Stopping Breastfeeding
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Hi 👋 . I'm on combi feeling too. We replaced two of the feed with formula: one before my little boy is going to bed and the feed between 3 to 4am. The idea of the formula on my case is to support me on my breastfeeding and keep our little boy on long sleeps. We are on cow& gate. The kendamil wasn't working really well for us.
If you still want to breast feed/pump feed speak to your health vistor they can offer specialist support. Baby are normally more successful at getting milk than pumping, maybe if you think she still hungry offer breast in the day and she might get more milk in-between pumps if she needs it
when my son was born i started combi feeding right away, so it meant he was always getting formula, or expressed milk or breastfed , your LG might actually be more satisfied having a bottle of formula because they don’t have to work as hard to get milk from a bottle- (for example 3 times a day, one morning, afternoon, before bed). it’s difficult on their digestive system and can take a few weeks for their poo to go back to normal and stuff but it relieves a lot of pressure. andddd baby has already gotten all the benefits from breastmilk!! but FED is best!!
I found combi feeding gave me some sanity back. I do 4-5 bottles of 5oz formula a day and unlimited BF. I still have supply that’s sees her through the night and a few BF feeds during the day and she’s progressing well on the 50th centile. Please don’t feel any feelings of failure , the fact you have EBF for all this time has given your baby an amazing start and you can continue giving them all the goodness, but combi might just bring a bit of balance in for you. We use Kendamil - Goat, I find the goat lactose to be a bit softer on the tummy.
I combi feed. Baby gets one formula bottle a day which allows me to build up a little stash that then allows me to make up the required bottles of breastmilk. Zero pressure on myself and zero guilt if she gets a second bottle of formula. I’d rather have the breastmilk stash on hand. Remember if you combi feed though it’s likely your formula tin needs to be used up within 4 weeks. So you will still need to give baby formula regularly to use it up in the time frame. That’s my issue I’m having - but as breastmilk can stay in the fridge for 3 days it will get used up! I use Kendamil and baby seems to have no issues. I’m pumping 3 hourly if I can (especially in the morning when my milk production is better) or 4/4.5hours due to baby being awake. Also, if I have the energy I do one pump overnight at about 1/2am but this is rare. My baby sleeps 7pm-7am so I’d rather get the sleep.
I feel ya! I've just recently made the switch and felt the same as you, I was desprate to have my body back and I felt like with breast feeding my son was never fully satisfied. With advice from my health visitor i switched to combi feeding at first to help my babies gut get used to formula. We started with formula topups after every other feed, he would only really take an Oz as he wasn't super hungry. I the replaced a feed every 3 days with formula and we have been exclusively formula fed for 4 full days now. I will say it's made a world of difference to how I feel and my baby isn't so much of a boob monster anymore but he is still not fully satisfied and thats him 6oz every three hours, even through the night 😬 do what feels right for you, don't let anyone pressure you, you are mum and you and your instinct know what is best. Just thought I'd share my experience, hope it helps
Hey! If you want to continue with breast have you considered combi feeding? I asked HV advice about introducing formula and she said that the hardest part of the process is introducing a bottle which we were already doing as we were giving expressed milk like you. We replaced one feed with formula and continued with breast and expressed. I’m now happy that we have the balance that suits us, i breast feed most of the time, give one bottle of expressed milk before bed and one bottle of formula first thing in the morning, but now he’s used to it I have the flexibility of giving formula for other feeds throughout the day for ease and convenience if we’re out. We experienced some changes in bowel movements at first, he was more windy and constipated which I think is common because formula is harder to break down. But now no issues. We’re on kendamil 🙂