r/combinationfeeding

So I need some input here. My baby is 5 days old, currently breastfeeding but as with my first i’m barely producing she’s so hungry after every feed and pumping and i’m getting burnt out already trying to keep up. Long story short my first was COLIC and Reflux so bad literally never stopped crying and puking until at 15 weeks I was finally recommended Nutramigen and that worked. I need to start supplementing babe on formula and TBH i’m terrified to get back into the fussy screaming bloody murder puking and i’m trying to figure out the best formula to try. I don’t want to jump right to Nutramigen because maybe she’s fine and has no allergy or digestive issues and it’s so expensive so I want to try something else and see how she tolerated it. What did you all try and was easy on baby?

Thanks in advance I am really stressing over this!

Enfamil AR was our ticket out of the Nicu.. 4 weeks later we are looking for another option as our little ones reflux is much better and we feel it actually might be making her fussier. We are trying to get to exclusively breast feeding but need to fortify our breastmilk for a bit longer, and are still doing some full formula bottles during the night. Any suggestions of a good transition formula? Bonus points for 22 cal!

Hey there! Just-enougher here!

We've been doing a combination of breast-feeding, pumping, and formula. Baby loves to breast-feed, but never eats enough, so it's mostly for comfort. We're mostly bottle feeding with breastmilk and supplementing with formula when needed. At one point we were doing maybe a 1/4 or 1/3 formula alongside expressed milk. Then I started having a crisis about how I wasn't producing enough and have been working really hard to increase my supply to exclusively pump and breast-feed. THAT SAID ---

I'm pumping every 3-5hrs and getting anywhere from 2 - 6 oz per session depending on the time. Mostly I'm getting around 3oz give or take. Lately I've been so inundated with content from over producers. Though I know this isn't typical for everyone, it's feeling discouraging as someone who barely makes enough and sometimes falls short :(

So help me get an idea of the broader population out there. How much are y'all pumping per session? Per day?

I’m 4m pp and dreading the thought of going back to work. I was spectra and Elvie stride 2 so far and sized down from 19 (at hospital) to 13 ( my last LC measurement). The smallest my Elvie has is 15 and I started to get inflammation and clogged duct when I used it. Right now I’m managing with spectra and 13 mm insert. But I want to invest in a good pump to use at work

1. Any wearable pump that comes with 13 mm inserts or small nipple friendly? I am having nightmares about clogged duct again.

2. Anyone in similar condition made Elvie stride 2 work? Any accessories ?

Thanks in advance

Baby not latching and doctors are against bottle feeding the breast milk , they are telling to feed from syringe or paladai , but its so difficult , we spend one hour feeding through syringe and all.
The baby is just 5 days old.
She latches occasionally.
She has lost the birth weight on higher side so doctor told to formula feed also in between , its so difficul to first spend 15 mins latching the baby , then if she doesnt latch , we spend 1 hour to feed expressed breast milk , then more to formula feed.

Is there anyone who used bottle intial days and didnt find it difficult for further journey or breast latch ?

It was heaven. I got some kind of dopamine rush honestly. I was an oversupplier the first couple weeks before I regulated and now at 4 months I'm struggling to produce enough for my 6oz (sometimes 7oz) eating baby. Yesterday I used 4oz of breast milk and one scoop of formula and it was almost euphoric lol.

Like POOF 2oz of food appeared in the bottle and I didn't have my nipples squeezed for another two hours to produce it. I almost cried. It was exquisitely beautiful.

My baby is 10 months old. He eats two meals a day, snacks one. He eats decently. He drinks milk about 19-20oz a day—just depending.

I’ve had to push myself almost daily to pump. It’s been a drain on my mental health. I’m now hoping to possibly quit next month.

I was hoping our pediatrician would give me the okay to lower his intake or okay to wean him off milk over the next few months but our son is small (1 percentile but steadily growing) and he wants me to continue to give him the same amount of milk.

I have a small freezer stash but not quite enough to make it through his first birthday and a little beyond.

What have yall done? Switched exclusively to formula? Mixed the two? At what age into toddlerhood will he not have to drink breast milk/formula?

Sorry for the word vomit, i’m a bit exhausted mentally from pumping and feeling a bit defeated.

Thanks!

