Anyone topping up with formula after a breastfeed?

[2bananas]

also posted in baby club but thought would be good to ask here too ?


Hi all.

I have been and bought some formula this morning. I am considering using an ounce of Aptamil at the end of a feed to help satisfy my little man.

I am feeding what feels like constantly, I am struggling!

I am feeding for 5 hour periods in the evening which lasts to the early hours and the minimum he feeds is 3 hours at each feed.

Can anyone give me advice if you have topped up with formula? Did it work? I do not want to replace any of his feeds. I plan to let him feed for an hour on one breast, then let him top up on the second breast and then as he is always still looking for more to offer the ounce of formula.

I didnt want to take this option but I have a 5year old aswell and I want to be able to spend time with her too and not just be feeding constantly as I feel she is being pushed out a bit - not that you would know as she has been so good and dotes on him but its getting me down and I just want to reduce the feeding time.

I understand that he is generating his milk supply but I just cant go on like this.

Help greatly appreciated xxxxx

 

[redpoppy]

Hi there,

I've been oging through hell with the weight issues of my little one and I spent £70 for two hours with a lactation consultant from IBCLC and it was worth every penny and more. They also sid they could help me if I did have to supplement with formula with may be a possibility still but seriously they were AMAAAAAAZING and even their free service over the phone.

I've been feeding my little one a lot more effectively the last day using switch nursing and compression properly and pumping after every feed. It's so difficult to know what to do but just wanted to say, try the IBCLC!!!! I can give you the number and name of the woman who helped me over the phone (voluntary and AMAZING instructions over the phone but you'll need a while to chat with her at length!)

Even if you are supplementing it's good to get that type of support. Hope you find the best answer for you!

 

[Elski]

Like you say - your LO is just a wee one and is basically feeding constantly to build up your milk supply. Don't worry, you're not alone, the first few weeks are like this for a lot of people and it's exhausting. The problem with topping up is that your brain won't be getting the signals from LO feeding at the breast to produce more milk. If you want to BF, is there any way you can stick it out for a couple of weeks until your body starts getting used to the amount LO needs? Perhaps while you're BFing, your little girl can snuggle up next to you for stories etc? In a few weeks, you'll be able to spend a bit more time with her as LO will get into a bit more of a spaced-out pattern.

The first few weeks can be really trying but try to battle on as the rewards once things settle down are well worth it but most importantly, do what's right for you and if that's topping-up then it's all good

 

[MrsQ]

hey hun.
Firstly congratulations and also how old is he now?
Your right about the milk regulating and also just want to ask has he been checked for tongue tie?
My LO was like this and i was in agony byt ehn end of his 5 hour marathons. He wasnt gaining weight and in fact went from 6lbs 12 at birth right down to 6lbs5. My friend who is a midwife came to visit and said he had tongue tie. It took 4 weeks to get it snipped but within 48 hours i felt a difference and he was feeding for shorter periods and sleeping longer.

Because he had lost weight i had to give him a bottle of formula at night. Rec by midwifes. And it took up till two weeks ago to get rid.

If you do do formula. try pumping in between to up your milk and also take fenugreek.

Hope this helps.
xx

 

[bana]

awww hes not even a week old yet, i suggest hes only trying to establish a good milk supply. My lo did this for a couple of weeks, it doesnt go on forever please believe that. Try not to supplement with formula because it can effect yr supply, and it is only early days. However i understand that you have a 5yr old and its not always straight forward. Just hang in there and the feeds will get less and less. xx

 

[Claire788]

I top up with formula at the end of each feed, I've tried to get off the formula, but its really quite difficult one you start (the LLL told me to go cold turkey on the formula when id got my supply up - but it wasnt that easy!) so yup its easy enough to top up, but not so easy to get off it (much like MrsQ said)

Good luck, let us know how you get on

 

[Seraphim]

It's not anti-formula to say that giving formula top ups does not help you if you want to BF - it makes BFing harder. If there is a medical need then sometimes you just have to deal with the difficulty top-ups can bring, but otherwise it's mostly a case of gritting your teeth for another week and things will improve.

Sorry I'm not the most poetic with these things, but its hard to see so many people make it harder

 

[CharlieP]

Wss ^^

 

[madasa]

Top ups dent your supply, often meaning you end up topping up more, which dents your supply even more. It's very, very easy to find that your milk has dried up.... because you started top ups.

It's important to be proactive about keeping your supply up and countering the negative effect of the top ups. This means more feeds. Pumping (using a GOOD pump). And maybe taking supplements or prescription drugs to encourage your milk supply. So, to put it bluntly, if you WANT to carry on bfdg... top ups make the journey harder, not easier. I wouldn't do it "to help satisfy" my LO.... only if there was a medical indication, some underlying problem that was meaning that LO would be malnourished without the topping up.

The kiddo isn't a week old yet - don't be discouraged! It's a good thing that he's wanting to feed so much, it's establishing a really good supply! This settles down after a while and you might occasionally have a similar thing when he hits a growth spurt.

Get some proper help... preferably eyes on, hands on support (maybe from a mw or hv who fully supports bfdg, or someone from LLL or IBCLC) . It might be that there is something wrong, but something very simple that can be fixed and make the whole shebang EASIER for you... without the slippery slope of topping up.

