Any STM that breastfeed I have a question.

[Deleted]

Tl;dr I'm thinking of breastfeeding and formula feeding but I'm not sure if it's feasible.

I didn't breastfeed DS, regardless I got mastitis and had to deal with that fiasco. This time around I'm considering doing combo feeding because this is definitely my last child and I'm hoping if I breastfeed some it won't be a problem? IDK. Plus, I kinda want to see what breastfeeding is like.

My idea is that I can breastfeed the baby and when I need to tap out or need help at night we can formula feed. 50/50 maybe?

If I do try it I'll have a lot of support, my mom, grandmothers(both still with us), and lots of aunts and cousins breastfeed(or did). Isn't want to ask then quite yet because I don't want to be pressured I guess, maybe that's not the right word.

[kristhegirl]

@priss08 to establish your supply, you'll likely want to BF exclusively for the first several weeks. It's very much a supply/demand then and can be somewhat sensitive.

Once you're in a groove of some semblance of routine, you should be able to trade a specific BF session for a formula session. If you don't also pump for that session, your body will stop making more milk around that time.

I'd of course go for a motn session so your husband can join in and you can get some more sleep!

To help avoid clogged ducts/mastitis, I've had great luck with taking lecithin. It helps all the milk fat be slicker so it doesn't clog you up. When I've gotten a clog I'll take quite a lot. Some women take it daily in a normal dose of they have recurrent clogs.

So short answer is yes, you could absolutely do both, but to help your supply establish try BFing exclusively for the first few weeks.

[kristhegirl]

Oh, and then as you go along you can replace more feedings until you're down to BFing when you want - morning and night during the week, whenever you feel like it on the weekends, etc.

[daisylola11]

Is there a breastfeeding group with a lactation consultant you have easy access to?

I think what you want to do is very possible but not sure about it working out in the first few months since that is when you build your supply. I can't imagine nursing all day and then not at night without pumping since you will be engorged. Later on it will be easier since your body will get use to producing just enough to not be engorged.

[Deleted]

Thank you guys for the info!

I'm kind of apprehensive to exclusively BF for weeks/months(nothing is set in stone though). If I did do both from the get go would my milk just diminish? I'd honestly be OK with that as of right now.

There's a group for LLL that meets about 35 min. away. Would it be weird to check it out while I'm still pregnant? Or are they generally open to that sort of thing.

[Deleted]

Also, this may sound silly, so forgive me, but my breast are very large. My relatives were able to breastfeed in public without covers because their breast are smaller. Plus the babies head pretty much covered their entire breast.

Would getting a few nursing tops be worth the money or would I just need to wear two shirts all summer?

[daisylola11]

@priss08 they definitely welcome pregnant woman.

I had big boobies while nursing and I didn't mind the nursing covers or I did a tank under and pull up a shirt to cover the top. The nursing tanks were best at night for me, regular tanks worked fine during the day since I didn't want to buy a lot of the expensive nursing tanks.

[daisylola11]

Oct 15, 2016 9:44:47 GMT -5 @priss08 said:

Thank you guys for the info!

I'm kind of apprehensive to exclusively BF for weeks/months(nothing is set in stone though). If I did do both from the get go would my milk just diminish? I'd honestly be OK with that as of right now.

There's a group for LLL that meets about 35 min. away. Would it be weird to check it out while I'm still pregnant? Or are they generally open to that sort of thing.

Honestly I would guess it would diminish but worried about the clogged ducts if you don't pump when not nursing. Eventually supply would regulate and you would just produce less.

[amandamh2]

If you can get through even the first 6 weeks exclusively or mostly breastfeeding it will do a lot to help your supply. Big growth spurts typically happen at/around 6 and 12 weeks (my DS was slightly earlier, about 5 and 11). The growth spurts are hard but if you can get through that last one supply is usually pretty well established and missing feedings or replacing some with formula would be less likely to really impact supply, especially if the replacement times were varied.

If you're not super committed, I would hold off on buying nursing tops as they're kind of expensive. Totally worth it if you're doing it for a long time (I love mine still) but if you're not sure it might be better to wait. Another option is to pull your shirt down and put a blanket over your shoulder to cover the top part of your breast. I didn't like covering my baby's head but still liked to be covered so this gave me more options.

[kristhegirl]

Some people "supplement" from the jump (I hate that word because it's still food! It's not like they're getting a protein shake) and don't have any supply issues - I'd still recommend doing this at a specific time at first and concentrating on BFing whenever else the baby wants to eat, to establish your supply.

If it helps to put a time frame on it, do that. Like "I'll do this BFing thing for 6/8/12 weeks and then reassess." That is perfectly normal even for moms who want to nurse long-term.

The thing is, those first weeks are crucial for supply. It's really not that long in the grand scheme of things, but of course it's also the midst of the hardest part of having a new baby!

