SUPPORT THREAD FOR MUMS WHO CHOSE TO BREASTFEED & FORMULA FEED

[rudojen]

This is a wonderful thread!  I had breast reduction surgery 10 years ago and planned to breastfeed when I had my little boy, just 4 weeks ago.  I knew there was a possibility that I may not be able to breastfeed, but my plan was to give it my best.  I made colostrum from the start and knew that I was making at least some breastmilk, although I never felt my milk come in or anything.  When Quinn's weight fell to 15% below his birthweight the lactation specialists had me supplement using a preemie feeding tube inserted into Quinn's mouth after he latched onto my breast.  This way I could ensure that he got the calories he needed to grow and I could still take a stab at breastfeeding.  I know that I'm not making much milk at all.  But I'm able to hand express at least a little bit each day.  To me, it's worth it for Quinn to get whatever breastmilk I can give him - even if it's minimal.  Pumping has been a huge frustration for me and I've been inconsistent with it.

Now, 4 weeks after Quinn was born, he weighs 10 lbs 4 oz (he was 8lbs 8 oz at birth and 7 lbs 4 oz at his lowest weight) and he still latches onto me to eat at least 5-6 feedings per day.  I give him a bottle at dreamfeed time and usually when he wakes in the night to eat (the tube thing can be a bit awkward when you're sleep deprived...).  I plan to continue with this until Quinn chooses not to breastfeed at all any more.  Or else, when I know that I'm not making any milk or can't express any milk at all by hand, I will probably reassess the method.

[Samuel's mum]

rudojen

I'm sure you have found it but just incase!:

http://www.bfar.org/

[rudojen]

I actually hadn't seen that website before.  Thank you so much for sending the link!!!

[*Mona*]

hi.

me again, lol

I think I'm starting to have this strange supply problem: I've been back at work for 1,5 weeks now. and every day from 2~3pm by breasts get huge and engorged and all I'm thinking of is to feed dd [which is impossible because I never get home earlier than 4pm which means dd has already have her 3pm feed]. sometimes I have to express to feel less uncomfortable. BUT over the weekend I feel like I'm producing no milk at all. OK, today's better, but yesterday it was just terrible. and I know that when I did BF at 7pm Maja ended up in bed with a half empty stomach [woke up at 22:30 crying out of hunger].

I don't know if it's psychological or what? and I don't know what to do... pumping's no good, doesn't really help and I hate it too. I was thinking about some herbal tea stimulating milk production but then I'm sure I it would make my boobs hurt even more Mo-Fri...

any suggestions?

TIA,
Monika

[Shdef]

There is breastfeeding tea, if you don't over do it it did the job for me...

http://www.mumstuff.co.uk/acatalog/MumStuff_Teas_for_Breastfeeding_31.html

Like that one. If you can find fennel-aniseed-caraway tea you can buy that, it might be cheaper

Good luck

[momofcarrie]

My Carebear has been getting two bf's a day for a month now but is starting to twindle now to 1st feed of the day, is the quality of her milk the same or is it different, because there is days where she does not seem as satisfied on it. I would love to continue but I think she is losing interest, her and I are so busy that it is easier to supplement with formula, and i figure its better that she gets some breast milk then non but will I have to express a little at night or something to maintain this rountine till she is atleast 12 months? 

[Samuel's mum]

The milk your carebear receives will not be lower in quality. It will contain just as many of the nutrients/antibodies/living cells that your breastmilk ever did. In fact there's reason to believe if your only feed is going to be the first one of the day that is a ideal plan. Firstly, because it's a time when milk supply is often at its best for a mum after a night's rest. Secondly, because after the night she's likely to be hungrier so will take more and stimulate your supply more.
That's the great news!
The less great news (as Stacy mentioned earlier) is that for some reason (and it isn't really known why people are different with this) some mums struggle to maintain only one or two feeds a day. Some people go on for months without any supply problems but some mums (especially of babies under 6 months) find their supply dwindles.

Do you feel this is happening to you? Can you hear clear swallowing sounds while she is feeding? Does she seem 'satisfied' after a feed? You might be absolutely fine. You can't predict who will or won't (although the longer you have breastfed the easier it is to go to only one or two feeds).
I would keep it up if it's working for you. If you really are keen to maintain it you could pump after the morning feed to tell your breasts to up their production and increase quantities available. You could pump at other times of the day but you are also telling your breasts that's the time they need to make milk (e.g. in the evening). If you are really worried by all means pump at other times and take herbal supplements to have a blitz on your supply but as Stacy says you don't want to get uncomfortable not least because this could lead to problems like blocked ducts.