 

[bumpty]

stick with it hunny...i know how you feel....i have 3 older boys and feel soooo guilty on them...

but making bottles would take up your time too and i promise it gets easier and i now am so glad i stuck at it!! I couldnt be bothered to make bottles now!!

 

[2bananas]

thanks all.

have decided to stick with it and not top up.

would like to just add that i have been feeding since 9.15 this morning with breaks of 10 minutes in a couple of places. milk is pouring out of me and he just keeps going.

have been told to expect day 7 to be tough going by the midwife and then day 10 - as he fed all night too im now at the point of exhaustion so guess she was right about day 7 then

dont see how people actually enjoy breastfeeding - this is hell to me at the moment. i do nothing but feed.

im not convinced he's not just using me for comfort sucking part of the time.

thanks again for replies

 

[Dragonfly]

Excellent glad to hear you will stick with it, its not easy but keep going, loads here to support you. I enjoy breastfeeding but it took alot to get to where I am in time wise, I didnt like it at the start and so many times wanted to stop but I couldn't I just had to plow on. So glad I did now, its became enjoyable after a few months in. Newborns feed a lot, they can feed up to 20 times a day! I remember william had me sucked dry I thought.

 

[madasa]

It feels exhausting now, but it really DOES even out and get easier and completely enjoyable. Your baby and your body have to work out a kind of balance between them before that can happen, so just let them go with it and snatch sleep whenever you can. Don't forget to take care of yourself, drink plenty, eat well, REST and let friends or relatives help as much as they want to.... This really doesn't last forever. You'll blink and the little toad will be asking to borrow the car

 

[Dragonfly]

true about how fast it goes feels like yesterday I had my pregnancy ticker up in this forum eagerly waiting the birth and now he is a year old : its only a short time they are babies for

 

[2bananas]

true about how fast it goes feels like yesterday I had my pregnancy ticker up in this forum eagerly waiting the birth and now he is a year old : its only a short time they are babies for

but what happens if the short time they are babies for you arent enjoying because the breast feeding is literally sucking the enjoyment out of it!

With my dd I tried bf and it didnt work out as she couldnt latch properly and after 3 weeks of heartache I switched to formula full time as it was a nightmare.

I also suffered severe pnd and looking back im wondering if the problems I had with feeding triggered it.

Only this time the feeding is going well and he feeds brilliantly but im so exhausted instead of enjoying it im sat around crying each time he wants a feed because I know once I start I wont be moving for about 3-5 hours - im honestly feeling tortured.............. how do you get anything done???????

I've also not had much help about as oh has had to work and is only getting a week off from tomorrow due to meetings he couldnt miss - im hoping that this will make a difference as mostly this first week I have been on my own and when he has been home he has taken our dd out so she hasnt been stuck in the house.

Im rambling, im tired and cant even get my head to think straight.

 

[Seraphim]

I gets easier, promise.

 

[madasa]

true about how fast it goes feels like yesterday I had my pregnancy ticker up in this forum eagerly waiting the birth and now he is a year old : its only a short time they are babies for

but what happens if the short time they are babies for you arent enjoying because the breast feeding is literally sucking the enjoyment out of it!

With my dd I tried bf and it didnt work out as she couldnt latch properly and after 3 weeks of heartache I switched to formula full time as it was a nightmare.

I also suffered severe pnd and looking back im wondering if the problems I had with feeding triggered it.

Only this time the feeding is going well and he feeds brilliantly but im so exhausted instead of enjoying it im sat around crying each time he wants a feed because I know once I start I wont be moving for about 3-5 hours - im honestly feeling tortured.............. how do you get anything done???????

I've also not had much help about as oh has had to work and is only getting a week off from tomorrow due to meetings he couldnt miss - im hoping that this will make a difference as mostly this first week I have been on my own and when he has been home he has taken our dd out so she hasnt been stuck in the house.

Im rambling, im tired and cant even get my head to think straight.

Honestly, bfdg helps prevent PPD. The hormones that get released during nursing are very beneficial for you. It's at least as likely that the switch to ff had something to do with the PPD as the problems with bfdg. I remember some days feeling like Daisy the Cow and it was disheartening at first.... I found the best ways to cope with it were to get a really good book to read, or just to strip down, skin to skin.... and savour it. Or you could get a sling and let LO nurse while you get on and do other things. Now that I have a toddler, that is how I am planning to deal with it this time around.

 

[gurldopey]

Hi I had this same problem at first (my daughter is two months two weeks old)
and her doctor told me to give her a pacifier because she just wanted to be soothed. It actually worked!!! Although not all breastfeeding mothers want to introduce a pacifier just yet, but if you are okay with it, try it.

 

[bekkie]

the past couple nights LO has been extremely hungry and I haven't been making enough so he gets really upset, so I've been topping up with 60ml of formula, and then once LO falls asleep I pump, even if nothing comes out, to try and increase my milk, and I've been pumping more throughout the day to try and build up enough so I can give him EBM instead.

we've tried a soother to hold him over but he doesn't like it at all