Can i mix the two together?

Question

I only get about 4 ounces of breastmilk in the morning and later in the day i get about another ounce and that isnt enough to feed my 12 day old so would it be ok to mix formula and breastmilk together?

She wont latch on thats why i am pumping

I am bottle feeding her

Answer 1

well, personally i wouldnt mix them.. give them separate. You can store breastmlk in the refrigirator for 5-7 days, in the freezer for 6 months.. So collect what you can and combine. Never warm Breastmilk in the microwave, it ruins the consistency.

Answer 2

This is perfectly fine. I nursed for 8 1/2 months and my daughter took a full bottle of breastmilk twice a day at daycare. Plenty of people subsitute. Your baby is still getting all the good nutrients from the breastmilk. (I'm not saying formula is bad because my baby is taking it now) In fact I think it would have been an easier transition if she was used to the formula.

Answer 3

I don't think so, but you should ask your child's pediatrician or a lactation specialist.

Otherwise, just feed him/her the breast milk and when it's done, supplement with formula.

Are you feeding from a bottle only? Or are you nursing as well? Your milk supply increases if you pump/nurse frequently. I'm a firm believer in nursing, and not at all against formula feeding. Just keep it at. Nursing gets easier.

But like I said, your milk production increases with nursing and pumping. If you continue to do that, then you should have more milk in the afternoon. Good luck!

Answer 4

I wouldn't say to mix them, but I would say to supplement with formula instead of mixing. I wasn't able to produce enough milk for my baby either, so I pumped. It still wasn't enough. So I supplemented with formula, then breast fed at night feedings (that saved the trip to the kitchen, warming milk and what not YEAH!!) and then he would get what was pumped throughout the day first, then formula when it ran out!

Good Luck!! Congrats on your new baby!!

Answer 5

It is ok for you to mix formula and breast milk together. But make sure that you are not using the breast milk as the liquid for any powder formula as this changes the breast milk and can be very hard on the baby's kidneys. You should mix the formula according to the can instructions and then add the breast milk in. The one book I have says you must throw any unused formula/breast milk mixture out after one hour. So don't waste the breast milk! If your baby eats 4 oz in one feeding then do 2oz formula/2oz breast milk.

Answer 6

Give her the whole lot of what you can pump at one time. Other times give her formula - I was told that the taste is nasty when they are mixed together (by my daycare provider - I don't know how she knows!).

Call a breastfeeding consultant (you can get a number through the hospital you delivered at) or LaLeche league to see if you can get some help getting your baby to latch on... Her mouth muscles may have needed a bit more developing?

Props to you for pumping to give her what you can!!!

Answer 7

I have breastfed three babies. What I would do is not mix the two together. I would contact a lactation consultant. Are your nipples flat? You may need a nipple shield to help her latch on properly. Keep working at it b/c it's a learned process for the both of you. What type of breastpump are you using? Contact your local La Leche league for more pumps and good advice and good luck to you both.

Answer 8

yes its fine to mix pumped milk together as long as its not frozen and fresh mixed, and if the first lot you pumped is over 24hours old it can no longer be used so as long as both are mixed within 24hours of pumping the first lot it can be mixed. formula and breast milk is also okay to mix together but of course full breast milk is always best, i found it hard to get loads of breast milk expressed (as my son was tub feed in SCBU and they wanted Expressed breastmilk) i was given loads of tips on how to get more milk out, the methods that work for me are....

**put your baby on the breast even if the baby doesn't latch on this helps the let down reflex and will help to produce more...

** the more your express the more you produce, if you express for 10mins every 2-3hours each day like a baby woul actaully feed your breast will fill for this then up it to 15mins then 20mins, most midwife advise expressing for up to 35mins to get a full feed for a baby.

** before expressing take a quick warm bath and put a warm towel over your breasts for 10mins this helps the flow and will help produce more...

My main helper was to put my baby down on the bed beside me when he was sleeping and read out of a non-parenting mag about anything other that breasts or babies and it really helped the flow, since doing all this i can produce able 150ml's in about 10-15mins which is pretty good, usually takes about 10min to produce 2oz...

Good luck

Answer 9

I've told you this before, but the more you feed her the bottle the worse your latching problems are going to get.
Call the lactation consultant.

And to the chick who said formula is the same as breast milk: it's not even in the same ballpark, not even in the same league. Do some research.

Answer 10

Ok, I asked my doctor about this because when my sons grandparents watch him, it takes days to pump enough.

Well my doctor told me that they should feed my son the breast milk and then feed him the formula after. She said this because as we all know breast milk is more nutritious than formula and if you mix the 2 and your baby doesn't drink it all then you are wasting precious breast milk.

She said that you can mix them if you want but she suggested that for me.

Good Luck!