Combi feeding

We currently do breast for every feed apart from the last feed of the day (11pm ish). My husband does this feed so I can have a longer stretch of sleep which has really helped. I do end up needing to pump a small amount just to relieve them when baby wakes for a feed in the night though

Thank you! I think this will be enough for us for now. Do you feed breast milk or formula for this feed?

Mostly breast but sometimes formula as he ends up wanting a little bit more than I've pumped! If we've had a particularly rough night then my husband takes baby downstairs and feeds formula in the morning so I can catch up which has been amazing 🥰

Thank you very much! I've got such bad mum guilt for using formula but because I can't pump much it's just so restrictive on my sleep.

I don't even know why because formula is fine I think it's just the pressure to breast feed

Honestly you need to do what's best for you , it will take a toll on your physical and mental health if you are struggling. Breast feeding is great and some people find it easy but some people have problems with it and find it really hard. I couldn't breast feed this time around baby was in NICU and by the time he was out he wouldn't latch due to jaundice and then he was used to the bottle. I expressed for 2 and a half weeks until I got mastitis and now I'm struggling to pump constantly as I'm in pain and I'm literally knackered 🤣 so been giving half expressed milk and half formula , baby is still happy. I think if you can breast feed that's amazing if you can express that's amazing if you can give your baby 1 bottle of breast milk that's amazing. If you need to formula feed then that's amazing too as long as baby is fed they will be fine. You dont need to put pressure on yourself having a new baby is hard and if you think using formula will help you have more rest or help you in anyway then go for it!

I could have written this 🥲 I'm also working out how to best combi feed and pumping isn't really my thing. Atm I think it'll just be giving a bottle of formula when I can't face bf once in a while, like I did last night - had a really painful session and couldn't face it again an hour later when he woke up. Feels like he's been cluster feeding forever :( also 3w old

Just wanted to say please don’t let this get you too down. I beat myself up so much with my first when BF didn’t work out. This time I’m having some challenges and have had no qualms about introducing a formula bottle to help my mental health. My husband gives two bottles (one expressed one formula) in the evening so I can sleep for 3-4 hours at the start of the night. Remember formula isn’t the devil. Yes there are benefits to breast milk but you only need to give a small amount each day to reap those benefits. To do every feed except one with breast milk is amazing. A bottle of formula is not harmful to your baby. As you say, you need to be ok for your baby to be ok. I didn’t enjoy my first because of feeding and it makes me very sad to look back on x

I totally get that, I felt the same with my first. your mental health comes first! happy mummy, happy baby 🥰 you've got this, regardless of how you feed xxx

Totally in this boat!! Looking at this are some people not pumping when giving formula? HV said I need to pump if not feeding - I do this at 11pm as currently we are doing the one bottle. I’d like to do a bottle at next feed 2/3am but don’t wanna pump not sure on the implications if I don’t.

I combi-feed one bottle of formula a day too at bedtime, baby is 4 weeks. I don't pump at this time though he does bf before and possibly after anyway. I plan to follow this pattern long term so it doesn't matter if my supply adjusts to not feed at this time. I did the same with my first baby.

Do you have a haaka? When you BF on one side put the haaka on the other to let down this will build a stash and you might even collect enough for his bottles

I know you don't want to pump but try some collection cups to collect let down on the opposite side when feeding. Don't use a haaka or anything with suction as that will stimulate supply which you don't want. I like the elvie catch cups, they have no suction at all. I do this overnight for all feeds and get 3oz by the morning, enough for a bottle.