Breastfeeeding and Formula

HI- I have 5 month old twins who were exclusively breastfeed until last week. My husband had been giving one 8 oz bottle each evening to them of expressed milk. Last week, I began giving them soy formula in that bottle due to not having time to pump 16 extra ounces a day (also have a 3 year old in the house!). It has been going fine-no problems. They have received a bottle of some milk, some formula-also no problems. My husband loves this special bonding time with his babies and it allows me a bit of freedom. Good luck!

Hi J.,

I just responded to a very similar posting, so I just pasted what I previously wrote, because it's the same advice:

Don't let anyone bully you into continuing to bf if you feel you've had enough. It's YOUR decision. I will tell you I have two boys ages 8 and 7 and they were exclusively formula fed, and they are inteligent and healthy little boys - HOLY COW, IMAGINE THAT!

I know breast feeding is beneficial, I get that - so I am not negating the positive effects of bf, but when you are working full time or even part time, or a single parent, or if life happens and you just don't have the ability, breast feeding can be difficult.

I'll repeat what someone below wittingly said "FORMULA IS NOT THE DEVIL!!!"

You're not a martyr, you're a mother - love your children with everything you have and do what you think is best for you and the baby, and you can't go wrong.
Good luck to you! :-)

hi J.,
make sure you are drinking enough water and decaffinated beverages. I've always supplemented with my children with formula and my youngest is 1yr old right from the beginning. try simalac advanced. having your husband give the baby a feeding is great bonding time for him. do mot worry about your milk production your body will adjust to the babies needs. I nursed all four of my children and for various periods of time do not be pressured either way to change what you are doing. It is a very personal decision and what ever is right for your new family is the right thing to do. enjoy what ever you are doing and each stage. mother of a 13 yr 10yr 8 yr and 1yr old they don't stay young very long. god bless K.

I had to go back to work when my son was 15 weeks old. I was nursing him, and the day care center was feeding him bottled breastmilk - but after a couple of months they came to me and told me that they were going to run out pretty soon. I was pumping every four hours during the day, but they were just going to have to supplement at least one bottle a day, there was nothing we could do about it - the baby was just plain growing too fast! So - I did some research - and there was a powdered formula, made by Carnation, that had easily digestible proteins - "good start" I think it was called, that we ended up going with. It was his last bottle of the day at the daycare center. Dinner time bottle. He had no problems with it at all. I was worried that he would suddenly "balloon" in weight, but he was fine. And we just went based on appetite.

My son was able to switch back and forth between the breast, the bottle with the "special" nipples made for breastfeeding babies, with bottled breastmilk, and the one bottle of formula per day, without any apparent ill-effects. I know each child is different - but I've heard a lot of good things about the Carnation Good Start being very easily digestible.

The only "side effect" I recall was I think his stools got a bit .... smellier... but you know..... I never really.... paid that much..... attention... ick.... I just threw his diapers in the laundry, LOL (I did cloth with diaper wraps for 15 months - way cheaper than Pampers - broke single mom with a washer/dryer in the kitchen here, LOL) - anyway - good luck! Have fun with your little one - they aren't little long!

Hi J.,
I have a little two month old boy who has just had his first formula samples in the last week. I'm going back to work in a week or so and I needed the a time to pump where I might get some actual volume so we can store it for the days I'm gone. My husband gives him a bottle of formula (we use the enfamil with iron, but I might try the gentlease for gassy or fussy babies) and I pump at the same time. I haven't tried mixing it yet, but he takes the bottle fine and the only thing we've noticed is the stinky diapers are starting. Hope it goes well for you!

Hi J., Congratulations on your little one. As a mom of 4 breast fed babies...YES you can offer your baby a bottle of formula. I have tried many different "brands" based on "free samples' I had on hand but in the end I always went with Carnation Good Start. It is supposed to be very similar to breast milk and gentle on their tummies. Good luck with this transition but in the end she will be fine. You can sign up online at Carnations website and they wil send you coupons. I also had my mom, my MIL and a good friend sign up as well...they would send me the coupons through the mail! It was great!

