September 1
Breastfeeding Supplement
I want to bottle feed and supplement by breastfeeding.?
I tried with my first child to breastfeed but had trouble and was on antibiotics so I ended up doing only bottle. This time I would like to bottle feed formula but also breastfeed just once or twice a day. Is this possible? Is the hospital going to agree to this?
Yes, you can do this. My husband calls it the “hybrid method.” I did it with both my boys. They both had their first bottle at three days old. I nursed at night and whenever I was home with them, but they had bottle when I was at work. Some might mention nipple confusion, but that is actually VERY rare (LLL makes it seem like it happens a lot becasue they want to scare you off the bottle). Most babies will readily switch back and forth as long as you begin the habit when they are very young. What is important is you should breast feed as much as you can for the first few days after birth to get your milk supply going. This is very important to feed frequently in the first 24 hours to get things started. Start with maybe one bottle day for the first week, and then you can increase the bottles and decrease the breast feeding until you find a balance you are comfortable with. any amount of breast milk you can give your baby is worthwhile, so keep up the breast feeding as long as you can. I was able to breast feed mine two to three times a day until they were about nine months old.
Breastfeeding – Supplement or not
