Talk to me about partial weaning/supplementing with formula

umdbride · October 2011

I really wanted to EBF, but I have to admit that it's stressing me out. My supply is just meeting DS's needs, plus I'm starting a new job and have got the upcoming work travel so I think over the next month it is going to be increasingly difficult to fit in time to pump 3x a day (which has become necessary to provide enough milk for DCP). I read on kellymom that some breastmilk is better than none and it got me thinking of partial weaning.

So, if I decide to introduce formula, how do I go about it? I have a ton of samples from when DS was born - should I just use that up first? Would you mix it with breastmilk or give it separately? Do I need to stick with one brand?

Any thoughts on how will this impact my supply or ability to nurse? I'd really like to still be able to nurse in the mornings and evenings, and ideally a couple of times during the day on weekends instead of pumping.

Also, DS LOVES food, so I think he'd be perfectly fine with more food and less breastmilk, but I'm not sure that's nutritionally wise...any thoughts there?

Anything else I'm not considering (either pro EBF or pro formula)?

I'm really open to hearing all suggestions and feedback about what worked or didn't work for you to help me decide. TIA!

DCtoLowcountry · October 2011

I supplemented DS due to low supply and just wanted to say it ended up being the best of both worlds. I enjoyed having the nursing relationship but having the freedom not to be the sole source of liquid nutrition. I think it's easier to pick feeding sessions you want to drop (in this case the mid-day sessions) and plan on dropping one every 5-7 days and supplementing with formula.

With formula, stick to one brand if your LO tolerates it well. It generally takes about 1 week to see if LO will have reactions. I'd offer it straight but that's just because I hate wasting BM in case LO refuses a mixture.

Sofka · October 2011

I didn't supplement but you should not mix formula w/ BM, in case he doesn't like it, you'll end up wasting BM! I think you are supposed to give BM 1st and then if he's still hungry, give formula, so that if he doesn't eat it all, you throw out the stuff you can buy.

At 8mo old, it's OK for him to eat more and nurse less but he should still be taking in a certain amount of BM/formula a day (not sure what oz. though).

If you supplement, your supply will go down, there is no other way around that.

Good luck, whatever you do, remember that you are a good Mom and providing the best care for your son!

umdbride · October 2011

Thanks - this is really helpful! If we're going to supplement I'll make sure to start sooner than later so DS and DH are all set for when I'm away and we've worked out any kinks.

umdbride · October 2011

Sofka:

At 8mo old, it's OK for him to eat more and nurse less but he should still be taking in a certain amount of BM/formula a day (not sure what oz. though).

So I've asked my pedi about this and looked in all the books I have and no one will tell me any amount of ounces, arg! They all say something vague like "let him eat as much food as he wants, but breastmilk or formula will still be his primary source of nutrition" I think DS would eat primarily food and much less milk if offered the option!

Jitterbug2668 · October 2011

DCtoLowcountry:

I supplemented DS due to low supply and just wanted to say it ended up being the best of both worlds. I enjoyed having the nursing relationship but having the freedom not to be the sole source of liquid nutrition. I think it's easier to pick feeding sessions you want to drop (in this case the mid-day sessions) and plan on dropping one every 5-7 days and supplementing with formula.

With formula, stick to one brand if your LO tolerates it well. It generally takes about 1 week to see if LO will have reactions. I'd offer it straight but that's just because I hate wasting BM in case LO refuses a mixture.

this in a nutshell. We had to start supplementing at 6 months when I returned to work and my stash was depleted. At first we mixed half and half but then I realized if he didn't finish it that day I'd have to throw it out so I did straight up formula for 1 bottle a day and he did just fine.

QueSrah · October 2011

umdbride:
Sofka:

At 8mo old, it's OK for him to eat more and nurse less but he should still be taking in a certain amount of BM/formula a day (not sure what oz. though).

