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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
? for moms who BF and use a little formula
i always planned on exclusively BF for at least 6 months to ideally a year, but DS seems so insatiable and isn't sleeping well at all. and i'm pumping extra where i can, but it's really taking a toll on me how much of a full time job exclusively BF is. when i think about using formula i'm beating myself up that i'm failing or something, but i'm getting desperate for some help. i'm thinking about adding a little formula at night (pedi's suggestion) or also using the occasional formula bottle just to give myself a break.
how do you all supplement? how has LO done with it? any tips? i would still pump as BF as much as possible but just supplement a bit....thanks!
diagnosed with stage IV endo via lap surgery
IVF #1 - 27 eggs! 14 fertilized (3 natural, 11 ICSI) 5dt of A embryo, froze 6
BFP on 9/28!
Baby K born via surprise c-section after 15 hrs of labor and he is perfect!!
frozen transfer a success! boy #2 via VBAC
frozen transfer a success! boy #2 via VBAC
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Re: ? for moms who BF and use a little formula
I can never pump enough to keep up with DS's needs so I pump what I can and when its gone he gets formula. I hate it too but at least he's getting some BM. He's done well with it, at 1st he got constipated but prune juice helped and now he has no problems.
GL!
Just do what you can....sometimes that occasional bottle can be a sanity saver. Just don't make it an every day/night thing unless you can pump at that time to keep your supply up and growing during this early weeks, but formula is not poison. He may just be in a growth spurt right now though, so using formula could backfire if your supply doesn't get boosted by his constant nursing....but at the same time sometimes a little rest and a break is all you need to feel human again, and THAT makes for a happy mom.
My DD gets one bottle of formula in the morning (first feeding), and one in the evening (last feeding). I also pump in the evening even though I don't get much out. I seem to get the most pumping first thing in the am so I pump then. The rest of the day I just BF her. While I'm at work DH gives her a bottle of BM.
I had to suppliment in the beggining because Ella was in NICU. However a bottle here an there isn't going to kill anyone.If you give a formula bottle make sure you pump.If not supply will drop. My DH will very rarely give DD a formula bottle if he watches her and I have no BM. I do not make it a everyday thing.
She may get formula 2x a week IF that.
Aww, hun, I've totally been feeling the same way as you during the first month. We don't know what it means to EBF until you actually do.
Rarely do I suppliment with formula, because remember if you start to formula feed without pumping it will mess up your supply BIG TIME. And remember pumping does pump your milk, but it doesn't empty you as your LO does.
Sounds like your LO is going through a growth spurt of sorts. If he is feeding every hour on the hour, he most likley is. During those times because I always feel like I'm out of milk, I will suppliment one feed with Formula, so I could replenish my milk...then I will pump when my breasts feel engorged and use that or store it.
Since our Pedi is suggesting to use a vitamin suppliment, I try to feel for when he will want to feed and pump a bottle (1/2 hour before he is starving) and put the vitamins in the BM.
I know its taking a toll, but what helped me to get through this time, is to think about how easy it is to wip out your breast! How much your saving in money! Think of how long it takes to prep a formula bottle, and go by BRU and see how they charge parents an arm and a leg for formula...thinking about this does help me rationalize the breastfeeding - its when our LO is going through a growth spurt is when I feel like I can't feed him enouh. Trust me I know.
I too wanted to Bf exclusively for at least 6 months but it really was taking a toll on me and I was happier when I supplemented with formula. I started supplementing by bfing my LO during the day and gave her a bottle of formula before she went to sleep. I know people say it's unrelated but I feel that she slept longer stretches by drinking the formula before bed rather than bf. It worked for me. I too felt guilty everytime I gave her formula but I got over that because I knew that if I was happier, she would be happier as well
You have to do what works for the both of you.
To Add:
When they go through spurts, and you get less sleep because your up feeding them more - the stress of not sleeping can also mess with your supply!
To give a bottle of forumla to catch up on sleep will help you mentally as well as physically.
On only BFed for a week or two because of latch and supply issues. Congrats for BFing for over a month! That is way longer than I made it! Anyway, it was still important to me for DD to get breastmilk so I pump and supplement with formula. Unfortunately I just can't keep up with her needs - I pump 6 times a day (it used to be 7 or 8 times, but I don't pump at night anymore) and get 15-18 oz and DD eats around 28 oz a day - so I supplement. She has never had any problems.
At first I felt like I had failed too, but now we are much happier. I hate setting up the pump, pumping, cleaning the pump, packing the pump back up, and then still needing to feed her a bottle, but it isn't going to be forever and her getting breastmilk is important to me. My goal is to pump until she is 6 months old. You have to do what is right for you and your LO. Good luck!
DS gets one bottle of formula a night, and I pump that feeding. ?He is EBF the rest of the day (or gets a bottle of BM now that I'm back at work). ?We've been on this program since he was about a month old.
I started it for a couple reasons: (1) I wasn't planning to BF once I went back to work, so I wanted to get him used to taking formula; (2) I wanted to build up a freezer stash of milk; and (3) it seemed to help him sleep longer at night. ?Obviously, I ended up liking BFing a lot more than I anticipated, and so I'm still doing it now that I'm back at work. ?But it's a relief for me to know that I could stop when I want to, and in some weird way I think it's helped me BF longer. ?Also, I now have a HUGE freezer stash, so even when I do wean him he'll probably get BM for another month. ?
Don't beat yourself up if you decide to do this. ?But at this stage in your BFing, you should pump the feeding that you give a formula bottle (or BF and then supplement with a couple ounces of formula). ?Otherwise you risk hurting your supply.?
This exactly. I couldn't function when I went back to work with the lack of sleep, pumping, BFing, etc. I also felt my DS was up less through the night. It has made everyone in our house much happier in the long run, even though it was hard on me emotionally to make that decision. He still gets a lot of breastmilk. I pumped during his bottle feeding for the first month, too, and it helped build a great supply.