Talk to me about supplementing with formula.

laowaigringa · May 2014

I have ebf'd up to now but have kinda started thinking about adding some formula in once in a while. I feel like I'm always just barely ahead of the game in keeping a stash of pumped bottles in the fridge for the nanny and am just finding it a time-consuming pain to be pumping all the time. Also hoping it might help fill her up and get her to sttn, which she had only ever done twice. Has anyone else started to supplement? How's it going? How did LO take it? Any regrets? Any advice?

MrsW062610 · May 2014

I'm interested in this too....barely keeping ahead and trying not to dip into the freezer stash because I want that for the Fall to continue giving her BM once I stop breastfeeding in August. Also may combo formula and BM in the fall.

sugarland726 · May 2014

laowaigringa said:

I have ebf'd up to now but have kinda started thinking about adding some formula in once in a while. I feel like I'm always just barely ahead of the game in keeping a stash of pumped bottles in the fridge for the nanny and am just finding it a time-consuming pain to be pumping all the time. Also hoping it might help fill her up and get her to sttn, which she had only ever done twice. Has anyone else started to supplement? How's it going? How did LO take it? Any regrets? Any advice?

That is an old wives tale and a misnomer about formula. Plenty of FF babies don't sleep well either.

vterp · May 2014

I EP and supplement.

The way I do it is I give her breast milk first. She gets 4 ozs of breast milk first thing in the AM. I'm usually able to leave 2 bottles of about 3 ozs each. She'll usually get a full bottle of formula (4-5 oz depending on her hunger level) before I get home from work and sometimes she'll get an ounce or two of formula after one of the 3 oz breast milk bottles if she still seems hungry or if the bottle is shy of 3 oz.

Once I'm home, I usually have another 2 or 3 oz bottle for her and hopefully I've also pumped her bedtime bottle (5 oz). Sometimes I only come home with enough for her bedtime bottle.

She'll have the 2-3 oz breast milk bottle (when available, if not it's 4-5 oz of formula) sometime between 5 and 6:30 and her bedtime bottle happens around 8 PM. There may be another ounce or two of formula at one of the feedings depending on how hungry she is.

My Mom watches her while I'm at work and I did have to make sure she wasn't over-feeding her. There was a point where she was giving her formula after EVERY breast milk bottle or wanting to give her 4-5 ounces of breast milk every time. Since I've been able to show her how to pace the feeds and to try soothing methods other than the bottle if she's still fussy after eating, she's been taking a lot less formula.

LO doesn't seem to have a preference, I wouldn't do it just to get to STTN, formula doesn't guarantee that at all.

ababymaybe · May 2014

You have to be careful introducing formula into an EBF situation. If you don't pump for those feeds you're replacing, you can easily start to run into supply problems as your body thinks that baby needs less milk. Or, you can end up with mastitis if you miss a feed (been there done that).

I am bad about keeping a stash, so DS has had the odd bit of formula. But, I always pump to make up any bottle feed (the issue I have is that I don't tend to pump much at a time-- hence the formula addition).

I know it seems like most babies this are are STTN, but in reality I think it's still only 50/50. My EBF has never slept through a full night (which I consider to be 11-12 hours as that's how much night sleep they need) and that is totally normal! He has by the 5-6 hour definition though.

worleygirl · May 2014

I sometimes supplement for evening bottle if I haven't pumped enough. She has never STTN.

Unknown · May 2014

This content has been removed.

tahloulah10 · May 2014

MarBee1214 said:

sugarland726 said:

laowaigringa said:

I have ebf'd up to now but have kinda started thinking about adding some formula in once in a while. I feel like I'm always just barely ahead of the game in keeping a stash of pumped bottles in the fridge for the nanny and am just finding it a time-consuming pain to be pumping all the time. Also hoping it might help fill her up and get her to sttn, which she had only ever done twice. Has anyone else started to supplement? How's it going? How did LO take it? Any regrets? Any advice?

That is an old wives tale and a misnomer about formula. Plenty of FF babies don't sleep well either.

