Do I still have a chance?

mrsdenne2b

My baby is 3 days old and on the 2nd night while in the hospital, I ended up supplementing with a bottle because she had nursed for 4 hours straight and seemed to still be starving.  The nurse said that since she had been latching well, that it should be ok to supplement a bottle.  Well, last night the same thing happened and I ended up supplementing 2 bottles (after she had nursed).  I do not want this to become a habit, but I feel like I am starving my baby if I do not give her formula while I'm waiting for my milk to come in (hopefully over the next day or so).  I had prepared a lot to breastfeed, taken classes and read a lot...and everything says do not give a bottle/paci for at least the first 2-3 weeks. 

 Do you think I"ve ruined my chance at breastfeeding successfully? 

LenMont

No! You'll be fine! Just keep nursing and your milk will come in. I started a bottle relatively early but I pumped every single time I gave a bottle. You need to signal your body to keep working at producing! GL!

kittylove

I did the same thing, and here I am one day shy of 9 months and DS hasn't had a drop of formula since he was one week old.

My advice is  to pump while DH gives the bottle, it will help bring your milk in. And hang in there. Those first few weeks are hard but it does get easier.

ncbelle

You haven't ruined your chances at all.  You do need to make sure you at least pump when supplementing if you continue to do so.  Otherwise, your body won't meet your baby's demands.

Babies are born with extra fat to "feed" them while they are waiting for mama' milk to come in.  Plus colostrum has tons of good stuff.  They nurse a lot in the beginning for comfort and because they are just slow.  All that time at the breast is what stimulates milk production though.

MsHan

you will be fine!  We gave our son formual in the hospital, I refused to let him go hungry.  I would try to bf & then pump.  I was not big on the bfing so I basically pumped until 8 weeks when one night he just took to the breast.  I was able to switch from breast to bottle with him without an issue.  I was thankful for the flexibility & I contribute it to me still bf'ing.