How to combine formula with breast milk?

Powdered milk is becoming more popular and increasingly popular. However, should infant formula be fed with breastmilk? For the answer, please read the following article from aFamilyToday Health.

Ha Linh, 36 years old, just gave birth to lovely twins. During her pregnancy, she thought that she would breastfeed her baby by all means. However, after giving birth, Linh was always in a state of lack of milk. Her milk is not enough to feed 2 babies at the same time. Therefore, she had to use formula with breast milk to breastfeed .

At first, Linh felt very disappointed in herself, but when she saw that her baby did not have enough breastmilk, she had to accept the combination of formula feeding with breast milk. Formula milk (powdered milk) contains many nutrients that are essential for your baby's development. However, giving your baby formula does not mean you will stop breastfeeding. The combination of these 2 milks will be very helpful.

When using powdered milk in combination with breast milk

1. The mother does not have enough milk for the baby

Normally, the more you feed your baby, the more milk will be produced. However, when there is a problem such as hospitalization, you and your baby are separated for a longer time than usual, the baby is not feeding well, you will have difficulty producing milk. There are some women who still can't make enough milk even when everything is normal. This is quite common, especially in women who have had breast surgery or older women. The older a woman is, the less efficient the production of breast milk will be.

If your baby still feels hungry after you feed your baby, chances are your baby is not getting enough milk. Ask your doctor about your baby's weight and then keep track of how much your baby gets each feeding. In addition to feeding your baby the usual way, you can express milk to increase milk production or to feed your baby more formula in a short time.

Tip:  Breastfeeding stimulates milk production more than expressing milk. Some women with nipple pain often decide to stop breastfeeding and expressing milk. However, this can reduce your milk production. If you want to feed your baby more, you can mix expressed breastmilk with formula milk in the same bottle. If your baby is new to bottle feeding, prepare him for a small bottle. If you are twins, you can breastfeed one baby and one bottle, and then switch back to the next feed.

2. Mom cannot express milk

Some mothers often decide to stop breastfeeding when they return to work. This is quite common because expressing breast milk at the company often makes mothers feel stressed. However, you can still maintain your breastmilk by giving your baby formula when you go to work. Before work and from work, you breastfeed your baby. The combination not only relieves you stress, but also helps your baby receive the nutrients it needs from breast milk. Within 1-2 weeks, your body will adapt to milk production when your baby needs, milk will be produced more early in the morning and at night.

Hint: A  few weeks before you return to work, start expressing milk and bottle feeding 1-2 times a day. This will help reduce milk production at noon. If your breasts feel tight at work, go to the bathroom and express gently to reduce the discomfort. On the weekends, try to breastfeed your baby to keep milk production.

3. Mom wants to sleep more

Many mothers can adapt well to waking up at night to breastfeed, but others find it difficult to do. Breastfeeding is a very difficult job and leaves many women vulnerable to depression. Sleep is essential to maintaining a healthy mental state.

Therefore, you can ask your husband or loved one to breastfeed your baby at night so that you can sleep more. In addition, formula milk also helps babies wake up less because milk takes longer to digest, so your baby will feel full longer.

Tip:  You can ask your husband to feed your baby at 11pm so you can get a full night's sleep. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but over time your body will get used to.

Signs that your baby needs additional formula to grow

Parents should consult a doctor when there are any concerns about weight gain, eating habits or overall  development in a child . Here are some signs that your baby needs formula:

Lose more weight than at birth. Newborn babies lose up to 10% of their body weight in the first 5 days of life. On the fifth day, the baby starts gaining about 29g per day and by 2 weeks, the baby will regain its first day's weight.

A mother's nipples don't feel soft or her breasts are empty after breastfeeding

Babies change diapers less than 6 times in 24 hours at 5 days of age

Babies fussy or cry or fall into a state of fatigue, drowsiness most of the time.

Time for bottle feeding

If your baby is born, you should wait until your baby is at least a month old before formula feeding. If your baby is over 1 month old, you can give your baby formula at any time.

The best way for your baby to get used to formula

Some babies will naturally switch to a bottle. Your baby can suck anything mom gives him. However, others react immediately to a bottle-feeding, especially when the mother gives the bottle to the baby. This is because babies can smell their mothers and prefer to breastfeed because breastmilk is usually sweeter naturally.

To make it easier for the baby formula to be supplemented with formula, ask your husband or relative to bottle-feed the baby for the first few times. Another seemingly more effective solution is to bottle feed your baby when he is hungry.

Providing adequate milk for the baby is an essential condition for the baby to develop comprehensively. You should pay attention to the above issues to be able to add milk to your baby in time.