So I've asked my pedi about this and looked in all the books I have and no one will tell me any amount of ounces, arg! They all say something vague like "let him eat as much food as he wants, but breastmilk or formula will still be his primary source of nutrition" I think DS would eat primarily food and much less milk if offered the option!

I want to say our ped. said 20-32 oz. per day was good (up to 1 yr. when we were told to get down to around 20-22 oz. of milk), including all bottles and nursing. We maxed out at 4-5.5 oz. bottles at daycare, another 4 or 5 oz. bottle at home and nursing once or twice per night and by 10.5 months we were finally done with the nighttime nursing.

Definitely give your body time to adapt to the lesser pumping/nursing schedule. You will have a few uncomfortable days of "oversupply" feeling as your body gets used to producing less milk.

BirdGirl01 · October 2011

I mixed formula and breastmilk - it was the only way DD would take formula at first. it didn't last long, maybe 2 weeks. I just started with very small bottles so I wouldn't waste much breastmilk.

umdbride · October 2011

thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the advice and especially the support. I can't help but feel a little guilty, like I'm putting my convenience ahead of LO's needs (which I know logically is silly).

emack · October 2011

I just wanted to add that I partially weaned for the same reasons, felt guilty about it then, but am glad I did it. I was so liberated at work and still got to nurse twice a day. For me, I had terrible clogged duct/oversupply problems and that all ended when I stopped pumping. DD did just fine with formula. Try to let go of the guilt if possible. I wish I had felt less guilty. It took me until she was fully on whole milk (and then some) to get over it.

belizeitornot · October 2011

H gets half and half in a day (though lately it's tipped more in favor of formula) and has been since 6 months when she had fallen almost off the growth chart.

I would try giving a small formula only bottle and see how he takes it in the beginning. We never had any problems with her refusing formula and I'm so glad for that. It took a couple instances of having to pitch a whole bottle of mixed before I realized to stop mixing. You can either nurse then supplement, or just try nursing whenever you'd normally feed but add in a full bottle of formula another feeding.

My supply did take a hit but it was already tanking to begin with. I still managed to pump 4 sessions a day and produce all the BM H ate in a day (sometimes more in which case I'd freeze it). I pump 2-3 times a day now, and it didn't change after dropping the 4th pumping session.

Also, since you want to know amounts, I think there is a calc on kellymom for that? H is eating about 20ish ozs of BM/formula a day and 3 meals of solids at 10 months. She used to take in about 25 ozs but in the last month she's dropped about 5 ozs a day.

northernvabride · October 2011

I had the opposite experience on this and just wanted to share, although I agree with the reasoning that you don't want to waste the BM by mixing. With both girls, starting around 6 months, I needed to supplement since my supply was decreasing (even with the same # of pumping sessions). I started mixing 1/3 formula and 2/3 BM and always did, and never had to waste any because they didn't drink it. And I never had to buy formula, I just used samples from the doctor. I did have a few brands over time, but in general I stuck with one brand, since I asked the doc every time I went in for a sample can. I know my babies were very easy in this regard and never had any problems with the brand or amount of formula. As I neared a year, the mix was 1/3 BM and 2/3 formula, and they never had an issue with it. I really wanted them to get BM at every meal and I was worried if they had bottles of just BM or just formula, they would like one and refuse the other. DD#1 was on 6.5oz bottles at her peak and DD#2 peaked at 5.5oz.

With regard to pumping at work, since my supply was decreasing even with 3 daily sessions, it would not have been desirable to drop a pumping session or else I would get even less milk. But if I did, I know it would not have lead me to be engorged at all since my supply was challenged to begin with. And when I did start dropping sessions at work around 11 months, it did not actually cause my supply to go down, since it was already low. And I tried to still nurse on the weekends as much as possible, but I would find we did 1 or 2 bottles a day anyway, to give me a chance to satisfy her fully with one nursing session.

Good luck. Whatever you do will be fine and you are great for trying to figure out how to make it work.

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