Oh and my suggestion is to have the formula bottle be the "dinnertime" bottle. Then your body will naturally drop this feeding and it will give you more flexibility at that time of the day...especially if you want to get out with your friends for dinner or something.

Dear J.,

Don't worry about it! I too am unable to pump enough for 1 feeding a day. I have a 6 mos old, my 4th child. My husband gives her a bottle of formula at night. We have been fortunate that she has not had tummy aches. I recommend Enfamil Gentlease in the purple can. I used it as a supplement with all of my children with great success. It also helps them sleep a little longer at night!!
Good Luck!
K.

Have you tried taking Fenugreek? You can get it at any good health store. It is a natural herb that is safe for the baby. My friend used it for few weeks and now months later she pumos and gets a full bottle everytime! It's only about $10. Also I used organic similac mixed with my milk for my son it made me feel better to have the organic option. And my son actually did much better with the formula less spitting up! It took me forever to pump enoughand the stress made it even harder! I gradually put formula into the milk starting with 1 ounce ata time. Formula is very sweet she might think it's atreat. Good luck

J.,

The only challenge with giving formula if you are solely breastfeeding is that your body won't adjust to the natural "supply" and "demand". So if you want a suggestion, for now just do the breastfeeding yourself and have your husband "bond" in different ways (i.e. snuggling, bathtime, diaper changing, etc.) When the baby is a bit older then have your husband give expressed milk in a bottle.

Good luck! H. (mom of three fully breast fed boys Spencer 4 1/2, James 3 1/2, Wilco 10 mths)

Hi
I breastfeed 4 kiddos....but we usually...after a few months mixed it up with formula sometimes....not too often but once a day afew days a week to keep it a regular part of their lives....i only had 1 kiddo the youngest not seem to like it much. everyone else did great and it was very convenient...especially at nite=)

I never mixed with breastmilk even though that sounds good too. I wanted them to take formula sometimes...but that was a personal goal.

that is my 2cents...=)

L.

Hi J.!
I went to the pedi yesterday for my sons 2mth appt. and i was having the same problem. He told me to pump my milk and then add an oz or two of formula into the breastmilk. We did it last night and he took it just fine.

I only pumped with my daughter (for 6 months) so toward the end I was not able to produce enough to keep up with her. She had both formula and breast milk. We eventually switched back and forth, but in the beginning we mixed about 1/2 and 1/2 just to get her used to the different tastes./

I have never given formula to my kids, but a friend of mine has. The only problem she ran into was that she started out with a dairy one and found out that they were allergic to dairy. Other friends' kids have had sensitivities to dairy or soy as well. So if you start with a formula and notice a change, try another type. I believe there are ones with dairy, soy, and one that is free of both.

Hi J. - the most important thing is for you NOT to feel pressured or guilty about whatever course you choose to take. I am strongly opposed to people pressuring mothers either to breastfeed or not to breastfeed, because it is stressful enough trying to cope with a baby, without feeling judged or condemned by other people. So whatever you end up doing, please feel good about yourself - you are obviously a loving, devoted mom, and your daughter is obviously healthy and fine. So congratulations! <pats on the back, high fives, etc>

Two pieces of info: someone else mentioned fenugreek - that and other herbs can definitely increase milk production, so if YOU WANT TO try to increase milk production, I suggest you do look into some of these helpful herbs.
IF YOU DECIDE to use formula, keep in mind that babies are almost never allergic to Lactose, the sugar in milk - if they do react badly to dairy, it is almost always to some other component (I forget which ones, perhaps Casein, or another milk protein)... so don't bother with lactose-free formulas, they are a rip-off. Besides, I believe lactose is important for babies' brain development, which is why there is so much of it in breast milk. So I would try to find a formula that has lactose, but be wary of the milk proteins for potential stomach upset.
Good luck!! I'm sure you'll all be fine either way!
T.

