Does anyone here not breastfeed?

lizal

I've been breastfeeding/pumping the whole time since DS was born.  He is now two months and he is a much better bottle feeder than breastfeeder.  I'm not producing enough milk to meet his demands and will probably be switching to formula and I feel so guilty.  Has anyone here had to switch to formula?  If so, how did it go and what did you use?  Also, what kind of water did you mix it with?  Boiled then cooled, tap, or bottled?

msalinardi@live.com

DD has always been bottled fed, even in the NICU. My milk never came in so I was never able to BF. She eats Enfamil Enfacare, which gives her extra calories since she was born so tiny. We ONLY use distilled water. We actually get the 5 gallon bottles and use a water cooler to dispense it. It makes life much easier!!!

jcsntms06

I've been bottle feeding DD since she has been home from the NICU. When she was in the NICU they bottle fed her, so she never got use to the breast. I was a little sad by that, because I really wanted to BF her. I still pump, but I supplement with formula high in calories and  add that to my expressed breast milk. I was worried as well that she wasn't getting enough breastmilk and thought that I was going have to change to all formula, but so far, I haven't changed to just formula. I plan on pump until I have no milk left. We are using Good Start (not sure if that's the best formula, but my doctor wasn't to concerned). I actually use tap water that has been filtered.

NotJustAnAuntie

I never breastfed due to medications I'm on... Max was on Pregestimil in the NICU, and we switched him to Neosure at discharge, and then to regular formula when he turned 1.

We just used tap or bottled water... using water that's been boiled and then cooled can actually increase spitting up! The cooled water encourages burping, which can be bad with a reflux-y baby! 

Our tap water at home was fine, but we used water if we were somewhere different... like my sister's tap water made him barf every single time. (So weird, and he drinks it plain now without problems)

JessAndi

I BF pretty rarely - I pump and bottle feed to make sure he's getting enough.  I think he would be BFing all day, otherwise!  I also have to supplement with formula, since I'm not a super-producer.  We mix it with bottled water and use Enfamil.

Good luck!  Try not to feel guilty - you're doing what is best for you and your baby!

franciscaz

I pump and only get one bottle of breast milk for them a day.  It isn't much but there are health benefits so that is why I've not fully quit.  They do great on formula though and sometimes I am tempted to just give up. 

We use distilled water for the formula with Enfacare formula.  

SBMBride406

I was never able to breastfeed (my milk never came in). We used Neosure until he was 8 weeks and then switched to Good Start (easier on the belly). I mixed it with Nursery Water until he was 6 months and then switched to tap water.

lizal

Thanks everyone for the replies.  This makes me feel much better.

Mommy2Gav

I breastfeed my daughter but didn't get the chance for my preemie son. Don't feel guilty. If switching to formula is what's best, do it! As far as the water question, I live in an area with good tap water so that is what I used. However, my inlaws have awful water so we used bottled water while there.

lemen99

I pump and give Andrew expressed milk.  We used to fortify the milk with Neosure and then Nutramigen formula.  We haven't had to use water yet - I think tap water would be okay in some instances but we are getting a water filter for peace of mind.

borc0080

I pump and give DD bottles of BM, fortified with Neosure and daily vitamins and iron supplement.  She did some BFing in the NICU, but once we introduced the bottle and she figured out there was an easier way, she just screamed every time she was put to breast. 

jdiaz79

I am down to only one bottle of expressed bm a day as well. We started with only expressed bm fortified w/Neosure. LO cannot bf due to extreme suck and swallow issues. For all other feedings, he is getting Alimentum.