Supplementing w/ Formula

[Deleted User] · October 2014

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michelle142 · October 2014

A lot of women are successful in doing this.

You might try posting on the Breastfeeding board, they will have a lot of advice on it.

jennjilljo · October 2014

It's been successfully done. I've had friends do it. I don't know anyone to feed with implants though. I'm the small boobed friend.

RN2011 · October 2014

With DD I supplemented at the beginning..I always offered breast first but I just wasn't producing enough to keep her happy. Eventually I stopped breast feeding all together and just gave her formula. She's had a cold 1 time, never any infections or have ever needed to give her antibiotics. You have to do what's best for you and your family.

[Deleted User] · October 2014

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mandamoochie · October 2014

I supplemented the whole time with ds... I just never produced enough milk (at my highest I produced 25 oz a day). He had no problem with it at all and drank both happily.

gl!

michelle142 · October 2014

Stephanie2378 said:

With my other two it seemed to really be frowned upon to do both by my medical professionals and mom. I think because of nipple confusion or then not producing enough milk? Didn't even know there was a breastfeeding board!! I'll go check it out Waaaaait! They're not gonna' skin me alive for wanting to use formula, are they?? If I don't ever come back you all know what happened!

They won't!! A lot of them supplement and they give awesome advice.

[Deleted User] · October 2014

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[Deleted User] · October 2014

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kismetjess · October 2014

I supplemented because I always felt like DD wasn't getting enough, and I did not have a stash built up so if I didnt pump enough for daycare, she would have to get a bottle of formula. She handled it fine (although we did use the sensitive formula).

cls78 · October 2014

My nurse told me most likely will have to supplement formula with twins.

Honestly, the only reason I wanted to try BF was to save money on formula. (I hope that does not sound horrible) I don't really feel I have to BF to have a special bond with my babies.

topolina1215 · October 2014

I did! I had supply issues from week 2 on and had to increase supplementing all the way until 10 months when DD went on a total nursing strike and I stopped producing altogether. It definitely can be done and, if you do want to breastfeed, any amount you can give her is great! In the beginning it was probably half breast milk, half formula, and by the end I was only producing enough for about one bottle of breast milk a day. DD is a super healthy kid and never had any problems going back and forth between breast and bottle.

Depending on how you do it, your body will just regulate when it produces milk and how much. I always nursed first and then gave formula. My cousin nursed during the day and gave formula at night.

And don't feel guilty - I'm still mad at how much pressure and guilt I felt when, despite doing everything I could, I just couldn't produce enough for my baby. I'm with you - if a combo works best, that makes both baby and mommy happy and healthy and that's what's most important!

Hope that helps!

CatLadyTX · October 2014

We supplemented DS from day 1. I had GD, and his blood sugar was low (btw, this is not uncommon for babies of GD moms) so he was brought to NICU and given formula to help stabilize his sugars. After that, we continued to supplement. I never had any supply issues, and DS never had any nipple confusion. Actually, I found that sitting alone in my room pumping while family and friends were slending quality time feeding my baby was causing me some PPD issues, and I basically stopped pumping and accepted that formula is just as good to supplement with as pumped milk was to give him. I had much less guilt and felt happier. I will absolutely do it again this time.

ckimberley14 · October 2014

I supplemented from the girls' 2nd day of life. My milk took five days to come in, and the girls lost 11% of their birth weight. I didn't produce enough for both girls, so I continued supplementing and BFing and pumping until they were about 10/11 months old and didn't need formula any longer (still nursed on demand).

I agree with PPs--you gotta do what's best for you! As long as baby is getting fed and growing, you're doing the right thing. I understand your feeling guilty with all the stigma behind formula feeding (not on this BMB but other circles). But as others have said, some BM is better than none!

Stargirlb · October 2014

The early days are the most beneficial so maybe set small goals and see how you feel. Such as "only breast milk until my milk comes in" because supplementing before that makes you more likely to not have it come in or have supply issues that prevent you from changing your mind. In your position I would prob tough out the crucial first few weeks and then decide if it was a no-go from there.

Stargirlb · October 2014

And just so your mind is at ease about the implant thing, it is COMPLETELY safe! Lots of bottle nipples and soothers are also silicon. It's totally safe.

acpruchnik · October 2014

Stephanie2378 said:

I'm starting to feel very guilty about my early decision to not breastfeed this LO. I did breastfeed my last two but really didn't like it. I just felt very tied down and not myself. Like a feeding machine. Please don't judge me! I also have silicone implants which is a little unnerving even though it's reportedly safe... Anyways just wondering if I were to breastfeed, did anyone have success with using both breast milk and formula? I feel like if I had the option I might be more comfortable with doing it most of the time.

I've decided to attempt it with this LO but I won't stress out over it like I did with DS. I get not wanting to be tied down so no judgement here! I hope your guilt disappears soon! It breaks my heart when someone feels guilty about the boob vs. bottle issue cos I know how crappy it feels!

I pumped for as long as I could after DS quit latching at 7 weeks but it was too much on me at the time so I stopped doing it after a little while so I'm a bad judge on the issue. BUT I was at BRU doing my registry like a month ago and I noticed Good Start makes a specific formula for supplementing that was running about $25 a can. I loved that formula in general with DS and it said on the can that it helps their tummies adjust to formula in the case of transition from boob to exclusive formula as well. I'm not familiar with whether or not other brands have this same option but I plan on buying at least a couple of cans of the GS just because it's my personal favorite and I'm hoping to come across someone who's actually used it so I can get some input that's not just a review on their website. If I do come across someone that's had success with it or the situation in general, I'll definitely come back to this thread and update if that helps at all

acpruchnik · October 2014

@stephanie2378 I also have a girlfriend that has implants and the only reason she couldn't BF was, according to her lactation specialist, the scare tissue and the way her implants were done were preventing her from producing like she needed to. They never told her once that it wasn't safe or that there was any chance it could become unsafe. Hope that helps

[Deleted User] · October 2014

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