from BFing to FFing - if you did it, come in please

crunchymnm · June 2013

So right now we're BFing, and considering switching to formula. I'm not really emotionally attached to it, so that's not a thing for me. I guess I just want to hear others stories on it. I've thought about pumping, but I hate pumping and with 2 kids now I just don't have the time to fit it in. So it's either go all the way one or the other, and I can't decide.

Or more, can't decide when to start and make the switch.

ClandestineX · June 2013

I switched to just formula 2 nights ago,.. my reasoning was since the time I had to supplement, he has been spitting up and choking each time breastfeeding and started to cut his nursings more and more. I think he associated choking to nursing because the moment I letdown he was done. It was a struggle to latch him on again and he latched on and off for 15-20 minutes before just being frustrated.

He never choked with the bottle and with his reflux my breastmilk was too thin I guess. I normally nursed him first, then cereal formula (per doctor's orders) after, before I could get the cereal in him he would spit up about 2oz of breastmilk. Almost each time. Well the nursing went to just nights when he co-sleeps next to me for a few weeks. Now he just will take a pacifier and fall back to sleep..

The sad part is my breasts aren't even engorged... so I guess my body was done too. I am sad about it, but now I can exercise with no limits and ingest things I couldn't before.

OhSewCrafty · June 2013

ClandestineX:
I switched to just formula 2 nights ago,.. my reasoning was since the time I had to supplement, he has been spitting up and choking each time breastfeeding and started to cut his nursings more and more. I think he associated choking to nursing because the moment I letdown he was done. It was a struggle to latch him on again and he latched on and off for 15-20 minutes before just being frustrated.
He never choked with the bottle and with his reflux my breastmilk was too thin I guess. I normally nursed him first, then cereal formula (per doctor's orders) after, before I could get the cereal in him he would spit up about 2oz of breastmilk. Almost each time. Well the nursing went to just nights when he co-sleeps next to me for a few weeks. Now he just will take a pacifier and fall back to sleep..
The sad part is my breasts aren't even engorged... so I guess my body was done too. I am sad about it, but now I can exercise with no limits and ingest things I couldn't before.

Random side note -- have you talked to an LC about an overactive/fast let down? That could be causing the choking and spitting up.

katief27 · June 2013

I did it and it was the best decision for our family. For whatever reason, our colicky baby changed immediately to a sweet laid back boy after we switched. It was a lot less stressful for us and we felt leaving the house was easier because I never was comfortable NIP. It was a positive experience for us.

ClandestineX · June 2013

OhSewCrafty:
Random side note -- have you talked to an LC about an overactive/fast let down? That could be causing the choking and spitting up.

Yes, they tried to have me pinch, they tried different positions, checked his latch...block fed. I had an oversupply too. Nothing helped he choked each time he breastfed.

MKC12/22/2006 · June 2013

I strongly considered it when nursing got really tough. I decided to keep nursing and it did get easier! It took 9 weeks though!

sapphire021 · June 2013

I think we are transitioning right now, but it's not my choice. From the beginning we supplemented at the bedtime feed due to low supply. Recently, LO has decided she only wants the bottle. Cries at the breast and bites. Thing is, I was emotionally attached to it, so it's hard for me. But she seems fine and dandy, which is the important part in the end. I am still trying to keep up pumping, but it's so uncomfortable for me and I hate it, I don't think I can keep it up. I see it slipping away from me and I'm trying to hold on, silly as that sounds!

Kate_C · June 2013

Pumping sucks. No question about it. I have a friend who did this and the most important thing for her was to try to wean over a few days so she wasn't super engorged. I think her baby did fine with the switch and didn't have to mix BM and formula. If your baby doesn't love the taste of formula right away, might mix them for a while. Only you know the right decision for your family. GL!

JSS1002 · June 2013

I did it.

I had ample supply and LO had a very strong latch, but he's BIG. My breasts are HUGE. I could only nurse him in the football position due to the size of my breasts. He started getting so tall that he would butt up against every piece of furniture known to man, and squirm and cry because he was uncomfortable. I had an injury to my right wrist due to the IV they put in me during labor, and it still isn't healed. My wrist wasn't healing and I was in a lot of pain.

So I started pumping a lot and bottle feeding him when I started PT for my wrist. This was great because DH could help, we were more mobile (due to aforementioned reasons I was never great at NIP), and it allowed my wrist to start to heal.

Right around the 2 month mark I realized that we would be paying for formula at our daycare whether we used it or not (included in tuition), and that we were also paying for a set of bottles for him whether we used them or not. And that if he was formula fed the daycare took care of all bottle prep and washing and I wouldn't have to be packing up breast milk and washing bottles at night... I also realized it wasn't going to be realistic for me to be able to keep up with that pumping schedule once I was back at work.

So we slowly started to transition. First by swapping one bottle a day with formula. The second week he got two bottles a day; the third week three bottles, and so on and so forth. I was still pumping once or twice a day and freezing the milk. So his MOTN feeds are breastmilk -- because I can pull it out of the fridge before bed and let it sit for a few hours before he wakes up and needs to eat,and save myself a trip to the kitchen.

I go back to work in two weeks and today is the first day I haven't felt milk come in, so I think I am dried up. which means that I did this pretty much perfectly. I have a huge supply of frozen milk so he'll continue to get some breastmilk for probably another 2-3 weeks.

Hope that helps.

I had originally thought I'd EBF for 6 months to a year, and it was a slightly hard decision for me, but ultimately everybody in my family is happier this way so I know it was the right one! Good luck on whatever you decide!

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from BFing to FFing - if you did it, come in please

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