Hi J.,
Kudos for you for exclusively nursing! I was not able to exclusively nurse and we alternated breast milk and formula from day 1 for both our kids. I work full time and was not able to pump as often as would be necessary.

We never tried combining formula and breastmilk in the same bottle, we just alternated which was fed when. We found formula to be a bit more gaseous on the infant, but nothing the infant gas drops wouldn't fix. In fact, often we would put the drops directly in the bottles with formula. That's my only tip.

Good luck! Christy Y

This is completely your decision, but I truely believe that if you want your baby to be the healthiest that she can be without having to worry about colds, digestive problems, allergies and so forth then continue to nurse her exclusively! I know it is difficult being the only one that can provide this for her, but believe me before you know it she will have grown out of the nighttime feedings and you will miss the closeness that you now share! My daughter is almost two and just starting to ween, and I am still wondering where the time went! As others have said milk production increases with demand for as long as you nurse exclusively. If you must pump, mornings before feedings are the best times to do so. The Traditional Medicinals Mothers Milk Tea does work! Good luck!

Hi J.,
I didn't read the other responses, so this may have been suggested. If you want to try to boost your milk production, I have had success with Traditional Medicinal's Organic Mother's Milk tea. I drank it for a couple of weeks and it seemed to help me. Hope you can get this figured out soon!
M.

When my daughter was a baby, I was breastfeeding her, but I was unable to pump. Our pediatrician recommended using formula in a bottle once a week to be fed to her by someone other than myself. This allowed her to get used to a bottle, formula & someone else feeding her. Good luck!

hi i can tell you from experience with the whole brast/bottle.. It is goo dhe will take a bottle you get a chance toleave him and he will still eat..my two yr old at 4 months refused to eat enough from a bottle and stayed very tiny.. from 4 months to 6.5 months he weighed in at 12 lbs.. i found the right fornula to mix with my milk in the right bottle and he gained 1 lb in 2 weeks.. we were thrilled.
I would mix 2 ozs of GOOD START without the lipil with two ozs of my milk and it was his thing.. my 5 yr old had the same two ozs formukla mixed with two ozs of breatsmilk.. THE BIG HINT mix it together about 20 minutes before feeding it to baby.. it gives the breastmilk time to eat the formula... the enzymes in BM help aid digestion of the formula....
If you want to keep pumping pump after each time you nurse it will help increase your supply...You may be doing what i did with my babies I got to the point where I only made milk when i nursed it was great :)

Dear J.,

I went through enough guilt and frustration because my son couldn't latch on properly and it was extremely painful for me to breastfeed. I ended up pumping. This was very exhausting.
I finally asked my pediatrician what the minimum amount of breastmilk was that would be beneficial to my son. She told me that even if I was only able to give him one bottle of my milk a day, that had many benefits.
We gave him one bottle of formula a day until about 3 months old. Then gradually over the span of about two months increased the formula bottles and decreased the expressed milk bottles.
I wouldn't worry about offering mixed formula with breastmilk unless your daughter outright refuses the formula. In that case you can introduce formula gradually. One extra ounce every two days or so.

A little heads up: My son got very constipated an gassy when he was having about 3/4 of his milk intake from formula... I have heard this often happens with Similac. We switched to Good Start and it helped but the poop stank and the color changed. Then our pediatrician gave us a sample of Enfamil Gentlease and that was what we used until he could start on whole milk. I still had to give him diluted prune or pear juice on occasion.

I hope this helps,
A.

Hi J.!
I have just started to have to suppliment with formula for my 3 month old due to not producing enough milk to keep up with her growth. I find that I want her to have breast milk with each feeding and top off her bottles with formula. I am comfortable with organic formula and it is not that much more expensive than the other stuff. I get nervuos that my milk production won't catch up so over the past 2 weeks I have been adding a little bit more formula until the ratio is 1/2 milk 1/2 formula. She was spitting up a lot with just breast milk and now she seems to be keeping it down better.
I have also been taking some herbal suppliments that are supposed to increase production. fenugreek seems to work well. There is also blessed thistle and fennal seed. The mothers milk tea is great and has a nice taste.
Good luck I would love to know how it turns out!

