Switching from BF to FF - advice on how?

Re: Switching from BF to FF - advice on how?

• Alexandra*sMom member

  September 2010

  If you could, I would try to cut it all slowly to ease it for both of you.  I weened my first over 6 weeks which included eliminating pumping at work (which I hated) and kept BF morning and night (which I loved).  I think it is so much easier to cut one session a week if you can.  So, I personally would try to skip a pumping first.  GL!

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• Vaness

  September 2010

  Hi...

  I just went through this during the same time period.  I EBF for 3 months my daughter and she is now at almost 5 months FF.  I was going back to work and gave myself 5-6 weeks before starting work to transition her from BM to FF.  This is what I did and I really never felt any pain...it was gradual and I may have been engorged once or twice.  At those times I would pump half of what I had not all b/c if you do then your body assumes it needs to make more.  I pumped enough to remove the pain.

  Fortunately, you have already introduced a bottle and you have no issues there.  I had introduced a bottle when she was 1 month but I got lazy after a while and didn't want to pump/bottle.  So I had to re-introduce the bottle and formula at 3 months.  I started with one feeding with 2-4oz in the bottle...I never mixed with BM (I've heard it's not a good idea to do so IMO).  After a few days I introduced another feeding of 4oz.  By now she had gotten used to the amount so I increased.  So for the first week I did pump during these times that I was FF and stored/freezed.  I decided to give her the two feedings for at least 2 weeks.  But my second week I would only pump one feeding (therefore I would extend my time between BF and pumping...close to 6 hours now - she was feeding every 2-3 hours by then).  By the third week I increased it to another feeding of FF and she was still at 4oz but I also removed still had only one pumping session....but again continued to increase my time w/o BF.  By the time she was 4 months I stopped pumping, she was almost to 4 FF btw 4-6oz and I was only BF morning and night.  I was able to have a gap of nearly 10 hours or so.  And by the time I started work she was already doing 6oz and I was giving her the milk I stored during those weeks (at least once a day) and stopped the morning and night.  Now having been back for nearly 3 weeks she is FF only and will start solids this weekend as a 5 month old.

  Good luck and hope this helps!

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• lindsleek member

  September 2010

  I started cutting out a feeding a week when DD was 3 months old. I replaced that feeding with formula. She did fine on the formula!

  We are down to 2 feedings a day now and I will be cutting out another one this week. I was mostly scared on engorement from just letting my milk go. This gradual process has really worked well for us. I love to nurse DD at night, so I may keep that night feeding for a while once I'm down to one. But I would say my breasts really took well to the cutting out a feeding a week thing... I never felt uncomfortable.

  High risk momma: Diagnosed with a partially abrupted placenta at 32 weeks and sentenced to strict bed rest for the remainder. } {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252 \strokec2 }

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