Formula And Breastmilk?

Anybody???

Hi there. I am a new mom and actually know some stuff now about parenting that I can share with you. I definitely encourage you to breastfeed for as long as you can. My daughter is now 11 weeks and growing like a weed. I struggled, as many do, at first with breastfeeding. I didn't know it would be difficult but it takes a bit getting used to. It took us about three weeks to get the hang of it; it can take up to three months for some, and others simply give up in frustration. My daughter drank about 4 oz. For the first eight weeks, then progressed to about 6-8 oz. Now. She's nearly doubled her weight since birth. I introduced the bottle to her at about 6 weeks because I wanted a little freedom from the house and my husband was wanting to feed her as well. I used a breast pump and stored milk until it needed to be used. I introduced her to similac about the same time because my daughter was going through a growth spurt and I couldn't keep up to her demanding 1-2 hr. Feedings all day long.
From my personal experience I don't recommend bottles unless you have to because they do latch differently on the bottle than the breast and, for me anyway, breast feeding became a little painful because of this latch difference. My doctor recommended waiting until atleast 6 weeks before introducing a bottle or trying to give her formula out of a cup. It works, a little messy, but it works.
Also, I went back on birth control shortly after her birth and I found it depleted my milk. Be careful and ask your doctor lots of questions before going on birth control if you decide to because it does have side effects when breastfeeding. Also, don't be too alarmed if your child doesn't have as many bowel movements when you introduce formula, they aren't as frequent and a little smelly.
Hope this helps

Yes, you can do both, and the advice above is pretty spot on.

You can express breastmilk and give this to your baby from a bottle, or use formula.

I'm not sure whats advised in the us, but here when bottlefeeding it is based on your babies weight.

Up to 3 months its 5 oz for every 2.2lb, over 24 hours.
So divide this by the number of feeds your baby has.

So say your baby is 8lb, thats 40 oz in 24 hours. If you are feeding 10 times in one day, then its an average of 4 oz per feed.

If you're breastfeeding and want to use oral contraceptives, you would need to go on the minipill, which I think is progesterone only (its one or the other anyway!)

this will only be effective properly while you are breastfeeding at least 4 times in 24 hours.

Also, giving formula will impact on your breastmilk supply, as it fluctuates to a supply=demand, you if you're feeding less you'll make less milk.

I agree with the advice about waiting until your baby has a good attachment, although if you wait past around 6-8 weeks you might find that you have a baby who will not take to a bottle so easily.

I had a lot of problems with breastfeeding due to my son having poor attachemnt and a tongue tie and short tongue. It got a lot better at around 3 months and I wanted to give him expressed breastmilk from a bottle, but he refused to take it. I kept trying each day, but he kept refusing and continued to do so until he was 5.5 months old (note: I kept allowing him to breastfeed - if you only offer a bottle your baby will get hungry enough and eat!)

when you do use a bottle, the longer, cherry shaped teats are supposed to be best for infants who will also be breastfeeding, these are the king most hospitals will advise. (well, in australia anyway)

if you do a google search on 'la leche' you will find some good information on breastfeeding