BF & Supplementing w/ Formula

summererdvig

Hey Ladies!

At first my goal was to EBF. This ended up not being possible because of some medications I will have to be put on following an operation shortly after our daughters birth.

I was going to just FF from birth so to avoid her having to make the switch, but was advised by her pediatrician that I can actually do both. That way, once I have my surgery and can no longer provide her with milk, she is used to formula and bottle nipples.

Anyway, at the time of my shower I was planning to just FF so I don't have much supplies as far BF goes. I am looking into getting a pump through my ins but was wondering if any Mamas had any tips, or ideas of things I should get before LO arrives in a few weeks? I know the hospital will have a LC I can speak with, but since I was under the impression I couldn't BF I haven't done much research or preparing for it. I'm not really sure if the hospital will provide me with any creams/nursing pads and if not, which ones are best to get. I figured there's no better way to find out than from Moms who have "been there-done that" or who have prepared these past 8-9 months and taken classes etc!

If any moms currently supplement with formula- or plan to again- and have suggestions for the best way to do so (integrating formula that is), I'd love to hear that too! I'm a FTM so I'm not sure if I can FF and BF from the get-go or if I will need to just BF for a while to get my milk supply to come in.

All babes and bodies are obviously different, but it would put my mind at ease having some idea of what to expect and how to go about getting our LO used to both breast milk and formula.

PS. I know feeding can be a touchy subject. Please know I don't think one way is any better or worse than the other, I'm just excited to be BF our daughter since (for most of my pregnancy) I didn't think I would be able to. As of a few days ago, our daughter was going to be only formula fed so no shame here for whatever people decide to do!! As long as the babies are being fed, who am I to judge?


Thanks in advance Mamas!

Latina211508

I EBF all 3 of my children and I will with this baby too. But there was some sumplementing at times with my first baby when I was at work/school and the milk I left ran out etc. I've personally used enfamil. But I don't have experiences with using different types of formula and my kids never had acid reflux or anything that made me switch. The hospital provided me with the nipple cream but I also bought a tube of my own (lansinoh). They did not provide nursing pads so I did buy the same brand on my own. Those were a must. I also bought an electric medela breast pump. I personally never bough nursing bras but wore a lot of tanks and sport bras. I used avent bottles when my children were older but heard dr brown bottles were amazing. I never took those breastfeeding classes. But they do have a lactationist at the hospital that will help you. They have me a card with a hotline # that you can call anytime. It all came natural to me so honestly don't stress too much. You will do great.

Achae

I'm not sure how soon after birth you'll need to be on the medications that make bf not safe for baby, so that may change the answers some. If it's not right after (like a month?) I wouldn't pump right away and just try to ebf to establish supply. Pumping too early can cause engorgement and over supply which is a tricky beast to slow down. If you want to introduce ff right away, I know some moms would mix their bm with formula whereas others would save the formula for night bottles as bm processes much more quickly (and thus more nightly feedings and more waking for you!). If the medicine in your system is the problem then you wouldn't be feeding baby the pumped milk anyway right? In which case I wouldn't invest in too much as far as pumping supplies go. You will need pads for leaking during the day to handle let downs and possibly at night unless you want to sleep on a towel and just soak that haha. But any little bit of bm is better than none for your baby, even if it's just the first few days of colostrum

summererdvig

@Achae it's will be 4-6 weeks after her birth that I have my transplant and begin the steriods. I didn't know I could mix my BM with formula though, that's awesome! I imagine that would make the introduction to formula easier for her too. my goal is to BF for the first 4-6 weeks and tamper off towards the end and lean more towards formula so that she has an easy transition. If pumping works for me, I'd love to try and pump a nice freeze stash for her for after my surgery, but I have no idea how that will go lol I know for some women it's a breeze and other really struggle with it.

Thanks for the tip! If I can pump any I will try mixing her formula with it so excited to be able to BF our LO after all. Makes me even more excited for her to get here!!!

summererdvig

@Latina211508 I got all dr Browns for my shower when I thought I was exclusively FF so hopefully she likes those!! I didn't know they had resources like a hotline number and stuff, that makes me feel better about it too!! hopefully it comes naturally to me and baby since I didn't really prepare for any of this

bcj0216

You have a ton of great advise already. But i would add that the nurses and LC at the hospital are normally fantastic. If you explain your situation they are the best equipped to not only help with YOUR upcoming bf hurdles, but babies needs in a formula as well. Theyll try many different kinds and help you find a fit or a rhythm that works for you AND LO. I was exactly the opposite of your situation. I wanted to exclusively BF but bc of a condition my LO developed a month after having him I had to exclusively formula feed. It took awhile for me to wrap my head around "failing" at bf but ultimately he was healthy and that was ALL that mattered to me