Can I Mix Breastmilk and Formula?

I have a one year old and I went back to work full time when she was eight weeks old. I pumped three times a day at work. After a few months of this my supply started to decrease. So I asked my pediatrician about giving her some formula. They actually recommended that I mix the breast milk and formula because the taste of the formula is quite different than breast milk. They said some babies don't like to go back to breast milk after they have had formula. I did half breast milk and half formula for a few months. I found it worked very well. My daughter was able to get the nutrition from breast milk and still get enough to eat. Kudos to you for pumping at work. It takes a lot of work and patience for that. :)

Breast milk is always doctor recommended and the best way to feed your baby. However, there may be certain circumstances that you will want to mix breast milk and formula. Since breast milk is so perfect and valuable to your baby, if you mix the two in one bottle and your baby doesn’t take the entire bottle, then you lose some of your most valuable milk, the breast milk. By keeping the two separate, you can give the breast milk priority and use formula only as needed. If you are sure you will need to supplement with formula more than one feeding a day, you could alternate the feedings. Because formula is more difficult for your baby to digest, by interspersing them with the easier-to-digest breast milk, it will put less stress on your baby's system.

Bottle-feeding is very different from breastfeeding. Breastfeeding requires a completely different mouth and tongue movement than sucking from a bottle. You can always switch from breastfeeding to bottle-feeding, but it’s difficult to switch back the other direction. With all the benefits of breastfeeding and breast milk, for both your baby and you, it’s worth trying your best to make it work.

Another thing to consider is when you give your baby formula, you are telling your body to make less breast milk. Many mothers have unknowingly jeopardized their breastfeeding relationship with their babies by giving formula, not knowing that this will reduce their milk supplies. It is a vicious cycle: baby gets some formula, so mom's breasts make less milk....so baby gets more formula, so mom's breasts make even less milk, and so on and so on, until baby is weaned prematurely! If you find yourself needing to give formula, be sure to pump your breasts to make up for the formula the baby receives. Any time you must miss a feeding, pumping is essential to keep up your milk supply. Pump... pump... pump...

Good luck!

Hi-
I pumped for my infant, and would combine breastmilk and formula for him when I didn't have enough. Didn't seem to bother him at all.

I give my daughter a bottle of pumped breast milk and then if she still seems hungry I make a bottle of formula. I do this because i don't want to waste the breast milk if she doesn't finish the bottle. I've also had that suggsted to me by a nurse. If your baby just needs to gain weight add a little formula to the bottle(just the powder). My daughter needed this done because she's tiny. The nutritionist from childrens hospital in Boston told me to add 1 tsp for 3 oz of brest milk. I also pump breast milk because my daughter has a hard time latching on and I'm going to going back to work soon and it's hard work to keep pumping and feeding without feeling attached to the pump or have the baby attached to you so yo can breast feed. Good luck

Yes, you can mix breast milk and formula and you can do it in the same bottle. In fact, that is the best way to transition from one to the other when & if that time comes. Start with just a little bit at a time as if you mix too much formula with the breast milk, the tast will be different andyour baby may reject it. As time goes on, increase the formula as needed.

I mixed formula and breast milk for both my boys. I couldn't pump that much so they would get 1/2 and 1/2 or even if it was only 1oz breastmilk and the rest formula, it was better than no breastmilk. They did wonderful with it and are now healthy almost 3 and 19 months and very healthy...they have had very minimal sicknesses (just colds and one ear infection!). So I say pump what you can and don't stress about it, you are doing a great job!

M., you certainly can suppliment your bottles with formula!! It worked perfectly for me and BOTH my children (Abby 2, Corbin 1)!!! I am a teacher and going back to work meant pumping. The school atmosphere was not very condusive to pumping at the times that I needed to and I was feeling terrible at the thought that I would have to stop breastfeeding alltogether. Mixing with formula stretched out what I called that "liqid gold" and made my life much simpler. My children had no problems at all with taking formula, never even made a funny face or anything. It also will make it easier to wean when you are ready. Enjoy that baby, time is going to fly by!!! take the time and take an xtra sniff of him while he is asleep in your arms, that amazing smell with stay with you in your memory forever!!!
L. M.

Of course you can mix it! Some babies are lactose intolerant so you might want to try a soy-based formula like ProSoBee. Mixing is a good way to not have the baby notice a huge taste or consistency different. The powdered formula keeps better than the liquid so I would try powdered since it it only a supplement and not his primary nutrition - no point in having the liquid spoil in the fridge because you don't use up fast enough. Try adding it to breast milk without added water - the formula may satisfy the baby's hunger. If not, add water in the proportion recommended on the can of formula, and shake. The important thing is NOT to feel badly - you are not failing at nursing, you are not failing at motherhood, your baby is not suffering. He needs the nourishment, and the stress is so bad for you. He's getting close to the age when your pediatrician will probably recommend cereal and fruits - he's growing and that's normal! Do whatever you need to for your child to be healthy and for YOU to be healthy, mentally and physically. GOod luck!

