How different is baby after switching to formula!

[Deli]

I tried to bf for 2 weeks, & was then readdmitted to hospital because i couldn't cope. bella would scream constantly & wouldn't feed (though no-one could establish why, she cold suck, she was latching on fine, but she'd pull off & start screaming, over & over again).

a midwife asked my permission to feed her formula, & bella took it & settled right away. oh & i cried, we'd never seen her settled, he'd never even held her without her screaming.

it made such a difference. before that, we were thinking we'd have to give her away, that we'd created this demon baby that hated us. now, well, we couldn't possibly enjoy her more.

xx

Aaw, that's a lovely positive story.

I've breastfed all of my babies but before I had my first one, my mum told me about her experience with me as a baby and you are pretty much re-telling her experience! So pleased your baby is settled now.

 

[New Mrs W]

My baby was admitted to hospital at 10 days old whilst being BF. He was losing too much weight and hadn't done a poo for 6 days. When at the hospital he was checked over and didn't even have any poo ready to come out, he literally wasn't getting enough food to make any waste product. I gave him a bottle of formula while I was there as I was advised it is denser than breast milk and might make him poo, which it did within half an hour!!!! After a tearful night, I decided to switch to FF and since then he has gained lots of weight and poos at least twice a day. Although I hate that I couldn't stick to my plan of BF for 6 months, my baby is happy and healthy on FF and no longer in hospital, so that is the biggest change I have noticed in him!!

 

[Deli]

With ds, I only breastfed for a little over a week, once i switched he slept through and life was much more organised. On the negative, he CONSTANTLY had a cold, which i dont think would have happened if breastfeeding, but i could be wrong. Also, I found feeding out and about much more stressful with formula. Im breastfeeding dd now and outings are much easier... I've fed on a park bench before now. It's too soon for me to compare the health benefits though as she's only 6 weeks.

My ten week old baby is exclusively breastfed and seems to have had a permanent cold (manflu lol) since birth!

Mind you, he is the youngest of six so his immune system is taking a constant battering I suppose!

 

[Mynx]

I breastfed Evie for just over 2 weeks and had issues with her constantly falling asleep while feeding, nothing would wake her up so at each feed, she'd take less and less. She still had jaundice too. I started to combine feed with formula and noticed that she'd be more settled after a formula feed. I was constantly worrying that she wasnt taking enough milk from me because she'd drain a formula bottle. In the end my supply started dwindling, so I made the very hard decision to switch to formula completely.
I havent looked back since. Her jaundice cleared up, she seemed more alert and was much more settled overall. It also meant that OH could share in the feeding and watching him feed her for the first time was proper heart melting
Making the switch was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make but it was also what was best for all of us at the time
As for her poos, she's always had Aptamil and it's notorious for causing poos very similar to breastfed poos, so we've never had an issue with constipation.

 

[aliss]

It made him a lot gassier and he has a ton more tummy aches.

I couldn't nurse LO from the breast so I exclusively expressed for a while until my supply dwindled down to nothing even with the help of drugs/supplements and lactation nurses.

I did not have a choice except to combo feed and then exclusive FF. I don't know about his behaviour on either one as he was just too young and had colic anyways and was starving hungry.... he was injured during the birth and was traumatized from feeding

 

[Brockie]

Kitty has just started having a bottle of formula at bedtime this last month, only difference was the consistancy of her poo it was thicker!

she latched on within minutes of being born and has been a fantastic feeder so it really has been the best option for both of us! she gained weight at a super fast rate and is a little porker.

it made no differnce to her sleeping, she has always been a good sleeper, she was a windy baby but by the time she started having a bottle of formula she had grown out of that anyway so no difference there.

xxx

 

[bky]

I do about half/half due to low milk. I'd say the main issues since swapping to formula use is constipation ( I now give her sugar water every 3 days so she can go ). Other than that at first she was really smelly (poo, farts etc) but that changed with a change in formula. Since she's still BF'd first at every feed she's at the boob every 1-3 hours so formula didn't change that. Sleeps only 5-7 hours, hardly naps so no change there.

 

[Sugarmuppet]

I expressed for 6 months and just couldn't carry on past that. I was so worried about how Gaby would get on with formula...

it didn't make one bit of difference to her! Not sure what I was expecting, but was a tiny bit disapointed that she drank it just the same as the milk I had spent hours expressing for her!

No difference to how much she ate/when she ate/poos/sleeping habits, not one thing!

 

[MrsVenn]

When I was BF, LO was feeding every 1 1/2 hours. When we switched to forumla, she slept through the night instantly and fed every 4 hours, this was definitely a positive! Others were also able to feed her when I was seriously ill, again another positive.

For us, we only had positives come out of FF as LO and myself were extremely unwell so it was what kept her alive as far as I'm concerned.

BF - she got 5 days worth of a boost to her basic immunity. A lot less hassle - whip the old boobie out and bobs your uncle. With FF, you have bottles to wash, sterilise, make up etc.

 

[xprincessx]

My baby is combo fed (he has 1-2 breastfeeds a day - expressed) and since giving him formula i havent noticed any difference in his behaviour. He still feeds just as often as he did when he was breastfed exclusively and his poo's are the same etc. He's been having formula since he was 6 days old, he's not 16 days old x

 

[MommyKC]

Hey Momma!

