Formula

June4bride2be

I think I may introduce formula. My kid is always hungry! He never cries after nursing, but I think a bottle of formula a day wouldn't hurt. I also can't really pump anything, and have started using my small stash for cereal and such (most of the milk is from Sept). I never needed it, so I think it should get used.

Since there isn't much left in the freezer, and I don't get enough to pump.....I can't leave him for long. That makes using a spa gc from Sept impossible!!!!

I am not sure how I feel about it all, however I do want to get pregnant soon....and he only has 4 mos to go before whole milk can be introduced. It's ok to do this right? I think I need someone to tell me it's ok, even though I am not giving up nursing.....I am still a little sad.

So....what kind should I try? I have most brands stashed away (samples in RTF and powder). You shouldn't switch switch around once one is working right?

abba916

I am not a doctor but I think introducing some formula is fine...and the switiching around thing- I got different answers when I asked this...

my nurse told me her daughter used whatever the sample was that the office had around and when it was out she would switch- and she said she had no problems

my doctor told me to stick with the same thing unless there is an issue (allergy, spitting up, etc.)

FWIW, I'm using enfamil AR and Lorenzo seems to like it the only issues I see are when I try to use the ready made liquid vs. the powder- he gags on the liquid..I dont know why... 

NikCole

yes, it's fine! You have to do what is best for both of you. I felt the same way when I introduced formula. Evan was also always hungry, and I never got a lot when I pumped. We had 2 OOT weddings, and I was stressing myself out big time over if I was going to have enough to leave w/ my mom.

We had a few sample cans, and he liked them all. Now he is on the Target Up&Up.

Just a warning... your supply might go down when you give formula. We started w/ one bottle a day, or sometimes even just a few oz before bed. Within a month my supply was crap, and eventually he was only nursing first thing in the am. When I tried to nurse him during the day he fought it, and as soon as I made him a bottle he was all over it!

Telyco

I feel like Leah doesn't fill up in the evenings...so we give her a bottle before bed. We give her Enfamil Gentlease. We gave Evan this too. When supplimenting throughout the day in the beginning, our LC said this was a great option for BF babies and she really recommends it - so we stuck with it.

jewelsonu

We introduced formula at 6 months to ethan  and by 9 months he was only nursing once a day. we used enfamil getlease b/c I had samples and it worked for him.  He occassionally got the walgreeens generic version if I didn't have formula checks

emiliemetcalf

Our pedi said the brands don't vary much for the different types, but that you shouldn't keep switching from AR to Soy to Premium, etc.  T does really well on the BJ's brand formula.

June4bride2be

Hm, I have Enfamil Lipel, Similac Advance, Similac sensitive, and Good Start. I just gave him a little of the Enfamil in a sippy.....he didn't seem to care and drank a bit.

 

wendyj

We fed formula from the beginning because he was so small and I wasn't getting any milk. I felt very sad and guilty for a while, but watching him grow helped me get over it quickly. I was told that as long as he didn't have a problem with the basic formula, we could use whatever. I stuck with Enfamil out of fear more than anything. . Abba - Ian had that issue, too. I think it was because the liquid was so much thicker (we used just powder), he had a hard time adjusting to it. Didn't bother me - the liquid really stained and powder didn't.

MelissaSue81

I think its fine to do it! As I'm sure you know, Eve really thrived when we introduced formula.. For her, it definitely made her less interested in nursing though, but I"m pretty sure this is because my supply was SHOT by that time from being back to work and not pumping. So probably about 1-1.5 months after i added formula, we were done nursing..

We also switched brands around a lot.. Eve did fine with them all.. (And when I say fine, I mean spit up everywhere, that was just her normal).. We started with enfamil because I had the most samples of it.. then we did similac, then we tried the gentles, then the soys.. I thought the gentle ones stunk and the soy made her poop smell HORRIBLE.  so ultimately we switched to store brands.. (all store brands are the same powder in a different can.. milk-based=milk based gentle=gentle etc).. So much cheaper..