Breast feeding AND formula feeding?

Question

I am a little confused. I'm at 32 weeks and I'm filling out a bunch of forms and answering health question every week and almost every time there is something about feeding asking "Will you breast feed, use formula, or use both?"

How do you use both? Doesn't that do a number on your baby's tummy? Do you alternate feedings with pure breast milk and formula w/ water? Or do you prepare the formula with the breast milk? How does doing BOTH work?

Answer 1

I exclusively breast fed the first 4 months. After 12 weeks, I went back to work and was pumping to supply my son with breast milk at daycare. Well, it turned out that I couldn't keep up with the amount he was drinking at daycare, so at about 4 months of age, I had to start supplement with formula. So now at 6 months of age he nurses at 6:00a, gets an 8 oz bottle of breast milk at 9:00a, an 8 oz bottle of breast milk at 12:00p, an 8 oz bottle of formula at 3:30p, and nurses at 6:30p. Just as long as my son is with me, he is breast fed only (no formula on the weekends or holidays!) The formula is prepared with water. And no, it doesn't bother him tummy...but you will have to try different formulas to find which one your baby will like the best. Hope that helps!!

Answer 2

Yes you can do both. You can have some feedings on the bottle and some on the breast. Or you can have a very small tube attached on your breast, providing formula while your baby is breastfeeding.

The first option is not recommended, since the baby may have a "nipple confusion" between breast and bottle, and eventually may prefer the bottle since it is easier to get the milk from there. Also, your breasts get less stimulation and will produce less milk.

The second option is sometimes recommended when for some reason the mother doesn't produce enough milk. The baby will stimulate the breast at the same time, and eventually the breasts produce enough milk and the formula is not needed anymore.

In both cases, using "both" is more of a temporary phase that eventually evolves in only formula or breastfeeding.

Answer 3

I breast fed for a few months. I pumped and stored breast milk for my baby, but it only lasted so long. So, I had to supplement with formula while I was at work. It did do a number on her tummy. She got really clogged up. The doctor said since I was getting in about 4 good breast feedings a day, I could supplement with 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 water mixture while I was at work. We did that. She's now 13 and healthy! I never went back to formula again.

I breast fed my first child for 11 months and my second child for 13 months.

Answer 4

Some people while breastfeeding will supplement with formula for different reasons. There really is not a reason to supplement though, it is a personal choice. You should never mix formula with breast milk though to answer your question. My daughter has been exclusively breast fed since birth. She is three months old and has had nothing but breast milk and she had already doubled her birth weight. So it is certainly not necessary, but some people may give a bottle at night to get a break from breastfeeding, or perhaps they are sore and need a break. It just depends.

Answer 5

However you want it to. You can breast feed all day every day if you're up to it, but in the beginning if you're on medication and your milk supply isn't quite up to pumping and dumping, you can give a formula bottle (formula w/water). My milk supply was never really up to snuff, so even though I was nursing all day, my doctor suggested adding a formula bottle right at the beginning to help baby get rid of jaundice and start gaining. From there I started giving formula bottles when I knew my work hours were and nursing when I knew I'd always be home--to get baby ready for my transition back to work and get whatever milk supply I had to adjust to that kind of demand. Worked out great with my first child.

Answer 6

some women returning to work use formula with the sitter. breast feeding does not have to be an all or nothing thing. what and how you feed your baby is totally up to you. you may choose breast milk only and you would have to purchase a breast pump to express milk when you are away from baby. some people pump only, they do not actually nurse at the breast but baby gets the milk that is best. you do not prepare formula with breast milk, that would be too strong and probably upset baby's tummy big time. i breastfed my baby when i was with him and pumped at work and sometimes i wouldn't get enough pumped and he would have formula and after i weaned him he had formula. whatever you choose to do is ok. good luck with your baby and i do hope you choose to breastfeed, but it's up to you. try this website for more information

www.breastfeeding.com

Answer 7

This is simple enough to answer :) I've had to do it this way with all 3 of my children and will probabelly have to with this one I am carrying now (btw if anyone out there has tips for increasing milk production feel free to email or im me). I had to use both because for some reason I did not produce enough milk to completely feed my baby. I still wanted them to get the benefit of whatever breast milk I did have so I breast fed them first and then offered a bottle. It really didn't "do a number" on any of them. All of them were fairly happy (chubby) little girls. If you want more infor feel free to contact me.

Answer 8

I believe it is difficult to use both. The more formula you give you baby the less they will want to nurse. Formula is heavier in your baby's tummy and it takes longer to digest. A baby nurses more often because breast milk is thinner. I breast fed all three of my babies. It is more time consuming but a lot better for them. If you use both methods you need to pump on a regular schedule to keep up your milk supply. This is where most moms fail. They don't keep up their supply and eventually lose it. A baby doesn't start out nursing 4 oz. at a time either. A lot of mom's that pump expect to pump a full bottle the first time. Find a really good lactation consultant and they can help you. The breast is best and it's really all you need.

Answer 9

I had to breast and bottle feed with my oldest child. I went back to work at 6 weeks. My daughter would not take my pumped breastmilk from a bottle. In a desperate attempt to make sure she ate while I was at work my mother tried a bottle of formula and she took it with no problem. So during the workday she was bottlefed with formula and when I was home she nursed. She did well with the adjustment after that

Answer 10

I pretty much did the same thing as 1stTimeMom. Except with both my kids I gave them one bottle of formula a day from the start. I heard so many stories from exclusively breastfeeding moms that their baby wouldn't take formula. I just couldn't pump enough to give my children enought breastmilk to get them through the day at daycare, so I had to supplement with formula. I pumped as much as possible, sometimes I'd have enough for 3 bottles of breastmilk sometimes enough for 4. I always sent my children with 5 bottles, so you do the math. I gave my daycare provider strict instructions that the breastmilk was to be used first and the formula bottles were for back-up. Using both also made it incredibly easy to wean them off the breast. Oh, and you always preprare formula with water.