Can you breast feed and use formula milk?

Question

i want to try giving breastfeeding ago hen the babys due, but my partner doesnt want me to breast feed as he says they wake up more for feeds and other c**p, that the lads at the office has told him,

my question is can you breast feed and use formula milk, my partner seems tot hink i wont be able to produce enough to express

please help put his mind at ease! coz hes doing my head in lol

Answer 1

your partner is being pretty selfish. breastfeeding is widely recognized as the best food for baby and has many benefits for mom as well. newborns will wake every 2 or 3 hours (or more) regardless of what you feed them- that's just how it is, they have to eat.

you will absolutely be able to pump your milk if that's what you would like to do, if baby will take a bottle your partner will be able to help with feedings that way. but read up on the best time to start that, it's not something to do right away.

perhaps read up on the benefits of breastfeeding on line or in baby books- or check out La Leche League's site http://www.llli.org/ for tons of info. they can be a little "hardcore" but will give you some good info to share with your partner.

Answer 2

Please please please get realistic advice from a reliable source, not the ladies in your husband's office.

I hope you don't let their ideas make this important decision for you.

Breastfeeding is best for you and the baby.  Its free!  It is the most healthy by far!  Even read the formula bottle - it says right on it, breastfeeding is best.

How does your partner know you won't be able to produce enough milk?  That is ridiculous.  I'm sorry that you're partner isn't supportive or even helpful enough to stop passing on gossip and figure out the facts.

To answer your question though... can you use both, yes.  But only expericenced mothers who understand the ramifications of introducing formula can balance the two together.  Breastmilk is supply and demand... the more you nurse the more milk you get.  So every time you don't nurse and give the baby formula your milk supply could decrease.

Also, formula is VERY different than breastmilk and giving the baby both at an early age could upset his/her belly... that is why breastmilk is best...

Good luck@

Answer 3

I breast fed 3 kids.  I occasionally allowed someone to give my first baby little formula when I couldn't be there to feed him and didn't have my own milk stored in advance.  He would take the formula if he was really hungry, but it was clearly his second choice.  My second and third children would not even take formula.  This was not a problem at all; I just planned ahead, pumped milk and stored it.  You can even freeze it if necessary.

They may wake up more often when breast fed, because you don't really measure how much they are getting so they may take less at times.  But I found breastfeeding to be WAY easier than mixing and heating formula,especially in the middle of the night or when away from home.  My husband found it easier too - he would get our babies out of bed when they woke up, bring them to me, and take them when they were finished, by which time they were usually asleep and could be put back down.

Most women don't have to worry about producing enough milk.  Your body will produce as much as the baby is taking.  It's a wonderful system - no formula manufacturer has ever been able to improve on it!

If you want to breast feed, then your partner should give you his full support.   Tell him that if he doesn't, he'll be the one giving bottles in the middle of the night.

Answer 4

I do both.

My baby actually sleeps better when he is swaddled & breastfed at night.

He cries more if I give him a bottle at night.

I think this has more to do with your partner being selfish than sleep issues.

Your man may have to sleep on a sofa if he can't handle the baby crying, it is more important to bond with your baby than allow your man to stress you out.