I’m 8w postpartum and have been pumping exclusively. My supply is very low at 16oz/day and it’s increasing very slowly at a rate of 1oz week over week. I’m doing everything I can — pump 8x a day, power pump, hydration, increased calorie intake, breast massage prior to pumping, breast compression / massage during pumping, 2 motn sessions, supplements, etc. but nothing seems to make a difference. It’s frustrating to see just ~2oz each session which grows very very slowly. I was at <1oz in the initial weeks. I am now trying to latch few times a day to see if that helps. I’m unable to latch my baby when he’s hungry because he’s very used to bottle and he gets very frustrated when the flow is very slow. So I try to latch him after his feed so he is content and gets how much ever he wants. I’ve done weighted transfer with LC in the past and he transferred only about 0.5oz. It’s probably because my supply is low and he has to work harder to get more. In the initial weeks I was asked to do triple feeding but it affected my mental health a lot so I chose to exclusively pump to maintain mental sanity. However I’m trying to latch now a few times in a day to see if it makes any difference. Need some tips / recommendations on what I can do so he can improve his latch and suck / swallow skills, any advice on the timing of latching him, anything else that can help build my supply. Would love to hear success stories of people who were able to increase their supply by trying to latch a bit later in their postpartum journey like me.

I know a lot of people say low supply is rare. Maybe that’s the case and I’m one of the few. From my baby’s birth to post partum everything was not how I expected which I guess is part of the transition into motherhood, having to accept things that are out of our control. It’s incredibly humbling.

I had to have an emergency c section after baby’s heart rate was lowering too much, pushed with the vacuum as I was fully dilated but everything was so fast.

I’m not sure if that’s where things went wrong or if I simply was never going to be able to make enough.

Maybe I didn’t do enough skin to skin or latch enough at first?

I didn’t feel particularly supported in the hospital post birth for breast feeding but I tried my best and kept going… until the pediatrician was concerned about his weight and said I had to supplement. This totally broke my heart.

I saw one LC who said it was fine and don’t supplement but then we saw another who raised the alarm that baby wasn’t gaining weight and said we had to triple feed. That was so stressful for me as I am alone with the baby the majority of the time and he won’t let me pump without fussing and crying the whole time plus, more washing stuff on top of all the bottles I never wanted to use was too much.

So I got a third opinion who evaluated my son a lot better, said he had a great latch and was a good pump, I just wasn’t making enough. At first they said to take torbangun (lactivist) and two weeks later I went back and barely produced anymore than I had at the first appointment (we know this from a weighted feed). They ran my labs and said my prolactin seemed low and while my A1C was normal it was in the higher range so they said to start taking moringa and I had the option of taking goats rue or getting on metformin. I chose to see how goats rue would treat me, but since it causes some gi issues I went with 1 pill 4x a day until I felt like I could handle it and then started taking 2 pills 4x a day (the bottle gives this option). Finally after 3 weeks I started noticing that my baby was feeding longer at the breast was more satisfied and taking less of their supplement bottle. The middle of the night feed and early morning he didn’t even need a bottle after either!

Then all of a sudden my supply totally started crashing. I have a follow up appointment that I made when it seemed like my supply was finally going up but it might just take me up being to face the music that I can’t make enough. Aside from all the supplements I am doing my best to drink tons of water, electrolyte drinks, eat tons of protein etc. Every single morning I have oatmeal with chia seeds, flax and brewers yeast. I buy body armor in bulk. Nothing seems to matter.

Now around the time my supply seemed to lessen I got some signs I might have ovulated (mucus discharge, light spotting, cramping) I thought I might get my period but haven’t yet. I have also taken a ton of pregnancy tests and they have all been negative so I don’t know what is happening. What a cruel fake out to start making more and then totally have a drop with no explanation.

If you’re still reading thanks for commiserating and those of you who have gone on metformin for milk supply did it help? I think that’s my only other option aside from just giving up on trying to exclusively breastfeed. It stinks because combo feeding turns it into a whole production and makes doing anything else besides being at home feeding him so difficult. I also feel so much shame and embarrassment.

I don’t think I have PCOS because I have never had any of the signs, my periods were regular, no problem getting pregnant, no mysterious weight gain, no extra hair growth or hair loss.

The only thing I had was really painful periods.

Alright that’s a lot… if anyone has anything they can share to ease my absolutely broken heart I’d appreciate it.

Hey all!

I am currently in tears in my parking garage at work. I think I might be done with breastfeeding. My daughter (6months) has been doing a nursing strike the last 2 weeks. I cant even pump .25 oz on the way in. I use to get 5oz same pump, new parts replaced within the last few weeks.

I want to give up pumping because everytime I pump lately I end up in tears. Baby girl use to drink (wish I was kidding but we had to supplement when I went back to work because I wasn't able to feed on demand and pump this much) 45oz a day. Dr and ibclc confirmed she was literally eating that much (also still 8th percentile so we have a working theory her stomach is a black hole)

I have an appointment on Friday with the ibclc to talk about weaning. I feel like such a failure. I dont know what to do.

Looking for any tips or honestly just people to relate and tell me this is normal…. My 3 week old has recently begun protesting naps during the day and been so gassy/ fussy. Has recently started spitting up a little/ hiccups often after feeds. We hold him up for 20/30 minutes after feeds, switched our bottles and nipple heads all the things. I have been breastfeeding and pumping with a bottle and was doing fine up until a few days ago.

