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August 2015 Moms
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When did you switch...

candicejeff2013candicejeff2013 member
in August 2015 Moms
For those of you that have either switched to formula or supplement on a regular basis. When did you make the switch and what was your reason for doing so? How is it working out for you? If you stil BF and supplement with formula - do you have a system that works really well? I.e. Schedule of when you formula feed vs BF?

Just curious because BF is still a struggle for me and when I pump I can barely keep up with my LO. It's so time consuming. Plus I still have nipple pain and have tried and tried to tough it out (5weeks yesterday). Plus it seems like I have a fussy baby most of the time. She is gaining weight but just hungry around the clock. I know growth spurts are real but I'm still tied up in my house most of the day.
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Re: When did you switch...

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  • Kwest1007Kwest1007 member
    My LO was having difficulties gaining weight and after 3 weeks of frequent weigh ins and very slow gain we decided to supplement (was tough decision; we really didn't want to). I noticed my supply was always lowest during the day so I've replaced 3 of her daytime meals w formula (typically her 12pm, 3pm and 530/6pm feeds). I also pump during all these times, as well as after all her breast feeds. My production is limited but I'm typically able to freeze 4-6oz a day (I'm going back to work in a couple weeks so hoping to get a bit ahead and then if I get a good storage, I will just use it to decrease supplements) and then I bottlefeed the rest of the pumped milk, in either 1 or 2 4oz bottles. She's just over 7lbs but can easily down 4oz (some pumps during day when she gets formula, I'll only pump 2oz which makes me feel better about supplementing; knowing im only producing half of what she needs). We've also found that she has an upper lip tie which has been effecting our BF (we don't want to correct at this point) so pumping and formula has given my nipples a bit of a rest. We've noticed a lot of positive changes over the last few days of supplementing! N our LO had her weigh in yesterday.. She gained 7.5oz in 4 days when her rate has been 2-2.5oz every 4-6 days!! Docs are much happier and LO seems to be as well!
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  • pabeybabypabeybaby member
    I switched around two weeks due to having hardly any supply. DD was barely wetting diapers too. She'd fight and thrash during BF and I would get so frustrated, and she'd cry from not getting much and still being hungry. I wound up supplementing a lot, even with trying to pump. Like PP said, I dreaded it, we weren't bonding, it just wasn't for us.
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  • kjanderickakjandericka member
    I started supplementing at 2 weeks because LO wasn't gaining weight as quickly as the pedi wanted. He was filling diapers like he should, was never fussy and slept for 4 hour stretches but I still felt like he wasn't getting enough milk from EBF. I don't really have a system. I try to feed him breastmilk most of the time (nursing or from a bottle) but use formula probably 1-3 times each day. He eats 4oz every 2 1/2-3 hours and my supply can't keep up.
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  • bcarbbcarb member
    We started supplementing around 4 weeks. I hated breastfeeding to the point it was making me resent him the whole time he was eating, which was very constant. I just felt like I was chained to the couch all day and I just wasn't happy. I just now pump and he gets breastmilk in a bottle during the day and formula at night(about 2-3 bottles). Everyone in our family is much happier. I learned that if I can't take care of myself, then I wouldn't be able to take care of LO
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  • Petunia21Petunia21 member
    I mostly pump so I can see how much he's eating, versus how much I am producing. If I only pump 2 oz, and I know he will take at least 3oz, I mix the formula in with my breast milk. I almost never give him a bottle of just formula. I heard it's easier on his stomach to mix the two.
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  • lethannelethanne member
    I started supplementing to keep up with my LO's big appetite. I nurse in the evenings and I pump more during the day. For the most part that is keeping up with his eating demands. It helps me to see what he's eating when I pump. Then as needed I'll supplement with an additional bottle or two. It's worked well for me and I feel I've found a good balance.
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  • monieelmoremonieelmore member
    I have low supply, so I have to supplement because she was not gaining enough weight. But my goal is to get back to exclusive breastfeeding ASAP! Therefore, I breastfeed her first so that she gets as much of my milk as she can and then I supplement at the breast with formula using a Lact-Aid system. After feeding, I pump to stimulate more milk production. Whatever amount I get from pumping, I use instead of formula at the next feeding. Since I am trying to get back to EBF, I felt it was important to avoid a bottle, as I didn't want her to get lazy and not want to BF in the future. Also, she is more effective and emptying my breasts to stimulate more milk production than a pump. I have found that supplementing is a lot more work than BF or formula feeding alone. Good luck and hang in there!
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  • diesel115diesel115 member
    I supplement because I have a big baby with a big appetite - 9lbs2oz at birth - and I am a very small person (with very small "milk containers" as my LC called them, haha!)! I started supplementing during our second week because I just couldn't keep up. He was at the breast for almost two hours and was still screaming to be fed afterward. Now we pump, BF, and supplement with formula. I felt like such a failure in the beginning but now I'm fine with it - it's what's best for my baby and he is happy and healthy.
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  • kegraves28kegraves28 member
    I started supplementing around 2 weeks because she was losing weight. I nurse her at every feed and then once in the afternoon she gets 1-2oz of formula after she nurses and before bed she gets another 2oz of formula after she nurses
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  • RaquelB94RaquelB94 member
    BF never worked out for me and John from day 1. So he basically started out on formula until I could get my milk in. After that I started giving him BM in a bottle. It worked for the first 2wks or so, until that 3wk spurt when suddenly I couldn't keep up anymore. It felt like I was FF and supplementing with BM. I was really upset, but a healthy baby was way more important.
    That's when I started working my butt off to increase my supply. It took me 3 whole weeks to see the results so don't be discouraged if you don't see an immediate increase!! Just keep working at it (if you want to of course). Pumping is hard work, but it's worth it if it'll make you a happy mama to not have to use the formula
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  • irohspupilirohspupil member
    I started supplementing because I went to pumping instead of BF. Her latch just WOULD NOT improve at all and my nipples were torn (still are after not BF for 4 weeks). I gave her bottles of half formula and half pumped breast milk. Then I hit a bad bought of PPA and had to stop pumping.
    We went to FF and honestly, it's been a great decision (although every step that led to it was absolutely heartbreaking). Because she's FF, I can easily have her watched by either of her grandmothers so I can have a break and take care of healing myself.


