Going out- breastmilk or formula?

[emyandpotato]

Basically, we're going on a mini holiday to my mum's house in February half term. DS2 will be seven months. Me and OH were hoping to go for a meal and leave the kids with my parents but my breast pump has gone and broken. I can't hand express, and I never got much out with my pump which was a Medela, so I'm not sure if a cheap one would work on me at all, so I'd probably have to buy another expensive one. But then I'm wondering if maybe one bottle of formula would be okay? I think I'd be a bit gutted about it, but now he also eats solids, including dairy products, is a bottle of formula such a big deal? Ahh torn!

 

[jodilee6]

If it's just the once I can't see much harm from a bottle of formula, enjoy your meal out with your OH and don't feel guilty!

 

[lau86]

It's not a big deal at all, enjoy!

 

[kdmalk]

I will say from working in a daycare that we have had a few babies that started on formula for the first time day 1 of daycare and some didn't like the taste and refused the bottle. With the younger ones, it wasn't as big of a deal, but when they are older (6 months +), they recognize the taste difference and refuse the bottle and fuss because they are hungry.

So my only advice would be to try a bottle or a taste of it beforehand to make sure he will take it. If so, you are good to go! If not, keep introducing for a week or so to get him used to the taste.

 

[SarahBear]

You could do as kdmalk has suggested, but another idea is to get a cheap hand pump and pump while you nurse. I know you said that you can't get much even with an electric pump, but it might change your luck if you use your baby to help. The trick with pumping is tricking your body into a let down reflex. Nursing babies trigger the let-down reflex, resulting in them getting milk and the body isn't always so convinced by plastic, resulting in pumping being difficult for many women. If, however, you nurse your baby, wait for the let-down reflex, and then pump on the side you're not nursing on, you might be able to get some milk. Even if you just get a half ounce, you can do that several times over several days and build up a reasonable amount of milk to leave while you have a meal. You can just freeze the first pumping round in the bottom of a bottle and add your milk to the bottle as you go. Then at the end you'll have several layers of frozen milk in the same bottle but since it's been frozen, it's all just as fresh. You can just leave it in the fridge for the entire day before you need it and it will be good to go for your outing. And if you STILL can't pump, well, you didn't spend much money.

 

[emyandpotato]

I will say from working in a daycare that we have had a few babies that started on formula for the first time day 1 of daycare and some didn't like the taste and refused the bottle. With the younger ones, it wasn't as big of a deal, but when they are older (6 months +), they recognize the taste difference and refuse the bottle and fuss because they are hungry.

So my only advice would be to try a bottle or a taste of it beforehand to make sure he will take it. If so, you are good to go! If not, keep introducing for a week or so to get him used to the taste.

Oh no I just don't feel comfortable with that Nothing against formula but I don't think I could use more than a bottle, I'd feel awful, feeding him is my job. Don't want to mess with my supply either. Thank you I didn't even think of him not taking it!

 

[emyandpotato]

You could do as kdmalk has suggested, but another idea is to get a cheap hand pump and pump while you nurse. I know you said that you can't get much even with an electric pump, but it might change your luck if you use your baby to help. The trick with pumping is tricking your body into a let down reflex. Nursing babies trigger the let-down reflex, resulting in them getting milk and the body isn't always so convinced by plastic, resulting in pumping being difficult for many women. If, however, you nurse your baby, wait for the let-down reflex, and then pump on the side you're not nursing on, you might be able to get some milk. Even if you just get a half ounce, you can do that several times over several days and build up a reasonable amount of milk to leave while you have a meal. You can just freeze the first pumping round in the bottom of a bottle and add your milk to the bottle as you go. Then at the end you'll have several layers of frozen milk in the same bottle but since it's been frozen, it's all just as fresh. You can just leave it in the fridge for the entire day before you need it and it will be good to go for your outing. And if you STILL can't pump, well, you didn't spend much money.

Thank you this is an idea! Though I'll have to pump in one go. We get there Saturday and were hoping to go out Sunday. I actually have milk in the freezer here but can't transport it on a three hour train journey without it spoiling unfortunately.