We find that we can console him for a period of time then he cries, arches his back for a little bit then is fine and the cycle repeats. I know he is also overtired but won’t nap .. it’s so frustrating, anything would help. We use gas drops and do bicycles, nothing seems to truly help. We recently started going to OT to loosen his body he is very tense maybe that has something to do with it? Hoping this will pass in time.

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone! Have always found this community helpful, practical and considerate. Really need your collective wisdom to carry on in a positive way.

I'm 6 weeks pp with second kid. First is 3 years old. Hardly had any supply first time around due to severe infections that needed heavy antibiotics for months on end post partum. As a result, first kid was exclusively formula fed from month 4 and even till then majority was formula.

This time around I've been reading up and really wanted to give it my best shot to provide nutrition through BM for my second.

Though I was never overproducing, my supply was healthy with highest output of the day going to 3 oz per session but usually averaging 1.5 to 2 oz per pumping session..not a lot but still decent considering very early weeks. I also put baby to the breast whenever I can but I do top up with EBM or formula as I am worried it's not enough.

I think my flange isn't the ideal size. I will be changing that but even then I was producing more earlier.

I am consciously hydrating well and eating a ton of galactogogues on a daily basis. I feel like my diet and intake can't be an issue.

But the last couple of days my output has suddenly reduced to around 1.8 oz as the best output of the day and sometimes as low as 1oz (both breasts combined) and I'm stumped.

Feeling discouraged. Would love to hear your experiences, advice and I'm willing to try anything. I just want to give my baby all the nutrition I can and I was really enjoying breastfeeding and pumping towards achieving this.

LO is 3 months. I nurse and bottle feed pumped milk. If you do the same, how many times do you nurse per day? And when you bottle feed, how much does your LO take in each feed and daily total? Thanks

My LO is 4 weeks old, and I have been triple feeding since day 3. We started combo feeding with formula from day 2 when LO's weight was down 10% from birth weight. When we started using formula, I also starting triple feeding (breast, bottle then pump), other than the 3 overnight feeds (12, 3 and 6 usually) when I will pump while feeding or just pump (if husband is doing the feed) - so essentially removing the breast feeding but still removing milk. I would estimate that I supply about 50% of her total milk needs right now.

I know supply is supposed to regulate at 12 weeks so I was hoping to triple feed until then, but I am tired and I also hate putting LO down after a feed (+ bad posture, + being ~immobilizrd) just to get an extra 15 mL of breast milk. (I have spectra s1 and eufy s2 pro. I use spectra other than for the 3am pump & feed, output it similar but the eufy is just a pain in the ass to clean)

I am considering dropping the pump whenever she does a good feed (~15-20 mins total). We have a scale and do occasional weighted feeds and she only is getting about 40-50 mL (total) per feed from breast, so we I know we will need to continue topping up with formula (or breastmilk from the overnight feeds).

I'm very concerned about my supply dropping further, though, so mentally it's tough to stop the triple feeding (even though I want to).

Any success stories or how to make the transition better/more compelling?

I’m 4 months pp and my supply never went beyond 8oz day. As of today, it’s about 20% of LO feed and I wonder if there are still benefits for the baby. I feel ok continuing as I got into a routine and have a pump I like.

WDYT?

We are combo feeding since birth, now baby is 5months old and I never got this far with breastfeeding with my first baby...

We are still using smallest nipple from spectra bottle- SS which is marked 0-1 month... when should we increase? Or should we increase only when we stop breastfeeding?

Which bottle and nipple are you using?

Hi! I am a FTM and my baby is turning 6 weeks tomorrow. For backstory, I had a breast reduction 10 years ago, and thought I was mentally prepared for the idea that I might not be able to breastfeed at all since I knew that it could be a possibility. Before giving birth I did notice some colostrum drops, but was not able to successfully extract any of it.

After giving birth, I was breastfeeding every 2-3 hours as directed, and was assisted with latching by the hospital lactation consultants. By the time we got to the 2 day pediatrician appointment, she had lost more than the recommended amount of weight, and the pediatrician instructed the following: breastfeed each side for 10-15 mins and then give a supplement of formula of 0.5-1 oz every 2-3 hours. He also instructed me to pump a couple of times a day to see how much I was producing (it was not very much). The following week, she was regaining weight but had not made it to birth weight just yet so we continued with the instruction, however he allowed us to up to formula supplement to 1.5 oz since baby was showing hunger signs still after the 0.5-1 oz.

