Can you successfully breastfeed and supplement with formula

Here's what you need to know if you choose to do both. Back to Top. In This Article. Here's what parents need to know about choosing both breastfeeding and formula for your baby. View Sources. American Academy of Pediatrics, Choosing an infant formula , September La Leche League International, Nipple confusion. Baby Feeding. First Year. First Year Groups. Bottle Feeding. Go to Your Baby's Age. Here are three common problems you may encounter.

You can experiment with nipples of varying flow level to see if one hits the sweet spot. You may also try repositioning your baby during feeding. While a certain position may be just right for breastfeeding, it might not be ideal for eating out of a bottle.

Related: Baby bottles for every situation. In both cases, excess intake of air is likely to blame. Be sure to burp your baby thoroughly after each feeding. Or, again, try repositioning during feeding or offering a nipple with a different flow. In some cases, your baby may be reacting to an ingredient in the formula, so you may need to switch to another brand. Related: Organic baby formulas worth trying. Before you panic, try to keep your cool with a few troubleshooting techniques:.

The Food and Drug Administration FDA specifies that all infant formulas must contain a minimum amount of 29 important nutrients and a maximum amount of 9 nutrients babies need less of. Every baby-feeding situation comes with its pros and cons. On the plus side for supplementation, your baby will continue to get immunity-boosting antibodies from the milk your body creates.

At the same time, you can enjoy more flexibility in your career, social life, and day-to-day activities. On the other hand, reducing your rate of breastfeeding means losing its function as a natural birth control, since nursing is only proven to be effective for preventing pregnancy when done exclusively on demand.

This method of birth control is not percent effective in preventing pregnancy. You might also see postpartum weight loss slowing down. However, research is mixed on the effects of breastfeeding as a weight loss aid. A study showed exclusive breastfeeding for 3 months resulted in just a 1. Related: Which forms of birth control are safe to use while breastfeeding? Why combine breast and bottle? You may want to combine breastfeeding with bottle feeding if you: are breastfeeding and want to use a bottle to offer your baby some expressed breast milk want to breastfeed for some of your baby's feeds, but give bottles of formula for 1 or more feeds are bottle feeding your baby and want to start breastfeeding need to leave your baby and want to make sure they have some milk while you're away Introducing formula feeds can affect the amount of breast milk you produce.

Introducing formula feeds If you're combining breastfeeding with formula feeds both you and your baby can carry on enjoying the benefits of breastfeeding. If you choose to introduce infant formula: it's best to do it gradually to give your body time to reduce the amount of milk it makes — this helps lower your chance of getting uncomfortable, swollen breasts, or mastitis if you're going back to work, start a few weeks beforehand to give both of you time to readjust if your baby is 6 months old or more and can drink milk from a cup, you may not need to introduce a bottle at all For more information, see drinks and cups for babies.

Giving your baby their first bottle It may take a while for a breastfed baby to get the hang of bottle feeding, because they need to use a different sucking action. Restarting breastfeeding If you want to start breastfeeding more and give your baby fewer bottles, it's a good idea to ask your midwife, health visitor or breastfeeding supporter for support. These tips may help too: Hold and cuddle your baby as much as possible , ideally skin to skin.

This will encourage your body to make milk and your baby to feed. Express your breast milk regularly. Expressing releases the hormone prolactin, which stimulates your breasts to make milk. Skip to content Skip to navigation. About mixed feeding or supplementing breastmilk with formula Breastfeeding has many benefits for babies and their mums.

Mixed feeding is usually needed for only a short period of time. Worried about milk supply? Before you try mixed feeding There are several things to think about before you try mixed feeding.