[caer]

@priss08 - I don't know if this will be helpful or not but I combo fed from 12 weeks to 9 months because I couldn't pump enough to keep up with DS while he was at DC. It was a super easy transition and I am seriously considering combo feeding again because it was really nice to have DH be able to jump in when I needed him.

Like kristhegirl said, it would probably help to exclusively breastfeed in the beginning to establish your supply. But if you can't or don't want to, that's ok! As long as your baby is being fed, it's all good.

[Deleted]

Oct 15, 2016 12:13:13 GMT -5 caer said:

@priss08 - I don't know if this will be helpful or not but I combo fed from 12 weeks to 9 months because I couldn't pump enough to keep up with DS while he was at DC. It was a super easy transition and I am seriously considering combo feeding again because it was really nice to have DH be able to jump in when I needed him.

Like kristhegirl said, it would probably help to exclusively breastfeed in the beginning to establish your supply. But if you can't or don't want to, that's ok! As long as your baby is being fed, it's all good.

See yeah, I have 0 desire to exclusively breast feed any amount. Like none whatsoever, so I'll have to look into all this.

[caer]

Oct 15, 2016 12:41:41 GMT -5 @priss08 said:

Oct 15, 2016 12:13:13 GMT -5 caer said:

@priss08 - I don't know if this will be helpful or not but I combo fed from 12 weeks to 9 months because I couldn't pump enough to keep up with DS while he was at DC. It was a super easy transition and I am seriously considering combo feeding again because it was really nice to have DH be able to jump in when I needed him.

Like kristhegirl said, it would probably help to exclusively breastfeed in the beginning to establish your supply. But if you can't or don't want to, that's ok! As long as your baby is being fed, it's all good.

See yeah, I have 0 desire to exclusively breast feed any amount. Like none whatsoever, so I'll have to look into all this.

I'm definitely not saying you have to EBF from the start - just sharing my experience. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to BF, exclusively or otherwise. You can always combo feed from start and see how it goes. Worst case scenario, you switch to all formula and your baby still gets fed.

[madameovary]

In the beginning I just took top completely off. Looking back, that's pretty ridiculous. After that I wore nursing bras but no other special nursing tops. They may not open the same way as your brain anyway. Any shirt that lifts or buttons is fine. Good luck!

[amacbaby]

@priss08, I think supplementing from early on (like earlier than 6 weeks) is totally doable. It is largely supply/demand, but your goal is not a "full" supply, so it doesn't even make a lot of sense to build a full supply, then supplement. That actually sounds like you would increase your risk for mastitis unless you really want to pump all the time (and frankly if you are cool supplementing formula than I wouldn't put the work into pumping just so you could supplement with BM). Also FYI, we dropped night feedings a lot faster than most people for our twins (both my wife and I BF) and neither of us had an issue, so if you supplement even earlier with formula at night, it won't necessarily affect the times you actually want to breastfeed. The only thing to keep in mind is that once you are supplementing regularly for certain feedings, it will be harder to BF at those specific feedings. For instance, I went back to work when the girls were 2 weeks. Before I went back, I was feeding a whole baby, afterwards I did almost all the feedings except one late morning feed. After a couple weeks, when I was home on the weekends, those same late morning feeds had to be supplemented (even when I wanted to BF). I stopped working when they were about 3 months and after a few weeks, I could do all the feedings again (well, my wife and I split it 1/2 and 1/2, so I could do "all the feedings" of one baby).

There is a caveat that this relies on boobs and baby working well together of course. One of our babies preferred boobs, the other bottles but both could go back and forth from a couple weeks onward. If there are other issues, that can change how easy it is to both.

[britab]

I have a large chest and those nursing tops don't work. I can't easily wrangle my boob through a small whole. I just used a nursing cover, nursing bras/tanks and regular tops.

My friend pumped and did formula from the beginning with three kids. It's doable.

LLL can be over the top "Breast is best". Just depends on your local chapter though.

[Deleted]

Oct 15, 2016 22:08:12 GMT -5 britab said:

I have a large chest and those nursing tops don't work. I can't easily wrangle my boob through a small whole. I just used a nursing cover, nursing bras/tanks and regular tops.

My friend pumped and did formula from the beginning with three kids. It's doable.

LLL can be over the top "Breast is best". Just depends on your local chapter though.

I wonder if I could test the waters somehow...soon-ish would probably be a good time to pop in and see.

[Deleted]

I really appreciate everyone's advice, I feel like I have a lot to think about.

[jnow]

I think you got a lot of great advice. Imo I would try not to have too many expectations and see how things go. I would think if you combo feed,your body would get used to when the baby does nurse, but the beginning might be tough while your supply regulates.

Also, just stick with the 2 shirt combo. Tank under a shirt. Lift the top Shirt, pull the bottom shirt down. You will be mostly covered.