Robyn's right, keep on pumping. Do you have a good pump (Medela)? Also, when I was nursing I got Mother's Milk tea at Wild Harvest (contains fenugreek) to stimulate production. Also, relax, when you stress you will cut into your production. Are you pumping while she's feeding? That will be keeping up to her demand, and additional pumping will get you some extra, as Robyn said, creating extra demand.

I personally haven't done it but a friend of mine is a lactation consultant and she says it is perfectly ok to mix the two. I would start with a little bit of formula and a lot of BM (2 oz formula and 4 -6 oz of BM for example.... or whatever ratio you feel comfortable with) and then slowly increase the formula. I had a hard time getting enough out when pumping (probably because I stressed so much over it) but I gave dd formula during the day while at day care (now she drinks soy milk) and she still BF to go to sleep at night and on the weekends for her naps.

I wish I was told to mix it when I switched my daughter to formula during the day - probably would have been a lot easier!

Good luck!

Hi - my son is 4 mos. old and seems to want more milk than I can pump. When he's nursing I just let him go to town, but his babysitter has been feeding him 4oz, then if he "asks" for more she'll mix up an oz or 2 of formula in a bottle. That way he's sure to get the bmilk first - the rest is gravy, so to speak.

Hello - well 1st of all, kudos for being able to breastfeed exclusively for the 1st 2 months! When my son was born, he had jaundice and was losing weight from just breastfeeding, so after a few days of just breast feeding (and pumping to stimulate production) we started him on an occasional bottle of formula and he went between the formula and the breast feeding until I stopped breat feeding around 8 months. Also, my husband was kind of glad that we used formula as well because it allowed him to feed my son as well.

I wouldn't mix the breastmilk with the formula. The breast milk is already full of nutrients and calories, so by adding the formula to it your adding a bunch of extra nutrients and calories. It's kinda like having chocolate milk, then adding a packet of hot cocco mix, the milk was already chocolate, you just made it more chocolate with more calories.

I hope this helps!

Hi J.!!!My son is 11months and has had only formula,he has never had "tummy issues"hes never been sick,he has been to the pedi once b/c i thought he was getting sick but it was his teeth!!So,for the record formula is not "fake"it is actually very very nutritional,so dont feel bad or dont be hard on yourself if you want to offer your little one some variety!!A happy mom is a happy baby.Dont let anyone tell you any differant!!we use Similac Organic give it a try!!Enjoy!!

J.,
I have six month old twins who were exclusively breast fed until thier first immunizations. When formula was introduced my husband and I simply mixed the formula as required and then added the expressed breast milk right into the bottle in the amount to meet that required feeding. The girls never had a bit of constipation or gassyness.

Hi J.!
Just keep pumping!!! Breast milk is a supply and demand thing so the more demand there is the supply will catch up! I'm not sure when you're pumping but try expressing an ounce or so before she actually nurses every time and that should help increase your supply. Also remember to drink lots of water. The best advice I EVER got regarding nursing my kids was to ALWAYS fix myself a big glass of water to sip while they were nursing. It really does help increase your milk supply.

I would be very hesitant to head down that slippery slope of formula. It can cause more problems than solutions I feel.

J.,
The formula definitely could potentially cause tummy issues - because it's not natural to babies' systems. I would strongly encourage you to continue with the breastfeeding exclusively - it's so much better than fake formulas!

you could give her half breastmilk and half formula. or what about her having a bottle every other evening? how old is your daughter?

HI,
I breastfed all of my children and I gave them a bottle of formula at night before bed without any problems.

Hi J.,
I had no problem when I started introducing formula to my son. I started out mixing 75% breastmilk/25% formula for one week, then 50/50, then 25/75, until he was on 100% formula. He has no stomach issues and, I hate to say it, started sleeping much better too.
Whatever you decide, so what is right for you!
Good luck :)