Weaning off of Formula onto Breastmilk

Congrats!! My little one was in the NICu and they say that they have to feed them formula. Basically to make sure the baby is getting food etc. The lactation nurse told me to pump while she was in the NICU so I did. The other thing she told me was that Babies are not meant to have as much milk as they get from formula. My colostrum was enough and that was a small amount for the first couple days. Our daughter ate about every 2-3 hours. I would pump then send the milk to the NICU. She was a little upset in the beginning but I took her cold turkey off of formula. Also, if she has a hard time attaching onto your nipple then take a little formula and shake it onto your nipple they attach much easier.

Also, my mom told me to feed with Dr. Browns bottles and nurse. She only gave from the breast and my sisters would not take a bottle. I actually have emma on both, she will take a bottle of my milk or nurse. Dad gets to feed her and so do I:) I also make sure to pump, recently she has been sleeping from 9pm to 5am so I get up in the middle of the night and pump for storage milk. Good luck!

I would give it 2-3 days of cold turkey no formula but I would check a few things. First of all, I would make sure she is latching correctly - she might be nursing so long because she's not very efficient about it (as opposed to you not having enough milk). Assuming she is latching well I would just nurse her a LOT - every hour if that's what it takes. Your body will catch up with her within 2-3 days.

Make sure you alternate sides that you start her on. You will be able to tell whether she's getting enough to eat because your breasts will feel less full when she's done. Babies will frequently take a "chaser" bottle even if they are full of breastmilk because it's EASY. This doesn't mean the need it - just that it's effortless.

Another reason not to give her one is that she may become a lazy nurser because she expects the formula chaser - so she knows if she just holds out long enough she'll get things the easy way.

As long as she has wet/dirty diapers regularly I wouldn't be too concerned about her getting enough. Just feed on demand and you'll be back to full time nursing in no time. Congratulations on your baby!!

My son spent 6 weeks in the NICU, such a rough start for both of you. Its good you're both doing well now. I'm a firm believer in letting them nurse as needed for a few days, it usually only takes 2-3 to get your supply regulated, just as it does during a growth spurt. I've seen so many supplement with formula and find that their supply never quite catches up. I'm sure there are others with different experiences, but my advice would be to nurse as much as possible for the next few days to a week and your body will adjust to her appetite. If you've been pumping every 3 hours, it may be that she's on more of a two hour schedule for a bit till things catch up.

I've heard absolutely wonderful things about Materna Wellborn in Algonquin (right off of Algonquin Rd. and Rt. 31 intersection). I went there a few weeks ago for a replacement part on my Medela Harmony and the women there are just so friendly and warm.

As for baby, I really cannot give advice, but I believe that if you just allow her to nurse more frequently she will increase the milk flow. So, you'll notice when she goes through growth spurts, she'll nurse every 1-2 hours for a few days and then go back to longer times between the nursing sessions. Your daughter is only 6 days old, so maybe take a warm bath with her and just hold her skin-to-skin to encourage the rooting/nursing.

Another great resource is http://forums.lalecheleague.org.

Congrats on your new little one!!!

K.:

congratulations on the birth of your daughter. i am sorry that you all had such a rough beginning. it is wonderful that you got to stay with her and how get to bring her home.

find a lactation consultant who can help you with putting a plan together and be there to support and encourage you through the process.

www.ilca.org lists local lactation consultants

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

If you stop giving the formula, she may be a little hungry at first...but that hunger will work in your favor because it will build up your supply. It is all supply and demand, so the more she nurses, the more she tells your body to make more milk and it will respond. So, you may be in for a few sleepless nights but it should only take a few days to build up your supply at this point in the game. Then you will not have to rely on formula anymore. If you keep giving her formula, chances are you will have to keep giving her formula because your supply won't catch up. There really should be no problem as far as stopping it "cold turkey" as long as she is nursing well...has a good latch etc. I mean, it doesn't hurt their tummies or anything. Only makes it easier for them to digest their food.

