guilt: lowered milk, start exclusive formula?

jowen0606

I'm feeling an alarming amount of guilt. Baby is not even 4 months old but since having to return to work, my milk supply has cut down by half and I can no longer keep up with his intake. He is eating over 20oz a day and I'm only able to pump 10. My back stock is down to 6 5oz bags in freezer and I take 2 to day care every day. I'm thinking the only alternative is to start formula but that makes me sad. I've enjoyed the ease of breast feeding my baby and I love the connection. Should I continue to try and pump, out just call it quits?:'(

ldmw

Keep pumping. It's okay to supplement with formula. Most breastfeeding moms have to from time to time and some have to everyday. Any breast milk you are able to provide your baby is great.

Did you pump a lot before going back to work? You may just be adjusting to going back. My supply lowered at first due to the stress but went back up.

SmrBrd2012

Pumping 10 oz is still grea! Plus whatever baby gets when you're home from work. It's totally still worth it to keep pumping/bfing. No need to do exclusive formula unless you want to.

ditzy007

I am in the exact same boat. I've always just pumped in the morning and breastfed the rest of the day no problem. But all of a sudden she seems to be less satisfied with her feedings in the afternoon especially. I feel guilty about introducing formula but when I pump I just hardly get anything except for that morning pump.

erin79

You can absolutely do both!  I don't pump quite enough to send to daycare, so I'm also going through my freezer stash, plus pumping once or twice on the weekends to help fill the gap.  But, I will have to start using some formula in a couple months when my freezer stash is gone.

I did this with my first kid a few years ago.  I still pumped at work (but went down to 2 pump sessions from 3 since I was barely getting anything anyway), and nursed whenever I was home and my supply did not suffer.

Megaphone2752

I'm having to supplement now. I was pretty disappointented about it at first, but she's getting breastmilk at 5/7 feedings which is still good and I feel much better about it after doing it for a couple weeks.

mars8k

Do you exclusively pump?

If i were you i would have started suplrmenting a while back to save my freezer supply but i completely understand why you didn't. There is nothing wrong with doing exclusively formula but if you breastfeed maybe you'd want to do it about twice a day If you exclusively pump then yeah it's a big hassle but in any case it's up to you.

You gave your LO 3-4 months of the best they can get, it's ok if you can't keep up. Formula is a gift from god! Before formula women had to ask other women to breastfeed their babies when they couldn't, imagine having to do that!!

funkychicken789

I'm in the same boat. Today I got so busy at work, I looked at the clock and forgot to do my second pump! When I do pump I'm barely getting 3 oz, so I think I'm mentally finished trying to keep up, but am going to keep going. I figure even 2 oz is better than nothing.

When thinking about successful people they never say "thanks for breastfeeding me" it's always about love, support, and time spent together. I feel like that's more important in mommyhood :-)

saric83

Try not to feel guilty!!  You have absolutely NOTHING to feel guilty about!  Your job is simply to feed him, and regardless if it's BM, formula, or a combo, you're feeding him.  End of story. 

shinderlea

Dont give up! Keep pumping. Try to more frequently. You can also make milk supply boosting teas/shakes. I took lactation plus from honest.com to boost mine back up!

Dont give up, you may regret it! Hang in there

kkokey

This is an excellent video on increasing milk output by doing hand massage during pumping

https://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

ditzy007

I gave in and realized I just wasn't producing enough. Started incorporating formula into breast milk bottle feeds. I felt so pressured about being EBF but have to realize eating is what's more important than just breastfeeding. I'm trying to pump all I can, I talk milk flow supplements. So it's not that I'm not trying but it's just not happening so LO needs a bit more. I just hate feeling so pressures to EBF.

dibbleadabble

Dealing with the same thing! I've been back at work for about a month and a half, my entire freezer supply is completely gone. I try to pump 3 times at work, but sometimes it's just not feasible.

I've been able to produce just enough for him while he's at daycare (about 4, 5oz bottles) but no extra. I started looking into formulas for some supplementing, and just incase of an emergency. I saw Gerber has a specific supplement version for BF moms, however I have no idea if it's any different than a regular formula. We have his 4 month appt tomorrow, so I wanted to ask the doc about that.

I digress! Anyways I think any amount if breast milk is great! The way I see it is that as much as I can give him now is fantastic, and in another month or so I can start to introduce solids. When that day comes, if I can still produce the same amount of milk I am now, we'll be in good shape. Then I probably won't need to supplement anymore. Just have to push through until then.