Breastfeeding and Formula Feeding?

I had to supplement formula for my breastfeeding daughter to help her gain weight as well - and the type of formula that seemed to work best for her was a soy-based or lactose-free version. My ped. said that for some reason b-fed babies tend to switch back and forth with that type of formula more smoothly.

I stopped b-feeding 3 mnths ago (my daughter is 9 months now) and she has continued the soy formula and does very well on it.

Good Luck!

I breastfed both of my daughters, and highly recommend doing it. With my first I was an at home mom, but with my second I had to go back to work. My doctor recommended to me to breastfeed only for the first 6 weeks to get the baby use to it. The sucking motion the baby makes for the breast and a bottle are different and they can get confused and frustrated if you start the transition to soon. I tried to start with the breast milk in a bottle at 8 weeks, and she was not to crazy about the idea at first, so don't be surprised if your daughter throws a fit when you first start trying the bottle, and when you switch to formula. With ours we tried having my husband feed her with the bottle first since she associated me with the breastfeeding. When I switched her to formula I had to mix it with the breast milk-a little more formula every couple days until the mixture was all formulal. I hopes this helps. London is a beautiful name!

My personal advice would be to start breastfeeding only for awhile. You need to get her used to BF and how to be successful at it. (It takes them awhile to catch on!) How long are you going to have a break before going back to work? During that time you can pump and pump--get as much milk built up as possible and freeze it to have for her during the day. At 8 weeks I started giving my daughter a bottle--of breastmilk that I pumped--so that she could get used to a bottle. She did really well with it. Around 12 weeks I started giving her formula (b/c I had low milk supply). You can mix your milk with formula (the only problem is if the baby doesn't eat it all, you have to throw it all out). You could also have certain times of the day where you give her breast milk, and other times she gets formula. Just be careful of your milk supply. You need to keep pumping during the day to keep up your milk supply. The only way to produce milk is to keep your breast empty! As to what type of formula, that is your preference (and the baby's too). You can ask the pediatrician for advice on what type to use. My baby will take anything--but I highly recommend sticking with either Enfamil Lipil or Similac advance b/c they help with brain and eye development. Whatever you choose to do, I'm sure you'll make a good choice, you obviously have raised 2 other wonderful daughters, huh? :) At least try BF, I'm glad you are considering it. P.S. I love the name you have chosen!

I bottle,formula, fed my oldest daughter and decided to try breast feeding my second daughter as well as my son. I ended up using both breast and bottle with the younger ones. I mostly pumped though because the hold they were comfy in I was scared I was going to drop them. It's truly your decision. Try it for a while see how you feel. Wether it comes from you or a bottle your baby will have the breast benefit and formula has come along way to simulate the milk that comes from us.

I won't open a new land by telling you all the benefiets of breast feeding and if you decide to do go with it, that would be one of the best thing you could have done for your baby. I just wanted to tell you that I heard and read that frozen breast milk looses all the nutrition values after some hours (do not remember how many exactly, somewhere between 8 to 12). It even was on TV news. So you might want to just pump for one day at the time.

D., first off congratulations on your soon to be third child. I hope you have found some encouraging advice from other moms. As a mother of four wonderful children all of whom were breastfed (1is 8months old and still nursing) and a neonatl intensive care nurse I highly recommend it. We all know of the nutritional value but there are no words to describe the loving bond you create with your child. It really is the best gift to give to yourself as well as your child. I will be honest with you it is very hard in the beginning. You have to learn to do it right as well as your child. There is a right way for latching the baby on etc. but if you have a good support person and the patience to make it through those first 3-4weeks the rest is smooth sailing. As far as freezing your milk you can do so in a freezer (fridge/freezer) for up to 6months if you have a deep freeze then it is good for 1year. there are a number of storage bags you can buy any place like wal-mart hy-vee etc. Also as far as supplementing goes I also recommend this as a nurse we see babies come into the NICU for dehydration and typically these are breastfed babes that the mothers are to worried about nippled confusion to offer a supplement so they struggle with breastfeeding and they both become upset and frustrated and eventually we see the babies in our unit. This isnt to say every baby needs a supplement but if your baby is acting hugry after you have nursed her then by all means give her a supplement. You both will be happier because of it. The baby will also be less frustrated when it comes time to feeding. I am sure you will hear people talk about nipple confusion and my only thought on that is that in 8years as a nicu nurse and 13years as a mohter I have never met a breastfed babe that didn't prefer to be fed by its mother. These babies develope what we call nipple preference meaning of cours they would prefer their mother but when left with no option they will learn to drink from a bottle. I hope this has helped I look forward top hearing back from you and good luck. There should also be lactation available at your delivering hospital to help answer any questions you have. Hope this helps T.

