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Supplementing my formula fed baby by BFing 1-4 x daily, is it worth it?

jesslwjesslw member
in Breastfeeding

I planned on exclusively BFing my son but it just didn't work out. Of course I feel guilty and disappointed, but he loves his formula and is thriving and growing like crazy. I still want him to get some breast milk and I adore the bonding BFing him gives us. My supply is pretty low and some days I only BF him once if it isn't convenient or we have a lot of visitors. Is this even worth it? Is the saying any amount of breast milk is better than none really true? Any one have any tips, advice or personal experiences with "sort of" BFing? I feel like no one does this. Thanks, ladies!

 

ETA: When I nurse my son it doesn't replace a feeding, it's more or less just a little snack or something to tide him over until a feeding. 

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Re: Supplementing my formula fed baby by BFing 1-4 x daily, is it worth it?

  • Cookiecake7Cookiecake7 member
    I had to supplement for about the first six weeks. I was eventually able to get my supply up enough that we now EBF. My feeling is any amount of breastmilk is a good amount. Obviously the more the better, but it's not an all or nothing option. However, I noticed that you said some days you only BF once... do you pump when you aren't able to BF? My lactation consultant said even just ten minutes of pumping will help stimulate your breasts to help you make more milk. I'd really reccomend that to help increase your supply as well. Good luck!
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  • tokenhosertokenhoser member

    https://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/weaning-partial.html

    Is part-time nursing beneficial for baby?

    Absolutely! As long as baby is getting mom's milk, he will continue to receive many benefits from breastmilk and the act of breastfeeding.

    Benefits of partial breastfeeding include:

    • Comfort, bonding, skin-to-skin benefits
      Mom can provide 100% of these even if very little breastmilk is being obtained during nursing.
    • Oral development
      The type of sucking required for breastfeeding improves your baby's oral development (even if he gets little milk).
    • Disease, allergy-prevention, immunological benefits
      Research has shown that the benefits of breastfeeding are generally dose-related: the more breastmilk, the greater the benefit. But even 50 ml of breastmilk per day (or less - there is little research on this) will help to keep your baby healthier than if he received none at all. In fact, the immunities in mom's milk have been shown to increase in concentration as the quantity of milk decreases.
    • Nutritional benefits
      There are components of mother's milk which cannot be duplicated - even a small quantity of these can be invaluable to your baby.

     

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