January 2011 Moms

Another Q: Supplementing w/formula?

I'm considering supplementing breastmilk with formula. DH has done a lot of reading online and says that once we start with formula, Lucian won't take 'the boob' as easy because formula is sweeter.

I'm not talking about replacing half of his meals; just maybe one or two a day to get him used to the taste and texture of it. (I've had a few BFing issues such as blood in my milk -a lot- and one breast not producing enough, so this is kind of insurance.)

If any of you have supplemented, has it worked out well or not-so-much?

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Re: Another Q: Supplementing w/formula?

  • I had to supplement with formula the first week and a half waiting for my milk to come in.  It was fine.  DD jumped on the boob no problem.  I found she much preferred to nurse and we would nurse her first then offer a bottle.  She was still hungry so she would take about 1 oz.  When she stopped wanting the bottle after nursing or only taking a tiny amount, we knew she was getting enough from me.  The blood in your milk is gross but won't hurt her.  DD had some bloody drool (very Twilight) a few times before I got a nipple shield. 
    I give up trying to get a ticker.  I have a DD that is 2.5 years old and is awesome.  Maybe I'll add a quote to distinguish myself.  Hmmm.  How about...

    "It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?" - A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
  • We supplemented with formula for about a week while she was NICUing it up.  She was down with it at the time, but we still tried the boob first each time, then gave her the bottle.  We have quite a bit of formula left over from the hospital, and at this point she refuses to eat it.  It's not the bottle itself or nipple confusion, because we give her a bottle of breastmilk every 2-3 days, and she's taken the bottle from me, H, a grandma and a couple visitors... she just legit doesn't like formula anymore, apparently.  BM is also rather sweet, fyi.

    The thing is though, all kids are different.  My kid is super low-maintenance in general, so it makes sense that she'd be low-maintenance with feeding, too.  I also think that the switching between the silicone shield, the bottle nipple & my boob helped a lot, because she got used to getting my milk from a few different 'sources', but for other kids nipple confusion is a real thing.

    I'd just say, don't be discouraged one way or the other.  Your kid will grow up just fine either way, really.

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  • We have had to supplement with formula. I couldn't produce enough quickly enough and he was getting jaundice and we had to watch his birthweight loss. Plus the poor baby was trying to suck on everything all the time, and I was exhausted. So I think it was a good decision for us and have had no issues with him not taking the breast milk or nursing. He is really good at nursing, but falls asleep too much and never gets enough on his own, so I pump too and give him breast milk in a bottle after nursing so he gets enough food! Maybe he is starting early for a growing boy, but this baby is HUNGRY! :) I have found the formula works better at night because we can feed him more quickly and get more sleep, the pumped breast milk will work for this too, I just have to start producing enough to be able to save it up for the night!
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  • Supplementing went ok for us. He had no problem going back in forth between formula and breast milk. But we did have a problem getting him to latch at first after we gave him his first bottle. However we tried a breast shield, used it for a couple days and then i was able to get rid of the nipple shield and have almost no problem between latching to the boob or bottle.
  • I have had the same type of results as everyone else. We do about one bottle of formula a day just to give my sore nipples a little rest. He's had no issue with BFing even from the start and it doesn't seem that a little bit if formula is causing one. Plus remember your breast milk has changing flavors depending on your diet.
  • My supply tends to decrease dramatically at night so we usually supplement DS a bottle of formula before bedtime. He does fine and nurses the rest of the time and also takes BM from a bottle.
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  • We did ~1 bottle of formula day 3 to about day 7 and had no issues.
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