Can breastfeeding and bottle-feeding be mixed?


Yes, you can mix both. For a successful mixed feeding, it is best to breastfeed when you have ample supply of milk. Mornings are a good time for example and early evenings are a good time to bottle feed when milk supply is likely to be low. Offer your baby a bottle of breast milk every few days while you are still breastfeeding so that she will start accepting bottle as a substitute. Have another family member bottle feed your baby. Never force a bottle until she accepts this way of feeding. Now that you have introduced your baby to bottle feeds (formula or expressed milk), you have to stay committed to breastfeeding as well as bother with the sterilizing of bottles. The other issue is timing. If you have decided to introduce bottle do so at about 1 month to 6 weeks after birth once breastfeeding is well established. If introduced earlier baby can face nipple confusion. Babies are known to reject bottles despite them containing expressed milk if introduced quite late.