Yes you can put both breast milk and formula in the same bottle. I had to do that when my daughter was first born and my milk was not completely in. I would first measure out and mix the formula together in the bottle and then add the breastmilk and shake together. good luck!

Hi M.!
I don't know what the "official" answer is on this, but I know that I mixed breast milk with formula for all three of my kids. The only thing you want to make sure you don't do is microwave it to heat it. Of course, you shouldn't really heat formula this way anyway, but it will breakdown some of the nutrients in the breast milk. The way I figure it....it takes so much effort to get the breast milk to the bottle, you don't want to do anything that will make it less nutritious!!

Good Luck!
N.

That's what they do in the hospital when babies need a little bit more than they get. It's always ok to mix breastmilk with formula.

Absolutely. Keep in mind that you can increase your mild production if you pump/nurse more frequently. I know it's probably hard because you're working, but if you could use a manual pump and just pump a little bit every time you go to the bathroom (or at least once an hour or so), you might be surprised at how much milk you'll be able to produce for your son. One of the things I used to do was when my baby was nursing on one side, I'd pump the other side, every time. That way, both breasts were being stimulated to make milk during each nursing session. Before long, I was pumping 8 ounces out of one breast every time she'd nurse off the other!

I don't know if that will work for you, or if it's practical for you to try, but I just thought I'd share it because it worked so well for us.

I would say absolutely, because when my twins were in the NNICU, the nurses were doing it with high cal formula so that they would begin to gain weight quickly. Also, per the suggestion of our pediatrician, to try and make your pumped milk last a little longer, your baby doesn't have to have breast milk at every single bottle feed. As long as they are getting it at least once a day, then they are still reaping the benefits of your antibodies and omegas.

M.,
I was mixing in the same bottle and it seemed to be going fine. The pediatrician recommended against it so I stopped. They said it "confuses" their system. (not sure I buy it though) Interesting to hear how many other moms do it! We are now supplememnting with formula in a separate bottle when we don't have enough breast milk. It is probably better for the waste factor alone, like someone else said.
Good Luck.
N. B

Yes, as long as the baby takes the bottle well and will drink the full bottle (you don't want to waste any precious breastmilk). You could start with just 1 oz formula and 4 oz breastmilk (or a smaller totat amount) and see how it goes and then add more in over time if he seems to do fine.

Hi M.,

Sure! why not? I did it with both my kids at times. It may be why the switch to formula was so easy eventually. My husband once spilled some of the breast milk I'd pumped while at work so he had no choice but to add some formula to it. It's really too bad how afraid of formula people can get. I've nursed my daughter (our second) for 10 months and as we've weaned formula has become a necessary part of her diet because babies need to stay hydrated too. Also, there's nothing WRONG with formula so don't feel like you're harming your baby, or your breast milk, by blending!

Good luck!
T.

Absolutely! Just don't use the breastmilk in place of the water to mix the formula as it will make it too concentrated. Mix formula, then add breastmilk.

M.,

It sounds like you are doing a great job, it is hard to keep up with it, especially when you are woking.... I have 3 children... and I breaestfed them as long as they were intersted... my first for only 6 months and my 2nd for 9 months and i am now working on my third, she is almost 6 months old.... I use both breastmilk and formula because it seems my supply has dwindled.... Don't be so hard on yourself, formula is not the enemy.... they will be okay if you do both, but I have heard not to mix them in the bottle, use on eor the other. Good luck! call your Pedi and ask...stay clear of Iron in formula because that can cause constipation in young ones.

The only way I could get my baby to take formula was to mix it with breast milk. I started with 1/4 formula, 3/4 breastmilk....did that for about a week,then I went to 1/2 formula, 1/2 breastmilk, etc, until she got used to the formula and could give her either breast milk or formula interchangeably.

Hi M.

I understand that there is no problem with mixing formula with breastmilk, however I did not do it for one very important reason!!!! If my son did not finish the bottle, then it could go to waste (formula needs to be thrown out after a couple of hours) Then you would waste that "liquid gold" of yours. I read about how often you pumped, and it would be horrible if you had to even waste a drop of it. So my advice would be to just give a small amount of formula by itself. Props to you on exculsively breastfeeding this long! Don't feel guilty if you have to supplement a little formula....your schedule sounds exhausting and your doing great!! ( I also have a little baby boy Jackson who will be 4 months on 2/25/08)
Good Luck with everything!!!!
M. H.