     
    Me: 25 | DH: 25  
    DD: Aug. 15
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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  • mrsb30mrsb30 member
    I made the switch at 2-3 weeks. I switched because my LO was hospitalized for jaundice, had issues gaining weigh, latch issues and supply issues. I switched at the recommendation of my lactation consultant. I was a mess crying all the time and I wasn't enjoying my baby. At first we were just taking a break and I was pumping and bottle feeding. We just a never stopped the break. I still pump and fb when LO wants to (for comfort not eating) my supply is too low to actually sustain her. I can get about 3-4 ounces after pumping all day. Her latch has actually improved a ton since we starts bottle feeding. We used medela nipples at the suggestion of out LC and the nipples helped her learn to open her mouth wide enough to latch. I bf maybe a couple times a week for comfort. It was awful in the beginning and I felt like a dream of mine was crushed by not BF. I was afraid we wouldn't have that special bond and LO wouldn't love me as much (all completely not true).with the support of family and friends I was reminded the important thing is LO is getting fed and is being loved and taken care of. It's ok if you switch to formula.
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  • candicejeff2013candicejeff2013 member
    Thank you all for sharing. I think I'll try the nurse then supplement if she's still hungry. I'm just trying to find balance between nursing and pumping. It is truly harder than I ever imagined and I love talking to other women about it. I don't hate BF, I love the bonding but it's still painful and again the time consuming issue. I rarely leave the house. Even now at 5 weeks. Just want to know I'm not alone in feeling this way.
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  • aschexnaschexn member
    I started supplementing at 2 weeks bc of low supply. Every evening she fed until there was nothing left them screamed bc she was still hungry. I started pumping and we try to just give one formula bottle in the evening when she seems to eat the most. She's got a huge appetite for such a small baby!
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  • 76nicole76nicole member
    I started supplementing or "topping up" my little one at 1 week. After we left the hospital he lost too much weight and the health nurse suggested we supplement at the Breast with the lact aid system. (Which is a lot of work) I tried pumping as much asi could during the day but was very seldom due to my LO cluster feeding to get his weight back up. At 5 weeks I stopped the supplementing with the lact aid and started Breast feeding him and giving him a 1-1/2 ounce bottle afterwards. My son still prefers the breast and will always take it again after his bottle which leads to him falling asleep. Good luck!
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  • gulimzgulimz member
    Since I had GD, my hospitals protocol is to take the baby to NICU for monitoring blood sugars for 12 to 16 hrs since I was on glyburide (babies are known to tank when mommas on glyburide ) in the nicu, she was fed formula. I had and have supply issues because my baby was away for so long and I had a emergency C-section after failed induction. Since she was used to taking almost a ounce of formula in nicu, my little bit of colostrum just didn't cut it. So in the beginning, I supplemented breast milk with formula. Then as I started getting out 2 oz or more sometimes, I switched to supplementing with formula. Now we do about 2 oz of formula a day and at night only so she stays fuller longer because at night, my supply is really really low. For the past 48 hrs or more though, I've been doing strictly pumped breastmilk or breast feeding. If you are going to do formula, make sure you call enfamil and like companies for freebies. I got sent soooo many coupons and Cases of enfamil that I might have only paid 10 bucks for premade enfamil newborn 2oz nursettes.
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  • KimberlylenaKimberlylena member
    You are def not alone! My DD is almost 8 weeks and I'm still EBF. I feel like I'm stuck at home too because she eats about every 2-3 hours during the day. We also just finished a growth spurt where she ate every hour during the day! But def supplement if you need, I'm not discouraging it! I'm just letting you know that you aren't alone...and just remember that this won't last forever!
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