Congratulations and Way to Go on Choosing what's best, BREASTFEEDING! 1st it's gonna hurt! Just don't stop! Every couple days it gets better and finally you'll look back and think it lasted shorter than you thought. ALl I can say is PUMP PUMP PUMP. I was doing it every 4 hrs. Keep your supply up and you won't have to formula feed. PUMP at work. They are required to accomodate you and give you the time and space!
To freeze: Gerber, Medela, Lansinoh, and others carry breastmilk storage bags. Available at online sites, Wal-Mart, Target. Fill and freeze. Good in fridge for a week, and freezer 6 mo, and a deep freeze 1 yr+ !! Thawed milk is good in freezer 24hrs! and room temp. 1 hr!!! Stay on a healthy diet and get all the calories you need to keep supply up. Also alcohol and smoking decrease your supply! Take care and GOod luck, and don't forget you're giving your baby the BEST beginning!

I think it's o.k. to add a formula feeding during the day if you can't pump enough for the baby-sitter. Give the sitter what you do pump and let her supliment as she needs to. Breastfeed at home before and after work and pump again at night. You can buy special milk freezer bags. I lay them flat to freeze and then stack them in a bread pan until I need them. Avoid taking fenugreek seeds since you are pregnant. Any breastmilk you can give your baby is a bonus so don't stop completely. Have you looked into tandum nursing?

E.

Hi, Congradulations! I am a mom of six and have in one way or another breastfeed all my kids. I attend a breastfeeding support group and I would highly suggest for you to find one near you. We have women who are expecting come in all the time. As far as freezing....one woman told me she just uses the freezer ziploc bags to store her milk rather than buying the special bags. You want to make sure you write the date on the bag and use the oldest first. Don't mircowave breastmilk!! Allow it to sit out or warm up gradually in a pan. You can find out the how long to keep your milk depending on if in fridge or freezer etc in most brestfeeding books.

I give my daughter who is now 4mos some formula mostly because she wasn't gaining any weight with just my milk. I use similac advance. I haven't ever been able to use Enfamil because it didn't agree with my kids.

Best of luck with everything! The thrid child is always fun!

A.

i breastfed my daughter for 4 months, but i also to to supplement with formula too. I would recommend solely brestfeeding for while until she get's the hang of latching on. unless you are planning to stictly bottle feed...in which case you can pump and give her the pumped milk. Any amount of breastfeeding is better than at all. once i went back to work i didn't produce enuf to keep her satisfied, even though i pumped at work. I eventually got to the point when i was just nursing her at bedtime and early in the morning. then i just keep getting back until now she is strictly on formula. we tried sever different kinds. similac made her too gassy. Enfamil lipil was good, but very expensive. Now she is on nestle good start plus iron and it also has the DHA and ARA for eye, and neurological development. It is less expensive, gentle on her tummy and has all the same benefits as the other formulas. I do recommend letting her nurse at least for a few days to get the colostrum...it's the most beneficial. also, try pumping in between normal feedings to increase your milk production and to build up a supply to freeze and use later. breastfeeding is best, but formula is not the enemy. and even if you don't do it for very long...some breast milk is better for baby than none at all.

With both my kids I combined breastfeeding and formula feeding. Fortunately I had no problems with them not handling it well. I was home 6-7 weeks with them both, so started combining the formula and breast milk together at about 3-4 weeks. Basically I started with about 25% formula & 75% breast milk and then increased from there. No problems, no fussiness. Eventually we were giving full bottles of formula at some feedings and nursing at others. It worked great for me! I would definitely recommend trying it. It is an awesome experience. As far as freezing, I used both ice cube trays, which I then transfered to freezer bags, or purchased the individual freezer bags that you can label. Those worked great too. Hope this helps a little

I breastfed my first daughter for the first six weeks and it was so difficult that I just decided to switch her to formula. It turned out to be harder on her tummy to wean her slowly, so I had to do it cold turkey. It took her about three days to get over the hump and then she was a little gassy and started to get constipated. She is 17 months now and still has trouble with milk products. I wish I would have known about Similac Alimentum when I had her it seems to have done wonders with the second one. I hope it all works out for you, and your baby('s).

