From BF to FF at 4weeks...any advice?

JustGoWithIt

Hi- I'm new on this board. By the looks of it, you ladies appear to be very helpful and supportive of others decisions to FF. It SOOOOO nice to find a space like this.

My almost 3 week old continues to loose weight. Not back to birth weight yet. He has been BF from the beginning with just one oz of formula supplement daily for the last week. I tried pumping but was in horrible pain so I've taken a week off of trying to pump. I might try again this weekend. 

Anyway, the continued lack of weight gain and constant pain for me have me considering switching to FF in the next few weeks. DS#1 was basically FF from the start due to low supply and latch issues, so FF is not foreign to me, but switching is...For those that have made the switch after a few weeks of BF, do you have any suggestions/advice? I have two big concerns at this point:

1) LO has had bad gas issues for a little over a week (before we started the formula) and some watery poo. It's still brown/mustard colored, but very loose. We started giving him the gas drops a few days ago and I do think it is helping the gas, not the poo. Wondering if he has some sort of allergy/need a special formula. We've been using Gentleease to supplement for now.

2) LO clearly comfort nurses at night. While I'm happy to be able to soothe him, after 2hrs straight it gets to be a bit much & I can't get him to take a pacifier. Maybe if there is not milk there he'll take to the pacifier? Anyone else had this issue?

And of course, if you've done this before and have any other handy tips, PLEASE share! I'm all ears!

JenW1029

Not a lot q of advice other than do what's best for you. It's just food. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty. I have a happy 4 month old growing boy and he's been on formula since nearly birth for different reasons. Good luck.

JustGoWithIt

Thanks everyone.

@encchanted: I suspected that is what would happen regarding the paci. Also, met with ped yesterday too...only gained one oz in 5 days, so we are upping the amount up supplements now.

@starscream: thanks for the tip on the pump. I think I might have tried too much at first last time. This time I will start low on those pump settings and work my way up!

Also, ped didn't seem too worried about the poo I described, so we are going to push forward and expect it will change as our BM to formula ratio changes.

Thanks again to all that responded!

aashley5

It is really hard to find support for formula feeding moms so I was relieved to find this board too!

Link removed by mod.

nova99

I also had to supplement and within a month my milk just went away. Have you tried gerber goodstart soothe? I have been seeing manufacturers coupons for it lately. My son was a little gassy with the gerber "gentle".

nova99

Btw; neither of my kids took to a pacifier.