Answer 5

yes they call it "topping up"  i had my son at 34 week an the one of the last things to develope is there sucking reflex i set my mind to breast feeding but he didnt know what to do an he didnt feed for almost 8 hours after he was born..and then it was formula which upset cos i was determind to feed our liam my self....eventually with the helf of the midwives in hospital we did get him to feed from me.then after 6 week my son started to reject my breast as he got too attached to the bottle teet wen i was giving him top up's ,so now he is on formula as my milk soon went they get attached to bottle t***s becaus the milk leaks out more an they have to work more when you breast feed,also they use different muscle's when they breast feed to bottle. it may not be right for you when you do it or your baby may not addapt to it but it dosnt cost anything to try..take no notice of your partner an his work mates.after a few week your partner will prob sleep through you getting up for night feeds weather breast or bottle...breast is best as they say.....im 21 and most of my generation were formula fed as it was the "in" thing in the 80's an every one was weened pretty early...an to be honest with you most of the people from my generation are astmatic or suffer with excimar due to all being formula fed with not an oz of breast milk....your child imune system builds up quicker and is more ifficant when breast fed.when your breast feeding alternate your breast's give the other one time to fill up after the last feed.the first few times do hurt but it is only because you havnt done it before you soon dont notice it...and do the same when expressing only do one breast at a time... you may not get very much but dont do the other breast cos you will be totally drained of milk.and then you wont have any for the next feed.i know i have gone off the point a few times in this answer,but i had a bit of a tough time,and just thought that my experience could help....good look

Answer 6

Tell your partner to go jump- you are offering his baby the best start in life, he should be extremely grateful.

The problem with combining formula and breastmilk is that supplementing drastically decreases your milk supply which works on a supply and demand basis- often leading to women very quickly dropping the breastfeeding entirely because they arent producing enough.

Answer 7

Well you can use formula to supplement. But your partner sounds like a selfish SOB. Breastfeeding is the best thing you can do for your baby with your baby. Your child will have less chance of disease and illness. Its a wonderful time for you and your baby to bond. Yes you may have to get up a little more often but in my experience its really about the same because you have to get up and make a bottle as apposed to just feeding your child with what god blessed you with. If you have trouble breast feeding call the le leche league they are amazing and on call 24/7.

Good luck! And congrats!~

Answer 8

Breast is Best blah blah

don't get me started - we all KNOW breast is best but sometimes, for whatever reason, it just doesn't work out.

You CAN give formula and breastfeed, it's not a problem.  We were in special baby for a very short time and the doctor we had in there said that we would never hear it from a HV or whatever but it is entirely possible to top up with formula and swap back and forth as long as you do keep feeding or expressing to keep your flow up.

Personally, I gave formula in the evenings because DS was so d**n hungry!!!  I just couldn't keep up.  It worked out just fine for him and for me.

oh yes and tell your other half to stop listening to office gossips - they know nothing!!

Answer 9

From what I understood??....If you are able to breastfeed, breastfeeding is best for the baby and it wont make them wake up more.  they wake up when they're hungry, it has nothing to do with breastmilk or formula.  Yes, you can breastfeed and use formula but also the less you breast feed the less milk you will produce. try and breastfeed as much as you can, and you can always pump to feed the baby a bottle during the night.  You should ask you doctor about this.  He/she will give you more information.

Answer 10

your partner is an idiot

breast is best, and if you can, exclusively breastfeeding is the way to go.  better for baby, and in the long run, it's a lot more convenient for you.

That, and there's the whole saving hundreds of dollars in formula thing too....

Answer 11

I did both till my baby started latching on. I could only pump a couple ounces and my baby was eating much more than that so I had to supplement with formula till my milk was in. Once in awhile I will still give him a little bit of formula if I have company over or I want to get some extra sleep at night.

Answer 12

Yes, you can definately breast feed and supplement at times with formula.  It's just your milk supply will adjust to how much you are taking out.  So, if you start giving formula, you may want to pump also to keep your supply up.  I have a 4 month old, and exclusively breast fed for about the first 2 weeks, then starting giving him formula just at night for a few weeks, then went just straight to formula.  Since I was supplementing so much, and not pumping enough my milk supply decreased, so I just gave up pumping all together before I went back to work.  But, if you pump, or consistently breast feed a certain number of times each day, your supply will stay up with you.  It's just you have to "drain" out however much you expect to keep filling up.  Does that make sense?  Your breast will only keep making how much you need.  Hope that helps!  