I would go cold turkey. There is nothing she is being provided in the formula that you don't produce BETTER!
It will encourage your supply to meet her needs also.

Newborns nurse A LOT. Some "marathon feed" and nurse for hours on end, and some "cluster feed" where they nurse frequently for short bursts. Don't let anyone tell you she is "using you as a pacifier" or any nonsense like that. Nursing is supply and demand. She instinctively knows that the more she nurses, the more you will produce. Your bodies will act in harmony if you follow your instincts and her cues and nurse on demand. And, yes, it can be very sleep depriving, but hang in there!!

The thing you hear about nursing for 6 weeks and that being the magic number is SO very true. When I nursed my daughter, and we hit 6 weeks, it was like a miracle happened and we both knew what we were doing!

Being skin-to-skin with her in a bed for a weekend is a good way to establish your nursing relationship. It sounds like you are doing GREAT already considering the obstacles you had!

I would absolutely be very careful since you've both been on antibiotics that you don't get thrush. Wash your bras as much as possible in the hottest water with white vinegar, change your breastpads frequently, drink lots of water and consider taking acidopholus pills or at least eat yogurt or drink Kefir. Thrush can be hard to get rid of and it will throw a major kink into your breastfeeding too.

If you have any issues crop up, feel free to message me. I love helping nursing mamas! And I nursed my daughter until she was 3.5 years old, so I've "been there, done that" a lot of times with nursing issues too.

Amanda R.
aspiring IBCLC

First off, congratulations! As some others have stated, find a lactation consultan. That's your best source of information and making sure that everything is a smooth transition for the baby and you. One option that I didn't read here is an SNS by Medela. It's a supplemental nursing system that can be purchased by a lactation consultant. It's not the most fun contraption in the world, but it helps increase your supply and your baby gets used to exclusively breastfeeding. It's basically a small container for formula that has a very long thin tube that you tape to your breast. Good luck!

Hi K.,
I am so glad your baby is coming home! My son was not in the NICU, but would also nurse for an hour or so, then cry. for a few days we gave an ounce or two of formula, but I really didn't want to get into that. I just let him nurse more frequently and my supply caught up. Also, I was away from him for 2 days when he was almost 2 months old, and my supply went down despite pumping. Same thing though, I let him nurse more, and sure enough, more milk! Good luck to you and your family!!!!
E.

Hi K.-
If you want to nurse her, stop feeding her formula. It is perfectly normal for her to want to nurse every hour or so when she is only 6 days old. When she does that she is building up your milk supply. If you give her a bottle instead of the breast it will not allow your body to build up enough milk for her. It may take a while but trust your body and nurse her whenever she seems hungry, even every hour. Good luck!

K.,
I had a similar situation with my daughter. She was in the NICU for a week and I pumped and brought my milk to the hospital daily, but it was not enough. She had no problem once coming home with nursing solely. I would just try nursing her alone, or what I did too, was she was used to using a bottle so I could pump and bottle feed her. But she is now 5 months and loves either a bottle or nursing. I hope that helps. Good luck!
K.

I am certainly not an expert but I would say just stop the formula and nurse her around the clock on demand and she will definitely get the hang of it as long as she is ok health wise otherwise. Babies naturally need breastmilk and if she does not take it initially there are A LOT of ideas I could share. The key is to do it quick while you have milk still. DO NOT WAIT.

I'd go cold turkey. I've been through this. Nurse her 10-15 minutes each side then feed her again in an hour. If she's on the breast any longer than that, she's not getting anything, but not for lack of trying. The feedings should be an hour apart, at a minimum. That allows you to fill back up so you can nurse again.

I also recommend that you pump after you nurse. This will help you build up your supply. Whatever you produce, you can freeze (never put fresh milk on frozen milk, it can cause the frozen milk to unfreeze) Get a battery powered pump, it'll work much better for what you want to do than a hand powered one will. They're more expensive, but worth it.

Good luck and congratulations to you and your little one.