I exclusively breastfed for the first three months of my little girl's life. I went back to work when she was 10 weeks old (full time), and pumped. I never ever pumped enough to keep up with her, so for two weeks after I started back to work I struggled and pumped extra on my days off to try to keep up. After that, I gave up on the exclusivity. I started mixing formula in with her breastmilk, at first just one ounce to 3 of breastmilk, to "stretch" it. As she got older and ate more, I could still only pump enough for about three ounces in a bottle, so the amount of formula went up. Now, at 8 months old, I just breastfeed at night before she goes to sleep, and she is formula fed the rest of the time. She never had any "poop" problems when I switched her over, and I think that's because it was just so gradual, or maybe because we're just lucky. I know some babies have a hard time switching back and forth between breast and bottle, but I don't think that's a majority. We gave her her first bottle when she was 4 weeks old and breastfeeding was very well established. Try to find a nipple that closely resembles yours, and I would even suggest trying out a bottle a little sooner, maybe between 2-3 weeks old (but no sooner). Mine also still likes slower-flow nipples-- we use Avent, and she likes the stage 2 nipples. I tried to give her faster ones and she about choked :) I think it's because she's used to the slower flow of breast milk. I'm pro-breastfeeding for as much and as long as you can do, but the bottom line is it's a personal choice, and a big commitment, and only you can decide if it's right for you and your baby. But I love it, it's way cheaper than formula-- and even a top of the line expensive breast pump still only runs about what one month of formula would run you. As far as types of formula, we started off with Enfamil Lipil, because it has the DHA/ARA hormones that are found in breastmilk naturally. We switched to a generic brand of the same type of formula for about half the cost, and no adverse affects to the baby :) It's all FDA regulated, and most generics have charts on the back that show they are equal to the leading brands. I would recommend that if you do start with one and switch to another, don't do it abruptly-- we did that once and her poop turned teal and became really hard! Just mix it gradually over a week, and your little one should be ok. To freeze breastmilk, I would recommend the Gerber brand zip-top baggies (although some people don't seem to like them). What I would do, and is pretty common, I think, is something like this: On Monday, what you pump you use for Tues, and so on. Any extra, you freeze. Before you return to work, start trying to stock up a bit extra, and also so you have some for that first day back. If you are breastfeeding every 3 hours, then 1 1/2 hours after you feed, pump for a few minutes. You won't get much out most likely at first, but if you consistantly do that every feeding every day, your body will resond and boost your supply. We never had a good stock in the freezer, but you need to at least have some to get through the first day or two back at work. I figured 4 ounce bottles for each feeding, because everything I read said "between 3-5 ounces each feeding". I would take a felt tip pen or marker and mark the date on the bag, as well as mark on there how much is in there (it's graduated on the side like a measuring cup, but I found it wasn't accurate), and then just toss it in the freezer! Breastmilk is good for up to 3 months in the freezer, but the composition of your fresh milk changes as your babies needs change, so I wouldn't try to stock up enough for 3 months, because your 6 month old would get milk meant for a 3 month old. It's only good for 24 hours once you defrost it though, and the hardest thing for me was dumping milk out that she hadn't used when I didn't have a whole lot to begin with. It's good fresh in the refrigerator for 7 days. When you defrost it, do it slowly, either in the fridge, or in a bowl of water that you change every few minutes. Don't microwave it, as it breaks down important proteins, and can cause "hot spots".

Ok, I know that's a really long post, and I hope I didn't overwhelm you. Please feel free to send me a personal message if you have any other questions. And remember-- breast is best, but formula never killed anyone! Good luck!

Both of my boys were preemies and our first needed to stay in the NICU for a couple weeks and our second son for just one week. They were both on feeding tubes for part of the time and were given my pumped breastmilk thru it. When they were discharged I had to supplement my breastmilk with a preemie formula in order to help increase their rate of weight gain. My second son is currently a month old and he gets the formula all day with a bottle of breastmilk once a day. I pumped for a few weeks and then stopped since I go back to work soon and I just use what I have in the freezer now. The first few days of breastfeeding when you are giving them colostrum is the most important. OF course everyday you breastfeed is that much better as it gives them more immunities and such but just getting them something I think is certainly better than nothing. Good luck!