Moving from breast to formula

[Olivia's Mommy]

I posted this on the BFing message board, but thought I might get some good advice here, too, so here goes:

I'm considering weaning DD from the breast to formula in the next couple of months. Any tips on how to go about it?

[sara_derek]

Well, I'll tell you what I'm doing. 

I have to return to teaching in October, so I decided to start getting Christian used to a bottle early.  I'll be able to feed him before work and then again at 4:30 or so after work, so that means he'll have 3 bottles while I'm gone.  So i started this week giving him the bottle for the first feeding I'll be away which was at 9:00 am.  I'll do that for 2 weeks, then add the second feeding as a bottle around 12:00, do that for 2 weeks, then add the third around 3:00.  That way, he adjusts, my milk supply adjusts and he doesn't go through changes of me being away, him being with a stranger and not being able to nurse, all at the same time.  i'm just trying to ease him into it.  Make sense?

Hope that helps give you some ideas

[Olivia's Mommy]

That sounds similar to what I think I'm going to do. DD eats at roughly the following times each day:

7:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
3:00 p.m.
5:30 p.m. (sometimes)
8:00 p.m. (bedtime)
Then bottle dreamfeed at 11:00p.m. and usually one night feed around 4:00 a.m.

I think I will take one week to replace the 11:00 a.m. feeding with formula, then one week for the 3:00 p.m. feeding. She would be on 2 bottles of formula a day by the time we go on vacation, and then I could continue doing the morning feed and bedtime feed (DH does dreamfeed) for a couple more months until I'm ready to completely stop BF.

I remember reading something from Tracy about how to stop BF so that you don't become engorged. I don't remember exactly, but I think it was something about pumping for 2-3 days at the regular feed time, then decreasing your pumping time by 3 minutes for another 2-3 days until you dry up at that time. Does that sound right to anyone?