I made an appointment with a lactation consultant, we did a weighted feed where she ate about 1.3 oz, and was put on a plan of triple feeding (breastfeeding for a max of 40 mins, then pumping for 20 minutes while baby takes a bottle of formula or my expressed breast milk). My milk production from pumping has increased a bit with this plan. At a follow up, she transferred 4 oz during a weighted feed, but this seems off to me since afterwards at the appointment baby was hungry enough to eat 2 more oz. Since then, I have bought a scale and have been doing weighted feeds, most of which show transfers of 1-1.5 oz. The lactation consultant then put me on a different plan where I breastfeed each side for a max of 2 times, and if she still shows hunger cues then I give a bottle and pump, but if no hunger cues then it is just a feeding. I have only been able to do this once or twice, as she is always still hungry after breastfeeding. Baby consistently falls asleep at the breast and when I think she is satisfied and am burping her, shows hunger cues like crazy and won’t settle.

So basically I have been triple feeding for a month, I am exhausted, and don’t see an end in sight. I considered exclusively pumping and feeding bottles but I don’t produce enough milk. I am pumping every 3 hours, with massages and compressions, I use the blue spectra machine and am using the right flange size according to the lactation consultant. In a 24 hour cycle I produce about 8-9 oz on average, from approx 0.5-1.5 oz after a feeding and 1.5-2.5 oz if I am replacing a feed and pumping while she gets a bottle of breastmilk. She drinks approx 1.5-2 oz of formula after breastfeeding and at night when she receives a bottle while I pump (no breastfeeding) she drinks almost 4 oz. Baby has a great amount of wet and dry diapers and has since surpassed birth weight and is gaining consistently in her curve.

I know the benefits of breast milk are vast and want to give my baby the best nutrition I can, but I am extremely tired of this process where feeding seems like a never ending cycle. There’s many times where no one can give her the bottle while I pump so the whole feeding ends up taking almost 2 hours including burping.. at night she is stretching to almost 4 hours which is nice but I am still so sleep deprived and feel disappointed by the fact that I am not producing enough to just feed her breastmilk whether that be exclusively breastfed, pumping, or a combination of both.

Hoping someone here can give me some insight and opinions or maybe someone went through something similar. I just feel very frustrated with this feeding process and it’s all consuming nature, and feeling like I am not doing enough for my child… i know that fed is best and if I need to one day just transition to formula she would be fine as well, but part of me wants to make sure I tried everything I could RE: breastmilk, and also it’s really important to my husband as well…

I have started this week giving by 9mo baby expressed breastmilk and formula in a bottle as we’ve had to stop directly breastfeeding. He is having a mix of express express Milk And formula depending on how much I’ve managed to express. I’m finding the advice online an absolute minefield - particularly around sterilising for the formula bottles!

What do people do in terms of sterilising the bottles in advance and keeping them sterilised? I’ve read that they can only be sterile for 24 hours afterwards. I’ve got the Mam self sterilising bottles that I do with the teet in the bottle usually - I’ve also got Milton tablets. I know for the breastmilk bottles I don’t need to sterilise, just thoroughly clean.

What do people also do in terms of pre-making formula bottles? I’ve read lots about people making up a couple and keeping them in the fridge for 24 hours as trying to make them without a prep machine in the middle of the night is a nightmare! I don’t have a prep machine and don’t plan on buying one as he’s nine months old and will only really need bottles for another few months.

Any advice and guidance and tips would be greatly appreciated! It feels like I’m back having a newborn again learning the ropes.

Straight out of the womb, baby did NOT want to latch & would cry when I would try. All of the lactation specialists at the hospital couldn’t get her to latch properly, & suggested to just keep trying with her every so often to also help build my supply for pumping.

3 days ago, I was about to quit pumping altogether as my supply was so so low. I tried to see if baby would latch one last time, prepared for another crying fest, & all of a sudden, she was feeding! I was so happy, I cried lol. It was like she was a natural at it & was doing it the whole time.

Today is day 3 & we’ve been combo feeding as I most definitely didn’t produce enough for her for one feed as I was previously pumping 5ml per session & her normal bottles were between 120/150ml. This last session my boobs feel much more full & she’s no longer pulling on/off like the first couple sessions. She’s falling asleep at the boob & is milk drunk like she would normally be with her bottle.

We’ll need her to stay at a daycare during work hours once I’m done with maternity leave in 3 weeks, so unless I’m able to pump a ton, she’ll still need formula. The problem is that whenever I try to pump, I’m still barely producing anything. Is that normal? Also, she was fighting & refusing the bottle from my husband just now, but she’ll take my boob. Will this be a problem in the future?

I’ll be flying for the first time with my baby this coming month. He’ll be about 5months old and we will be away from home for a week (Canada to Texas). I wanted to know if anyone has brought pump parts on the plane/pumped on the plane before?
Also traveling with breastmilk/formula (what water did you use if you did formula?)
I would appreciate any tips! I’m already a nervous flyer and usually take medication but won’t since I have baby and am still planning on pumping