LO refusing supplement

heikkr · September 2014

First time mom here, My DS is 3 months old and has been exclusively BF since he was born. In addition, I was able to pump and store milk while on maternity leave. Now I am back at work and, as hard as I try, I am usually lucky if I can pump even once while at work. Because of this, DS is drinking more than I can pump and now our frozen stock has started to disappear to the point were we have to start considering supplementing so he has something to eat while at daycare! I wanted to start introducing supplement now, before the frozen supply is totally gone, just in case we started to have any issues. Well, it turns out I was right and our DS simply refuses the supplemental milk. He will hardly drink a half an ounce, any that is in his mouth he will try to push out with his tongue. We have bottle fed with breast milk before, so we know its not an issue of accepting the bottle. I was doing some research and the Academy of Peds does not recommend mixing breast milk and supplement to improve the taste for my LO. Are there any ideas or suggestions out there to help a LO transition to include supplement?

tbmadeamistake · September 2014

Try a ratio of bm to formula to start. Add a little formula to each bottle of bm and gradually increase so by the end he's eating all formula. He may just need to get used to tgw taste. You could also try either a different brand or ready to drink instead of powder. Babies can be picky.

Unknown · September 2014

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*sparky* · September 2014

Ditto all of what LalaMama said. Unfortunately it may be too late to try to get your supply back up, but you absolutely should have protection that will ensure your ability to pump at work.

With my DS, I mixed formula with BM to get him to take it - only 1/4 formula at first, then gradually more and more until his bottles were all formula. I think the only risk with mixing is wasting your BM since you can't save formula for later, so just start with small amounts. Also you may have to try a couple of different formulas because they do taste different.

And make sure the temp is consistent with how your LO takes their BM.

GL!

mcgeeva · September 2014

I just started mixing my sons bottles and mine is bf as well. I put 2 ounces of formula and 3 ounces of breast milk. Each day I add less and less breast milk and increase formula until he will take it straight.

radiohd18 · September 2014

I'm in agreement with PP about mixing. I just started adding 1-2 oz of supplement formula to LO's bottle this past weekend. I have been coming up slightly short in my pumping sessions. I don't think I can expect my LO to just take formula right away, when she's been EBF this entire time.

sberry07 · September 2014

I had a problem with my daughter progressively not taking bottle found out she didn't like the nipples any longer and switches her also try different kinds of formula she is lactose intolerant so could joy do most kinds