Has anyone successfully combo fed (alternating bottle and breast) from birth? Generally I know lactation consultants recommend breast only for a few weeks to establish a good latch but that’s not feasible for us.

We did right from the very beginning and have had zero issues with my supply or with his latch (he’s 10 months now). I think this is very mom/baby dependent. We used MAM bottles and the low flow nipple.

Yes. It’s fine. I know they recommend breast fed only but some people just don’t have the milk. Combo feed if it’s what works. I don’t believe as a new mom you should drive yourself crazy if the milk is not there. Use formula if you have to and enjoy your baby.

We didn’t alternate, but my first was tiny so I would feed him then pump then supplement with a bottle after. Can’t say I recommend this… it feels like there’s no time left to sleep. But, after a few weeks we didn’t have to do this anymore and he always took a bottle with no issues, which was nice.

My second was much easier so we didn’t do this and are now transitioning to combo feeding and it’s been a little rockier. But honestly? Still fine. I dropped one pumping session and got a taste of freedom so we might accelerate the swap to science milk.

Formula is awesome and if that’s best for you and your family—great!

You CAN build your milk supply, even if your baby cannot nurse!

Lactation coaches told me it couldn't be done, but I assure you; it can.


In my case, my child "A" never could latch on (we learned later that A was a silent aspirator). So 2 & 1/2 months with a bottle and failed mistaking and 2 now years with a feeding tube. With my breast pump, I was able to produce more milk than needed -- I got up to 42-46 ounces per day for.manu months. I was freezing soooo much milk.

At 11 & 1/2 months, A took a turn for the worse and was diagnosed with protein intolerance. Taking milk and soy out of my diet was not enough, so the doctors switched to Neocate (a formula impartial from England that contains only amino acids).

A had lots of other medical issues, but the moral of this story is: YOU CAN BRING IN MILK and BUILD UP supply even if your baby doesn't successfully nurse at all.
It takes LOTS of pumping and keeping your fluids up, but it CAN be done.


A got better and is now 24 years old.

Work with a lactation consultant to develop a plan! Some make house calls if you need that. Offering a baby a bottle early without a plan can jeopardize your ability to nurse.

My kids had crappy latch, so we needed to supplement with pumped milk in the early days. What worked for us was using a syringe to get extra milk in them when they were sleeping, but nursing on schedule to develop that habit and latch. I also needed a nipple shield on one side. It was grueling for a couple of weeks, but then breastfeeding became considerably easier and I had a successful exclusive breastfeeding journey for 3 years.

It was absolutely worth the effort to learn to breastfeed.

Yep! Both of my kids combo fed successfully. One by necessity (my first was a very small nicu baby that had trouble latching at first) and the other because I wanted my husband to be able to feed her sometimes. They were both totally fine. My first self weaned from nursing at 11 months and I weaned my second at 20 months.

I did but was always dealing with supply issues. I only ended up breast feeding for about six months.

Yes, my baby’s latch was not great so I would breastfeed as soon as she woke up in the morning but pump for the rest of her bottles throughout the day. We did this until I weaned her at 12 months. She was totally fine but I gotta tell ya, all that pumping was a real PITA.

I did! Baby only had breast milk, either from me or pumped. I breast fed during certain hours and pumped/bottle fed for others so my husband could help.

Yes I did bottle and boob the entire time and started very early with both kids (this 4 week thing is news to me). Mine didn’t mind the bottle of offered by anyone but me, but preferred boob with me. The only negative was pumping early made me oversupply big time. It ended up being fine and I just had extra.

Yes. I stopped breastfeeding at 7 months (when his top teeth came in!) but was doing a combination of breast and formula from day 1.