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BF and Formula

checkrdtopcheckrdtop member
in Breastfeeding

My pedi started my LO on formula today after a week of maintaining the same weight and not gaining. He is still below his birth weight.

I have been trying to BF him every two hours and pump afterward. I am taking Fenugreek. I have seen an oral therapist for him and the therapist said that he has a few weak areas in his oral motor skills that might be the reason he is not efficiently nursing at the breast and gave me oral exercises to work on for him. 

My pedi said that if my LO starts gaining on formula and my supply looks like it can keep up with him that I could take him off of formula in the future. I have been crying over this all afternoon but I know formula is essential for my LO at this point and have accepted it. I am just worried that my supply will tank and I will not be able to BF my LO any longer. Has anyone else done this and been successful? 

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Re: BF and Formula

  • JillianAshley6JillianAshley6

    Yup. We were told we had to give DD formula because of jaundice and weight issues. I gave formula, continued to nurse and to pump. I slowly stopped giving her formula, continued to nurse and pump and give her what I pumped and we transitioned back to the breast.

    I'm an exclusive pumper now because of vasospasms in the nipples, but had that not been a problem I could have gotten her entirely back on the breast with no problem. Continue to take Fenugreek, continue to pump and you'll be fine. Even if your supply drops some, you can get it back up. Don't worry about it right now- you are nourishing your baby, thats all that matters!

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  • jrc2009jrc2009 member

    Between getting Thrush and not being able to keep up with LO, I started giving DS 2 or 3 bottles of formula a day when he was a couple of weeks old. After everything got resolved (at about 2.5 months) I started weaning him off of formula and started pumping every time I did give him a bottle. We are now exclusively breastfeeding without issue and I'm building a small stash :) My point is, you can definitely build your supply back up! Would it be possible for you to also pump while giving him formula so your supply doesn't tank?

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  • checkrdtopcheckrdtop member
    Yes, I am still pumping after nursing and giving him formula. I just worry because when I pump I only pump a little...less than a half an oz and I worry that my supply won't increase especially if I end up doing more pumping than nursing.
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  • LnR70707LnR70707 member
    Yes (well, successful to me at least).   DS was early and spent a week in the NICU, so I had to rely mainly on pumping to get my milk to come in and had major supply issues.   I tried to nurse DS every feeding, but we had to limit the time because he couldn't get too tired to drink the formula.  Eventually I went to almost EPing for my own sanity, but I gradually upped my supply by pumping every 3 hrs until almost 3 months (with exceptions some days of course) when DS started to STTN, then I allowed myself a longer stretch at night.  I tried Fenugreek with no luck.  Reglan got me from 8oz a day at 6weeks to 12-16oz a day.  Then domperidone got me to 27ish oz a day (2 rounds lasting about 4 weeks with a break in between) and now I'm at 24oz on no meds.  I nurse in the morning and pump the rest of the time because that is what works for us.  DS went from mostly formula to mostly BM by 4 months.  We still give him one bottle of formula a day only because I didn't want to be on dom for an extended period of time


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    2 years, 2 surgeries, 2 clomid fails, 2 IUIs, 1 loss, IVF #1 - 10/25/10 = BFP!, DS is now 3.5yrs!
    TTC #2 - 6/12 surgery #3, FET #1 & 1.2 = BFN, 12/2012 FET #2 = BFP! DD is 1.5 yrs!
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