of breastfeeding. You new baby is just learning to suckle at the breast, as you too are just now learning to breastfeed. Sucking on a bottle is much easier than suckling at the breast, so a baby will usually start to prefer the bottle to the breast when given both.

Once you get past the early weeks of breastfeeding, things get a lot easier and in the end, most women who breastfeed have much less work to do- no bottles, no formulas, always have just the right amount of milk at just the right temp, ect..... and a healthier baby too! Plus the mother gets lasting benefits. Breastfeeding is a Win-Win situation for mother and child, and you wouldn't want to risk the baby choosing the bottle in favor of the breast at such an early stage.

Good luck

S

Answer 2

right from the minute my baby daughter was born, and she is now 2 1/2, she was breastfed during the day and bottle-fed at night. I did this purely because i was so tired and rather than both of us getting stressed because of this, I chose to do it that way. Initially, she refused the bottle, but with a little perseverance she accepted it. If you prefer for your little one to have only breast milk, but bottle feed at night, you could always express between feeds and give your baby this expressed milk in a bottle at night. Either way, do what is best for you and your baby.

P.S. There is no rule that says you must breastfeed your baby. If it is more suitable for you then put bub entirely on formula, day and night. The formulas these days are just as good as mothers milk. Dont feel ashamed by doibng this. Bub will still be healthy and so will your sanity.

Answer 3

I want to say that i have 3 kids and i breastfed all of them. We have never experienced this dreaded nipple confusion everyone talks about and i also have never had a baby refuse the breast. I often give formula at night and then breastfeed more in the day, for the purpose of hopefully sleeping longer and also to shorten the time i spend feeding the baby in the middle of the night. A baby drinks a bottle much faster than it takes to breast feed. I suggest a wide nippled bottle. I offered a bottle and a pacifier from day one. I have heard of the nipple confusion problem yet in my experience all i have notice is baby have a little difficulty deciding wether to open the mouth wide or not. Once the suction gets going they figure it out. Babies aren't dumb and are adaptable. The only problem i had is my breast being to full in the morning, which can cause discomfort.

Answer 4

It's not as good for the baby but it's better than all formula. The problem is introducing a bottle that early can teach him to reject the breast. They call it "nipple confusion" but I don't think it's so much confusion as it is laziness- at the breast they really have to work at it (which is good for their teeth and jaw development, by the way) but bottles are easy. They learn to prefer the easy way. This can happen at any age that you introduce a bottle but is more common if you introduce a bottle early.

The reason formula makes them full longer is because it's hard to digest. Think about the last time you ate a really greasy meal and felt like you had a brick in your stomach for a couple of hours until it all went through. That's not to say formula is greasy, but it has the same effect because they have trouble digesting it. Not something I want to do to a child.

Also if you feed formula your milk supply will decrease.

I found breastfeeding in the night to be the easiest way. We had our daughter in bed with us and it was so easy just to lift my shirt and feed her- way easier than mixing up a bottle and then having to hold the bottle.

If you're sleep-deprived, trust me, it will get better. If you really have to miss a feeding during the night, have your husband feed her pumped breast milk with a syringe or something that is not a bottle so she won't get lazy.

Answer 5

Congratulations on your new baby and making the decision to breastfeed! Any breastmilk you can give your baby is beneficial. If feeding formula at night helps you cope, then by all means, do it! Also, your body will be able to produce more milk if you are rested.

Answer 6

I had to do it a little bit when I got the flu and my milk production was cut down severely due to my total dehydration. My daughter seemed OK but I did notice that she was a lot more gassy than usual with the switch and I had to wake up an extra time every night to feed her.

As I weaned her off the breast, I mixed the milk and the formula together and it seemed to lessen the effects. If you want to add formula at night to your baby's schedule, it's usually easier to do half pumped breast milk and half formula (prepared with water of course). Keep in mind that if you are feeding less, you will ultimately produce less milk as your body gets used to less demand.

Answer 7

You will confuse the baby that way and will not be able to breastfeed the baby.
Let him settle and get used to breastfeeding for the first month or 2 and than turn to formula as well.

bottle feeding and breast suckling is totally different and therefore a baby may get mixed up and not be able to drink your milk

Answer 8

It's a lot easier to roll over and give your child the breast than to get up and make a bottle. Mom's milk is always ready and the two of you can drift back off to sleep while you cuddle. If you're tired, take a nap during the day. You really can't expect to get all your sleep at night when you have a little newborn.

Answer 9

I have twins, and did this with them, as it was the only way I coped.

I was told that babies don't cope well with changing from nipple to teat, but this just isn't true. My babies coped fine with both. Try not to change the teat on the bottle too much tho, so baby gets used to it.

They got formula at night, slept better and longer and breast during the day.

Both of mine coped really well with it, they grew and slept well.

I would thoroughly recommend it.

Answer 10

With my first son I had to nurse and supplement with formula as my milk wasn't enough for him (he was overdue) and he was jaundice. I started this when he was 2 days old. He reacted just fine. He is now a happy and healthy 3 year old.