Breastfeeding and bottle feeding – finding a balance that works 

We find that most parents that choose to breastfeed want to offer their baby a bottle. Whether to work, to go out, to sleep more at night or just to have a break! So let’s chat about how to make breastfeeding and bottle feeding cohesive and sustainable.

First let’s try to understand how the breasts work. It’s supply and demand. Anytime that you pump or you breastfeed your baby, your body says “hey, baby is hungry for this amount at this time, let’s make sure we have enough milk at this time tomorrow.”

This tells to pay attention to three things:

1. Your pump may tell your body to make more or less milk than your baby actually needs at that time. It’s not a perfect science.
2. Boobs tell time? What?
3. If you skip a feeding or a pumping session, your body will think your baby is weaning and doesn’t need as much milk

The GOLDEN RULE is to pump every time that your baby is having a bottle if you want to maintain your supply.

What if I want to mostly breastfeed and offer an occasional bottle?

Sounds great. Go for it. Breastfeeding is often the most convenient feeding option. If you’re with your baby it’s easier to nurse them than to pump and bottle feed them.

If you want your baby to take a bottle, offer a bottle between 1.5-3 weeks old. Once they are used to it, make sure to keep offering a bottle every other day so that they maintain the skill of going back and forth between breast and bottle.

An Example Day:

Wake at 7am and nurse
Nurse at 10am
Parent leaves at 1130 for an appointment at noon. Baby takes a bottle of pumped milk at 1245, Parent pumps after the appt at 130 on the way home.

At 330 the baby is hungry and nurses again

At 530 the baby is hungry and cluster feeds until 630

At 830 the baby nurses to bed

What if I want to mostly bottle feed but breastfeed occasionally?

Working parents often end up mostly pumping and bottle feeding, but still want to nurse their baby at night or on the weekends. Other parents prefer pumping but want the option of breastfeeding if the situation arises.

Babies that are only fed on bottles may lose the skill to breastfeed. We recommend breastfeeding at least 1x every other day so that your baby still is used to both feeding options. Sometimes babies will prefer the bottle and pop off of the breast more which can be frustrating to some parents. Babies will often feed easier when they’re tired!

An Example Day:

Wake at 630 and nurse

Nurse at 830 before leaving for work

Hands-free pump on the way to work 830-9

Take a lunch break at 12 and pump in the break room

At 3pm not able to take a break so use hands-free bra pump at desk

At 530pm nurse the baby when arriving at home, and pumping after to make sure fully empty

At 7pm nursing baby to sleep

3am baby nurses typically 1x overnight

What if I want to supplement formula?

Many parents choose this option. If you don’t want to pump, you can feed your baby formula when you are away, or on overnights, and breastfeed your baby at other times.

Remember that your breasts will only make milk if they are consistently asked to do so. If you don’t pump from 9am-5pm during the week, and you try to exclusively nurse your baby over the weekend- they will likely be frustrated and underfed at the supply.

An Example Day:

Baby nurses at 5am

Baby nurses at 8am

Parent leaves for work and only pumps on her lunchbreak for comfort

Baby has a formula bottle at 11am, 2pm and 5pm

Mom arrives home at 6pm and nurses baby to bed around 8pm

If baby wakes in the night, dad offers a bottle of pumped milk from the day