Do any of you mix breastmilk and formula on a regular basis? I started doing this because after LO got so used to the taste of breastmilk that she refused to drink formula. I want her to be able to drink formula so when I start working again she wont have issues adjusting at day care. LO is able to drink formula now but I stil give her one bottle a day of mixed breast milk & formula. will this confuse her? do any of you do this regularly?
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I mixed BM and formula the entire time I was pumping and sending LO to daycare with bottles. Since I wasn't pumping enough to fill all the bottles I needed, I would basically fill as many as I could with just BM and then for the mixed bottles I would put the BM in the bottle (mix the formula in a separate bottle) and then fill with formula to the necessary amount. At the end when I really wasn't pumping enough to even remotely keep up with LO's intake I would mix a little BM into each bottle and fill the rest with formula. At the very end I think I may have done some straight formula but always instructed daycare to use those bottles only if needed (we were required to send the number needed +1 each day just in case we were running late). My LO didn't really have a problem drinking straight formula but our daycare heats formula different from BM and if it is a mixture they heat it like BM so I wanted LO to have consistency in bottle temp (BM basically heated to just room temp while formula might have been heated a little warmer, can't really remember).
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I do this. I don't produce enough milk for LO to BF exclusively but I pump and get some milk, so we mostly give her formula with some breast milk mixed in. The visiting nurse who followed up with us said to just make your formula like normal (i.e., use correct water/formula ratio to make 2 oz. of formula), and then add in whatever amount of breast milk you want to the formula.
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yes I mix my formula with the right amount of water and then add the breastmilk.
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@purrpletulips: Oh I see... yeah I think I will be do the same as you. one thing I worry about is, I've been you shouldnt shake breastmilk, sometimes I worry they will forget that it is breastmilk and will shake it vigorously.
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@MrsBells: I labeled each bottle with its contents so they would know since I wanted the only formula ones to be used only if necessary (would put the date and something like BM or BM/F or F). DH got made at one point because he said I was wasting formula by sending bottles that almost always came back and would then have to be tossed. We solved that by taking in some of the pre-mixed 2oz bottles you can buy at the grocery so they would always have extra on hand if needed.
If you are sending the bottles premixed I can't see why they would need to shake them but understand the concern. -
@purrpletulips: Ok that makes sense
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My lactation consultant said that mixing is totally fine.
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@Mrsbells: i've known a lot of baby nurses, nannies, etc. and they ALL shake breastmilk. when i tell them they're not supposed to, they have no idea you aren't supposed to!
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I def do this esp when I only have a little bit of breastmilk and not enough for a full meal for the LO. It's been totally fine.
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9 comments