How I Went From Combi-Feeding To Exclusively Breastfeeding 

I gave birth to my little boy Roen in August 2023 with the vision that I wanted to exclusively breastfeed. 

Breastfeeding, sadly, didn’t come naturally to me. During the first few hours of Roen’s life, the midwives sat with me once and showed me how to encourage Roen to latch on and I thought everything was fine. 

Combi-Feeding Started Straight Away

When we got home that same evening, it was clear to us that Roen was not managing his latch as he was crying continuously for several hours. We then gave him a bottle of formula and he fell asleep instantly. We soon found out that Roen had a tongue tie – which was one of the reasons he just wasn’t able to efficiently latch on and feed. You can read more about my early breastfeeding experience here.

Samantha breastfeeding her newborn son

My feeding journey was not over though, as I continued to persevere with breastfeeding. There was no support however from any lactation consultants and apart from my friend, I had no professional support to help us learn how to breastfeed.

Combi-feeding was in full force at this point. Roen would have a mixture of formula milk and breastmilk and it was suiting our family at the time but I knew this wasn’t what I truly wanted to do. 

Becoming More Dependent on Formula

Over the first few months of Roen’s life, I realised I was becoming more and more dependent on formula and was letting the breastfeeding slip. I was getting used to packing a bottle of ready made formula in my nappy bag, giving Roen formula as his last feed before bed and giving formula whenever I was feeling ‘touched out’.

I was getting used to packing a bottle of ready made formula in my nappy bag, giving Roen formula as his last feed before bed and giving formula whenever I was feeling ‘touched out’.

This went on for about 4 months and it wasn’t what I wanted to do, so I began slowly making some changes to reinstate my milk supply and push forward with breastfeeding. 

Samantha’s son being given a bottle of formula milk

Breaking Out Of The Top-Up Trap

The biggest hurdle for me to overcome was breaking out of the ‘top up trap‘. The top up trap, is a cycle of feeding your baby formula after most, if not every, feed to make sure the baby is ‘full’. This can shatter a breastfeeding mums confidence and affect milk supply. I had seen so many things on social media, especially when pregnant, about topping baby up but didn’t read up on any of the negatives that can come with it.

I started giving Roen a bottle after most feeds on the boob after I was becoming concerned that he was not getting enough milk. As this habit became more frequent, Roen began to become more frustrated when presented with the boob as he had to work to get the milk from my breast instead of just getting it straight away from a bottle. This then led to several nursing strikes and blocked milk ducts. I was going down a slippery slope especially when a nursing strike hit, as my go to would be to offer formula straight away instead of allowing him to come back to the boob in his own time.

After a few months of being in the cycle of bottle after boobs, I realised that I needed to try and break out of this habit. I began with one feed at a time, not offering a bottle. This was very hard to begin with as Roen had become dependent on this formula. Due to the nature of breastmilk, this did result in Roen feeding more frequently, but with some perseverance and time, I stopped giving him a bottle after every feed. 

Stopping The Bottle Of Formula Before Bed

Another big hurdle I had to cross to break the combi-feeding was the formula feed before bed. All over mum groups and social media, I was reading about mum’s filling their babies up with formula before bed so their babies would sleep longer in the night. I thought this was an absolutely fantastic idea and every night before bed, Roen would have a full bottle, no boob, with the hope that he would sleep longer.

Looking back at it now, the bottle before bed made no difference to Roen’s quality of sleep. Roen usually sleeps 3 hours at a time, before wanting another feed and drifting off again and this routine was the same regardless of whether his evening feed was a bottle or breastfeeding.

When I began reading into it, I found out that breast milk alters depending on the time of day, so feeding him on the boob could in fact help him sleep longer rather than filling him up with formula. Breast milk at night contains hormones, which in turn, helps babies create melatonin, the hormone that helps aid quality sleep.

Not Every Baby Sleeps Through The Night!

I also needed to remind myself that not every baby sleeps through the night, in the same way we don’t as adults.

When I became less fixated on getting a full nights sleep and just went with the flow of what Roen’s body clock was telling him, I felt a lot more confident in myself. Now, Roen falls asleep on the boob and this just works well for our family.

Now, Roen falls asleep on the boob and this just works well for our family.

Samantha breastfeeding her son in public

The Confidence To Breastfeed In Public

Another personal barrier that I struggled with, was judgement from people when feeding in public. When Roen was a newborn, I would never leave the house without a bottle of ready made formula. I was so convinced that someone would make a comment about breastfeeding in public and this anxiety hindered how I fed Roen in public. It wasn’t until I began going out with my friend, who was also a breastfeeding mum, that I started to attempt feeding in public.

I was so convinced that someone would make a comment about breastfeeding in public and this anxiety hindered how I fed Roen in public.

Very quickly, I learnt that no one actually cares about feeding in public and all my anxieties were for nothing. After a few weeks, I began not packing a bottle and embracing how beautiful breastfeeding in public is. One bit of advice that I received, was to get some discreet breastfeeding friendly clothes if you are worried about exposing yourself in public, especially when your little one starts to become nosey! There are plenty of sites online where you can get clothing with secret zips/buttons and this was a massive boost in my confidence feeding in public, especially during the winter months.

Samantha’s husband giving their son formula milk

Dads Can Bond With Baby In Many Ways Other Than Bottle Feeding

Finally, something that I see all the time, how will the dad ever bond with the baby if he can’t feed them? When I look back at Roen’s first few weeks, I’ve realised how unbelievably silly that is. Feeding a baby is not the only way you can bond with a baby. Baby’s want affection, warmth, love and safety and they don’t need to get that through their milk alone. 

My biggest advice for new mums struggling with feeding is, do what’s right for you. Be careful with some of the information you get online as it is not always positive and can steer you in a way that you may not want to go. But most importantly, breastfeeding is a skill that takes time to master and you will get there! Perseverance, dedication and surrounding yourself with a supporting group of people will help you in whatever feeding journey you decide to take.

You can read more about Samantha’s breastfeeding here.

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