If you have had to supplement...

DahliaFlower · June 2014

...what has been your formula of choice?

As we are approaching the 8 month mark, DS is still getting exclusively BM and 2 servings of pureed fruit / veggies daily. His solid food intake has been improving significantly in the past couple of weeks. My ultimate goal is to go to 1 year of BF, but I am open to cutting back on pumping sometime after 9 months if needed. I am a professional working mom w/ a work environment which makes it relatively difficult for me to pump. I have been able to manage so far, but as I said, am open to cutting back on pumping at work after 9 months. It occurred to me that if I did need to supplement with formula before DS is 1 year, I didn't have the slightest idea which one I would choose. I am asking for opinions on this board because I am most interested in what moms who have been highly committed to BF would do.

I definitely would want something organic. Please advise. TIA!

chemily8 · June 2014

We have yo use simlac alimentum because she throws up anything else we've tried.

vterp · June 2014

We use Enfamil Gentlease. It's good for 0-12 months and does seem to be easier on her tummy than the Enfamil Newborn.

CNYBride05 · June 2014

At the beginning, we used the samples the hospital gave us and then Up and Up brand sensitive. Why do you think you'll need to supplement and why not just go straight to wcm? He's close enough to 1 for that.

daisy.ramirez · June 2014

We are using the Whole Foods 365 organic milk based formula. He is taking it just fine but we are considering switching him to Earth's Best or Similac Organic advanced because they can be purchased anywhere (especially important when we are out of town). We will probably go with the similac because that's what was recommended to us when we were told he'd need a supplement due to it's similarities to breast milk. O recently did we learn they had an organic version otherwise we may have switched earlier.

DahliaFlower · June 2014

CNYBride05 said:

At the beginning, we used the samples the hospital gave us and then Up and Up brand sensitive. Why do you think you'll need to supplement and why not just go straight to wcm? He's close enough to 1 for that.

I don't know if we do need to supplement necessarily, but I was under the impression that it was advised to avoid WCM until right around the 1 year mark and we are only at 8 months. That being said, I recently found out that as a baby I personally started drinking some WCM in addition to nursing at around the same age DS is now. I have had no issues with milk allergy / intolerance, but of course I am only one individual case.

vvvvvfee · June 2014

as an alternative viewpoint- some experts think it is fine to introduce WCM after 6 months, once baby is introduced to solids. if you're talking about doing this a few months from now, and your LO is still going to be nursing a few times a day, and is well established on solids, i would think that you could just offer WCM. you could always check with your pediatrician for their opinion as well.

from dr. jack newman, breastfeeding expert:

If the baby is breastfeeding a few times a day and getting fair quantities of a variety of solid foods, infant formula is neither necessary nor desirable. Indeed, babies who have not had infant formula before 5 or 6 months of age often refuse to drink it because it tastes pretty bad. (If you want to convince yourself of how little we know about breastmilk, ask yourself why it is that, although breastmilk and infant formulas have the same amount of sugar, breastmilk is so much sweeter). If you want to give the baby some other sort of milk, homogenized milk is acceptable at 6 months of age, as long as it is not the baby’s only food. In fact, if the baby is taking good quantities of a wide variety of foods, breastfeeding 3 or 4 times a day, and growing well, homogenized milk or 2% milk is good enough, but also not necessary. The “need” for formula to 9 months to 12 months of age is basically formula company marketing and very successful at that. Statements by the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics urging formula to a year surely did not take into consideration the baby who is continuing to breastfeed after 6 months.

source: https://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-WFBW

DahliaFlower · June 2014

vvvvvfee said:

as an alternative viewpoint- some experts think it is fine to introduce WCM after 6 months, once baby is introduced to solids. if you're talking about doing this a few months from now, and your LO is still going to be nursing a few times a day, and is well established on solids, i would think that you could just offer WCM. you could always check with your pediatrician for their opinion as well.

from dr. jack newman, breastfeeding expert:

If the baby is breastfeeding a few times a day and getting fair quantities of a variety of solid foods, infant formula is neither necessary nor desirable. Indeed, babies who have not had infant formula before 5 or 6 months of age often refuse to drink it because it tastes pretty bad. (If you want to convince yourself of how little we know about breastmilk, ask yourself why it is that, although breastmilk and infant formulas have the same amount of sugar, breastmilk is so much sweeter). If you want to give the baby some other sort of milk, homogenized milk is acceptable at 6 months of age, as long as it is not the baby’s only food. In fact, if the baby is taking good quantities of a wide variety of foods, breastfeeding 3 or 4 times a day, and growing well, homogenized milk or 2% milk is good enough, but also not necessary. The “need” for formula to 9 months to 12 months of age is basically formula company marketing and very successful at that. Statements by the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics urging formula to a year surely did not take into consideration the baby who is continuing to breastfeed after 6 months.

source: https://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-WFBW

Thank you for that. Very interesting. It makes a lot of sense. The more I investigate the contents of formula the less enthusiastic I feel about using it if it can be avoided. So this is good to know!

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