Answer 13

Yes you can, I breast fed my baby during the day and at night I gave her formual, you can also express the milk using a breast pump, Boots home brand is cheap and it did the job for me, sounds like your hubby does not want to wake up at night,

When she was three months old I gave some Plumb Porridge in her bottled milk to get her through the night,

Answer 14

PUMP your milk, that's what I would do.  the baby needs the breast milk at least for the first few months anyway.  And yes the baby will be attached to your boob for a while.  LIke every two hours or so.  I can't personally breast feed do to work and so forth.  But I will pump and store my milk so he can get it.  

don't listen to him.

Answer 15

Yes you can do both, I did for 3 months, before i decided to quit the breastfeeding, it does work well though... Gives the bottle a chance to warm to the right temperature without your baby having to wait around for a start

Maj

Answer 16

i would suggest tring to pump your milk first and storing it in bottles if he wants to help you out and if your home during the day then you can give the breast but yes they get up more for feedings and of course if youre eating more then you go to the bathroom more do what you feel comfortable with and your husband should be more supportive of you breastmilk also has pros like less ear infections and colic which can also keep you up at night

mother of twins

good luck

Answer 17

Yes, it is possible to supplement occassionally with formula, while mostly breastfeeding.

But it's not the ideal, and if at all possible, it's best to give breastmilk only.

Rather than listening to 'the lads at the office', and denying baby the best possible start in life because he doesn't want to have to wake up at night -- your partner needs to do some serious reading on breastfeeding (and baby care in general) and the health benefits of exclusive breastfeeding/risks of formula feeding.

Your partner also needs to stop making you doubt yourself.  The vast majority of women can breastfeed, and most of those women can (if they choose or need to) pump milk for an occassional bottle of breastmilk.

If you do opt to give occassional bottles (whether of breastmilk or formula) wait until around  4-6 weeks to introduce the bottle, to reduce the risk of nipple confusion.

Answer 18

You will produce as much as your baby needs, and if you start pumping as soon as you start nursing.. your body will produce the milk. It's on demand.. when you child suckles, it releases the milk. Your body can be trained to have the same reaction to a breastpump, so you would be able to express enough.

Yes, it is possible to formula feed as well as breastfeeding. However - breastmilk is better for the infant, and in a lot of cases, the baby wont take the formula after having the breastmilk, as the breastmilk is sweeter and easier for them to digest.

Yes, they do tend to wake up more when they are breastfed, but aside from that, there are so many other good points to nursing.

Obviously - the nutritional value for the baby. Breastmilk provides vital nutrients that the baby needs, that no formula on the market can match. There are so many different "ingredients" in breastmilk, that researchers have still not been able to identify all of them. And that's because breastmilk is different for every single baby. The makeup of the breastmilk changes depending on the needs of your child as they grow too.

Breastfed babies are so much easier to calm also. Most breastfed babies when scared, or upset are easy to calm through nursing.

Also - breastfeeding releases hormones in you that are natures tranquilizers. Yes - those little hormones that release provide you a relaxed, tranquil feeling. You also create a stronger bond with your child.

You are the mother - YOU are the one who would be getting up in the middle of the night to nurse your baby. So ultimately, it should be your decision. Let him know that you respect his feelings on it and appreciate his opinion, but that you want to try exclusive breastfeeding and pumping first.

And if he doesnt like it... he can sleep on the couch. =) haha

Answer 19

I have to agree with Cal - my baby is breastfed most of the time but occasionally he is still hungry even though he's been sucking for ages.  When that happens he gets a top up as I hate it when he cries because he's still hungry.  

I have had one bottle fed and one breast fed child and there was absolutely no difference in the bonding, I didn't get my figure back more quickly with the breastfed baby, and I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as 'nipple confusion'.  I think there are a lot of myths and hype about breastfeeding and while there may well be benefits I'd be really interested in a piece of work that attempts to separate these myths and hype from the truth.  Also, unless you want to go without a breast pump, milk bags, nursing bras and lashings of Lansinoh at a tenner a tube, breastfeeding isn't that free.

They don't wake up any more at night though!