 

[MindUtopia]

I would be inclined to offer whatever you normally offer him. If that's breastmilk, I'd offer breastmilk. There's nothing bad about offering formula. It's perfectly healthy and adequate nutrition. But if you're already putting him in a situation where everything is a bit different and it's different surroundings and someone different looking after him, I'd probably try to keep that one thing the same. Maybe get yourself a manual pump or buy a new pump if you plan to pump again in the future. If you're never going to use a pump again and you can't or don't want to hand express, yes, formula is absolutely and completely fine. You might just want to try him with it a few times in advance to make sure that he's happy to both take a bottle and take formula before that night.

 

[SarahBear]

You could do as kdmalk has suggested, but another idea is to get a cheap hand pump and pump while you nurse. I know you said that you can't get much even with an electric pump, but it might change your luck if you use your baby to help. The trick with pumping is tricking your body into a let down reflex. Nursing babies trigger the let-down reflex, resulting in them getting milk and the body isn't always so convinced by plastic, resulting in pumping being difficult for many women. If, however, you nurse your baby, wait for the let-down reflex, and then pump on the side you're not nursing on, you might be able to get some milk. Even if you just get a half ounce, you can do that several times over several days and build up a reasonable amount of milk to leave while you have a meal. You can just freeze the first pumping round in the bottom of a bottle and add your milk to the bottle as you go. Then at the end you'll have several layers of frozen milk in the same bottle but since it's been frozen, it's all just as fresh. You can just leave it in the fridge for the entire day before you need it and it will be good to go for your outing. And if you STILL can't pump, well, you didn't spend much money.

Thank you this is an idea! Though I'll have to pump in one go. We get there Saturday and were hoping to go out Sunday. I actually have milk in the freezer here but can't transport it on a three hour train journey without it spoiling unfortunately.

You can easily bring it on a 3 hour train ride. I drive further than that with milk in my trunk. What I would do is pull it out of the freezer right before you go. If you pack it in your suit case, the clothes will provide a level of insulation and the fact that the milk is frozen will keep it from spoiling. Then when you get where you're going, you can stick it in the fridge.

 

[d_b]

I will say from working in a daycare that we have had a few babies that started on formula for the first time day 1 of daycare and some didn't like the taste and refused the bottle. With the younger ones, it wasn't as big of a deal, but when they are older (6 months +), they recognize the taste difference and refuse the bottle and fuss because they are hungry.

So my only advice would be to try a bottle or a taste of it beforehand to make sure he will take it. If so, you are good to go! If not, keep introducing for a week or so to get him used to the taste.

Oh no I just don't feel comfortable with that Nothing against formula but I don't think I could use more than a bottle, I'd feel awful, feeding him is my job. Don't want to mess with my supply either. Thank you I didn't even think of him not taking it!

It's not a big deal... A few bottles of formula isn't likely to mess up your supply at this point! I wouldn't worry about it. At 7 months he can probably go a good few hours without milk anyway, especially if he can eat some solid food instead.

Personally I don't have time to pump so DD gets formula if we go out.

 

[SarahBear]

And just a bit of background on my experience with transporting milk: I work from home but often have to travel for work. My husband is a stay-at-home dad and when I travel, my whole family comes with me. As a result, I have to pump milk to be given while I'm working and I regularly have to figure out how to transport milk around the state. I live in a less populated area, so my travel is regularly 3.5 to 5 hours... and that's if I was traveling without kids. I also have to stop along the way to attend to various work duties. Therefore, the real travel ends up longer. I usually just use ice packs to keep it cold and wrap it up in blankets for insulation. When I worked away from home, I would pump and then just used ice packs in a cooler. It didn't last as long as my milk does now, but it kept it fresh enough for the next day. Right now, I have a bottle of milk in the freezer that took several pumping sessions to fill. I'm also going to need to pack an extra bottle of milk because I'm going to be working late next week. Since travel will likely take all day, I plan to freeze that bottle as well.

 

[AngelofTroy]

Personally I really wouldn't worry about trying him on a bottle of formula in the meantime and if he takes it OK then leave formula. It won't affect your supply at this age and he's already eating dairy from other sources. I don't see the problem.