How to Build the Perfect Combi Feeding Schedule for Your Baby

Creating a combi feeding schedule for your baby helps to give you both consistency in a time that can feel unpredictable. Balancing breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and formula is easier when you have a blueprint that works for your family. A combination feeding schedule that works for you as a family will take the stress out of feeding and meet the baby’s and parent’s needs.

Understanding Combi Feeding Schedules

A “combi feeding schedule” is a term used for families who use more than one feeding method, and introduce formula and breast milk. A combination feeding schedule helps families to balance the best of both feeding methods to match their lifestyle and needs.

As babies grow and develop, the demand for nutrition to meet their needs increases. At times, this can be a lot for nursing mums to balance whether they’re feeding at the breast or pumping to express milk. Introducing a breastfeeding and formula schedule can help alleviate the pressure points as your baby reaches these milestones.

To know if your baby is hungry, they may show some of these baby hunger cues:

• Bringing their hands to their mouth and sucking

• Crying or generally unsettled

• Putting their nose to your breast

• Licking their lips

• Opening and closing their mouth

Sample Combi Feeding Schedules by Age

Combi Feeding Newborns to 6 Months

To help establish breastfeeding, healthcare professionals recommend that you exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 weeks before introducing a bottle. However, introducing a bottle sooner than this milestone may also help you to begin a combi feeding schedule from the get-go.

During this stage, you will experience cluster feeding and sleep regression, and your baby will start to build a curiosity for solid food. Alternating breastfeeding and bottle feeding at a high frequency will help you maintain your supply and meet the demand of your baby’s growing appetite.

Top Tip: When your baby is cluster feeding, allow them to be on or around the breast as much as they need. If you think they are not drinking any milk, and just suckling for comfort, offer formula as a top-up if they need it.

Combi Feeding at 6-8 Months

When you start to wean your baby onto solid food, they will begin with a very small amount of veggie or fruit purees alongside their regular milk. An 8-month-old feeding routine may look quite different than it did at 6 months because, by this stage, their appetite has adjusted to combining solid food with milk. Naturally, this balance means they have slightly less milk now that they’re having solids for one or more of their meals.

Top Tip: Weaning your baby starts as a big experiment. Let them explore new tastes, textures, and smells. Allow some flexibility in your combi feeding schedule as they may want shorter breastfeeds or fewer formula feeds whilst their tummies adjust.

Combi Feeding at 9-10 Months

A 10-month-old eating plan shows an established combi feeding schedule alongside solid food. Your baby will be eating regular meals with the rest of the family, and they may even have dropped a feed as their nap time lessens.

A typical combi feeding schedule at this age may be breastfeeding in the morning and at bedtime and using formula and solids during the day. Expressed breast milk is also a great way to get others involved and if your baby is used to breast milk at bedtime, it’s a good compromise to help them feel more settled if they are used to feeding at the breast.

Top Tip: Keep a stash of expressed breast milk stored in the fridge or freezer to use for top-ups throughout the day. You can mix it with formula milk to transition from breast to formula milk, adjusting the ratio each time.

Common Challenges in Combi Feeding

Learning how to combi feed is one thing, but there are other challenges that you may be faced with on your feeding journey. So for full clarity (and a helpful heads up!), we’ve identified common combi feeding challenges that families experience.

Bottle Refusal in Formula-Fed Babies

A formula-fed baby who is suddenly refusing their bottle can take parents by surprise. Bottle refusal in infants is when they push the bottle away, even when they’re hungry. When this happens, it helps to help them feel settled with something comforting.

• Smelling a mother’s milk

• Being held in a specific position

• Playing gentle music or white noise sounds

If your combi-fed baby is rejecting formula you can try expressing breast milk using a smart breast pump, like the Lola&Lykke Smart Electric Breast Pump. Having expressed breast milk readily available can reduce the chances of bottle rejection. You can also mix breast and formula milk but be sure to prepare this in line with food safety guidelines.

Paced bottle feeding is a technique used to address bottle refusal because it mimics the rhythm and flow of breastfeeding. Your baby can control the pace of the milk flow helping them feel more comfortable with bottle feeding and reducing the chances of your baby pushing the bottle away if they’re still hungry.

Transitioning From Breastfeeding to Formula

Remove the stress of the transition from breastfeeding to formula by investing in a well-structured combined feeding routine and feeding accessories. Finding a baby bottle for breastfed babies doesn’t have to break the bank. The best baby bottle for breastfed babies will have:

• Anti-reflux features

• Slow flow teat (newborn - 6 months)

• Ergonomic-shaped bottle easy for baby to hold too

One of the benefits of having a combi feeding schedule is that your baby will be used to having both breast and formula milk, and you can combine the two to ease the transition and wean them gently onto formula milk.

When to Seek Help

To ensure your baby is getting enough milk it’s important to be aware of the signs so you can recognise them:

• Your baby is losing weight.

• Your baby is still hungry after a feed.

• If you cannot hear your baby sucking or swallowing their milk (their cheeks should appear rounded, instead of hollow, when they are swallowing correctly).

• Your baby’s skin is off-colour.

• Your baby is not producing enough wet or dirty nappies.

If you are in any doubt, contact your healthcare professional or lactation consultant before taking action yourself.

Practical Tips for Success

Now that you’re well on your way to creating a combi feeding schedule that works for your family, these are some handy tips shared by parents who have already walked the same path.

• Be flexible with your routine and take your baby’s lead by following their feeding cues.

• Encourage your partner/carers to share feeding responsibilities.

• Introduce a high-quality breast pump to express breast milk, track how much breast milk your baby is drinking, or ease the transition from breast to formula milk.

• Use an app to track how often your baby feeds and how much they drank to help build a combi feeding schedule.

FAQs About Combi Feeding

When does breastfeeding get easier?

Anything new can feel difficult at first, and with a newborn, you are experiencing a lot of firsts all at once! Breastfeeding can often be a challenge for some nursing mums but there is always a solution or help at hand to guide you through these phases.

For all breastfeeding-related queries, take a look at the Mamahood Manuals or speak directly to our panel of maternal healthcare experts.

Can you mix breast milk from different days?

In most cases, it is safe to mix breast milk collected at different times. However, there are strict guidelines to follow so that the milk is safe for your baby to consume. You can mix breast milk from different days if:

• Your baby is full-term.

• The container, pump, and your hands are clean from possible contamination.

• The milk you have collected hasn’t already been warmed or left out from a previous feed.

Read more about how to safely mix breast milk and formula.