[*Mona*]

hi
just wanted to 'report' we're finally doing really good with BF and bottle
I'm BFing her morning and before bed, my lactation has normalized, she's happy with her bottles and with mommy's boobs too
we've been introducing some solids too and all in all have no problems with her eating.
now I should move on to teething thread thou, hehe.

thank you for all your help

Monika

[Wei]

So, DD has been over her 5 month growth spurt for about 4 days now.  She had her 5 month growth spurt at 4.5 mos and I am thinking at 5.5 mos that will mean she has her 6 mos growth spurt then and plan to start her on solids then too.

My dilemna is this, since her growth spurt I notice that she can only last 3.75 - 4 hours between daytime feeds whereas she used to be sooo flexible and could wait 15 min longer or even 30 min on 4 HR EASY.  I noticed she continues to wake early around 5:30-7am where wake-up used to always be 7:30-8am and instead of waiting quietly or drifting off back to sleep she lets out a blood-curdling yell and won't stop unless I go get her.  Putting her back to sleep is out of the question, she wants to  eat.  Once she eats, she won't go back to sleep without a fight.  I know hunger is the key here and she used to sleep through great.  I notice now after the dreamfeed she keeps hanging on and wanting more milk but I have none to give and even after pumping for a week and a half, drinking tons of water, it is still not enough.  So, that is why I am thinking of trying to top up for dreamfeed using FF starting tonight.  I'm still going to feed her both sides, but hoping that a couple ounces of formula is all she needs to get uninterrupted sleep till her wake-up.

I used to cluster feed but found that she just never really ate much at her clusterfeeds and woke up at least once at night when I did that so I stopped it.  For some reason, that helped with getting her to sleep from 8-8.

I don't konw if I'm doing the right thing by FF but I figured it was worth a try.  Only a little longer till she is old enough for solids and maybe she will feel happier with a full tummy when that happens!

Ok... so we will try this tonight and see how it goes.  Let's hope this helps!  If not, then I go back to square one! 

Wei

[MegsMummy]

Hi there,

Im new to the forum, my daughter is 5 weeks old and up untill now I have been exclusivly breastfeeding, however she isent gaining weight and still only weighs 6lbs 8oz at 5 weeks (she was born at 37 weeks), so yesterday the HV suggested topping her up with some formula after she only gained 1oz in the last week...So i started yesterday and she seemed to be fine taking it...i just hope it helps her put some weight on!

However i was going to ask...the HV suggested top up feeding AFTER breastfeeding so as not to upset my supply, so i guess my question is does this work or should i just replace a couple of feeds totaly with the formula? I did the top up after the feeds yesterday and i think she overate the first time as she was sick...

Also should mention that DD has reflux and is on infant gaviscon to help relieve the symptoms...

Thanks, all this is so worrying and confusing 

Tory x

[CAWPSU06]

Hi All-
Its good to see a support thread for those who both bottle feed (formula) and breast feed.  I had a serious bout of postpartum depression, and made the decision to switch to bottle feeding exclusively (the little guy was latched on for 1.5 hours and then wanted to eat 30 min later, my mental health couldn't take it).  I express BM, and he's supplemented with formula as well.  I'm only pumping around 3oz at a time, and he'll take 5oz, so he gets 3oz of BM and 2oz of formula at each setting.  I've noticed that he has gas more, but is taking the change from BM to formula and back fine.  I appreciate bottle feeding my baby because I can "know" how much he's getting, and can adjust accordingly if he's fussy.

[victoriab]

I gave my DD her first bottle of formula when she was 2.5 months old because I was going to be going back to work soon and needed to know that she could tolerate it if needed.  I still pump and she gets expressed milk when I am not with her, but she also gets one bottle of formula a day.  My DH or I will give her a bottle of formula for her DF (I couldn't get her to latch on for DF).  I use to pump milk for her DF but started not being able to express enough for a full bottle, so we made the switch.  This also gave us another way to give her her vitamin drops.  We use to give them to her directly from the dropper, but now we mix it in with her formula.

[christooo]

Hello,
Does anyone know where I can download the EASY log?  I am a new mother with a newborn that was hospitilized in the NICU for the first entire month of her life (long story).  I have her home now and want to keep track of everything she does/eats because she hasn't been doing to well at home this first week.  I would appreciate any help I can get. Thanx

[christooo]

thanx stacy

[stridey]

Hi there, I am new to this website and have a few questions. My LO has been fully breastfeed for her first 7 weeks. Due to medical reasons we are introducing a formula feed at night. We have introduced this to her during the day so we are not having an upset LO before bedtime. She has taken to it really well.....fingers crossed. To get her used to this how slowly do we introduce it the formula. Have looked through the BW book and can't really find the right info for this.....in terms of the introduction and change over. Hope this makes sense.
Cheers in advance for your help.
Kiwi4Eva