::raises DD's hand::

This made me LOL, @MarBee1214‌

Yeah, introducing formula will not guarantee the end of sleepless nights. Adding on to what PPs have said, it's all about supply and demand. Also, I really haven't been too worried about building up a significant freezer stash and that keeps me a lot more relaxed. I wouldn't worry so much about it; is there a reason why you have the end-date of August for BFing? If it's because of low supply/hassle of pumping, start adding supply boosters to your routine (up water intake, eat oatmeal, make lactation cookies, etc.). I wasn't pumping enough and starting eating oatmeal for breakfast each morning. My first pump at work is always my best because of the oatmeal. Good luck!

thelittlepear · May 2014

MarBee1214 said:

sugarland726 said:

laowaigringa said:

I have ebf'd up to now but have kinda started thinking about adding some formula in once in a while. I feel like I'm always just barely ahead of the game in keeping a stash of pumped bottles in the fridge for the nanny and am just finding it a time-consuming pain to be pumping all the time. Also hoping it might help fill her up and get her to sttn, which she had only ever done twice. Has anyone else started to supplement? How's it going? How did LO take it? Any regrets? Any advice?

That is an old wives tale and a misnomer about formula. Plenty of FF babies don't sleep well either.

::raises DD's hand::

We're BF/FF (mostly FF, due to my low supply). Want to know how many times I was up in the night last night? 7. And that doesn't include how many times she got up before I went to bed. Granted, we are in the middle of the 4 month wakeful, but even before, she would be up once or twice. Formula is definitely not a guarantee for STTN!

laowaigringa · May 2014

Yeah I suppose not. I have a friend down the road with a LO ten days older than mine, she was ebf and then switched to ff and that's when she started sttn. Could have just been a coincidence, but a girl can dream can't she! But I think I distracted a bit from my real question by mentioning sttn. Really I want to know if supplementing with formula has worked well for people, if your LO took to the change well, doesn't mind switching back and forth, etc. I feel like it's hard to keep pace with pumping enough to leave for the nanny during the day. If I could just give one bottle of formula a day, it would knock 15 min off my evening routine and I could get to bed that much earlier!

worleygirl · May 2014

@laowaigringa‌ I pretty much EP now bc DD is very distracted nursing. I was able to pump enough but I've been having to supplement some lately. I have a small stash from when I was on leave but sometimes using formula is easier than thawing. Here's my basic routine: bf in night (trying to wean from this) pump at 9am,12,3,7,9pm. DD usually has 3 bottles at school then 2 at home in evening. All are 4oz. The problem I'm having now is that I'm trying to do bottle in motn as she was hungry but falling asleep nursing and doing it on and off all night. I've started giving bottle and as a result I'm short on milk. I don't mind supplementing. I use Similac for Supplementing (marketing ploy, I'm sure) and I give straight formula. I don't mix w BM. I'm ok with putting unfinished BM bottle back in fridge but I prefer to dump formula. DD doesn't seem to notice. Hope that helps.

SunflowersBride · May 2014

What is your pumping situation? How many times a day do you pump, and how many ounces are you getting? Could you nurse your baby at night rather than pump and give a bottle of formula? If you are doing more pumping than nursing, maybe try to nurse baby more often when you are with her and only pumping while at work? Just offering some alternative suggestions, as one bottle of formula a day may not be a huge issue, but many people start out doing that and it starts you down a slippery slope of decreasing your supply even further. Of course, if your plan is to eventually switch over to formula completely then it shouldn't be an issue. But if you want to continue to BF, I would work on keeping your supply up and BF when with your baby as much as possible, which is more typically more efficient than pumping and should help maintain supply.

ChuggingWater · May 2014

At bedtime, we nurse left, nurse right, two oz bottle of formula, then nurse again. Why the bottle? Because he was screaming because my supply is so low by that point in the day. I respond well to the pump and have pumped instead at that point and get 1/3-1/2 of what I normally get.

I'm comfortable with formula though.

chicki1012 · May 2014

So I supplement DS with similac supplementation formula. I don't regret cause I can't pump enough either since going back to work. I normally put mostly BM in his daycare bottles say 3 oz and 1 oz formula or do half and half to get your milk stash up. He does great with it, doesn't mind the taste either. But he takes straight BM before bed in bottle and is STTN.

Want a personalized experience?

Talk to me about supplementing with formula.

Re: Talk to me about supplementing with formula.

Choose Another Board

Search Boards