I only BFd my first daughter for 3 weeks before switching to formula. My nipples were just too raw and sore, and they wouldn't heal. I couldn't continue, I was in massive pain every time I had to feed her. I am still sad that I switched but I have no regrets. I did what was best for her and I, and my sanity.

So this is what I found from switching to formula:

Benefits
-She slept longer and could go longer between feeds
-She would guzzle a bottle within minutes as oppose to 20-40 minutes of fiddling on the breast, made feeds much easier and less stressful
-I knew exactly what she was getting rather than guessing
-Her weight gain was amazing
-My breasts were MINE again and not in severe pain anymore
-I could easily leave her with someone for an hour or so if I needed to run errands on my own, rather than bringing her everywhere

Drawbacks
-EXPENSIVE!!!
-She was much fussier due to colic, gas, etc until she was about 3 months old
-Smellier Poop
-HUGE pain having to sterilize bottles, mix them, etc every day
-She spit up alot more often
-Formula itself smells awful

I just wanted to add, you will hear all these stories of how babies are healthier on breastmilk, they get less sick, more intelligent, etc. But keep in mind this is not always the case. My daughter never even caught a cold until she was 10 months old, and she is very smart. It really depends on the CHILD, not what they are fed... in my opinion anyway. Breastmilk is amazing, but formula is a great substitute as well for those of us who cannot keep at it.

Hope this helps hun! Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[snugglebot]

so many of your stories of your babies being hungry and the crying remind me of our newborn days. It was terrible. He cried soooo much. 4-5 hours at a time, many times a day and never went longer than 2 hrs before demanding to feed again until he was 5 months old!! He dropped from the 97th percentile at birth down to the 16th by the time he was 9 months old. BF became extremely painful and we cried all the time, both of us hating it. He always cried after nursings. There was no "nursing to sleep" in our repetoire.

Finally at 9months I switched after losing my milk and feeling beyond frustrated. He gained a whole pound in a week. Has been gaining percentiles since. He fell asleep on the bottle the first time and now looks forward to his bottle more than he EVER looked forward to nursings.

I am happier.

Would I have stopped BF sooner had I know. Maybe not but I would have considered combi feeding for sure!

 

[littleemma]

Hi!

I BF for about a month, the biggest changes after switching where that she started going longer between feeds, and even sleeping through the night, on the bad side she is really constipated she went from having about 5/6 poops a day to only one.

 

[bky]

I was actually testing out how many bottles to send with Lucy to nursery when she starts in a few weeks so was having OH give her all daytime feeds in a bottle today (she gets fussy at the boob when I give her bottles). She was insistent on eating every 2 hours, 100ml or so each feed (but no more), went between dopey and unsettled very rapidly, and didn't sleep as much as she normally does in the day.
Normally in the day I give her 2 100ml or less top ups and let her have boobsnacks (as I call them, they take 5-15 minutes) whenever she likes. She usually has 2-3 snacks (10am, and 3pm, maybe another one) and 2 feeds during the day, one around noon and one around 4-5pm.
Was really hard since she kept pawing at my shirt and reaching down there trying to get at my boobs when she was getting hungry. She loves her boob! Glad I wont have to deprive her again.

 

[lvh05]

I EBF, but I noticed you're only at 2 weeks. I just wanted to add- I had mastitis (on my birthday, no less!), thrush in my boobs, and my nipples were so sensitive for some reason. I dreaded him breastfeeding, and had a tough time, despite lactation consultants, and reading books trying to solve the problem.

However, I told myself that there was no alternative (I had a healthy supply, and he was thriving), and I pretended that formula didn't exist. I had free cans in my cabinet I got from all the big companies, and DH would see me suffering and say, 'I'm going to make him a bottle.'

I didn't let him, though. And despite the exhaustion, bruising from bad pumps, and illnesses in my boobies, I FINALLY found relieft at about 6.5 weeks. Now, it doesn't hurt, I actually enjoy breastfeeding, and we're in a good routine. I bought myself an expensive pump which was the best thing I ever did. I used it a couple times a day for relief during the early weeks.

Every day, I told myself, "Just get through today, and tomorrow will be better." Even if it wasn't better the next day, I told myself again that it would get better. Because, it couldn't hurt like that forever, and it didn't.

That said, I definitely see why people give up, and I think you have to really, really want it more than anything in the world to be extremely successful with it (assuming there aren't medical issues involved.)

Good luck in whatever you choose! Just know, if you're having a tough time, that it does get better.

 

[snugglebot]

*sigh* I see the last post isn't really on topic. Personally I feel it would have been better if you had PM'd the member rather than post off topic because it risks turning it into a debate about switching and that wasn't the reason for the discussion.

 

[sb786]

I went back to work when lo was 5 months so we started to introduce 1 bottle of formula. she started bringing up a lot more milk after a feed and we also found that she was getting wind and having hard uncomfortable poos. With breast milk we found LO had no colic whatsoever and had soft runny poos.
As for sleeping through the night she was doing that anyway at about 12 weeks whilst just on breast milk.

 

[redpoppy]

I introduced formula at 10 weeks and stopped BFing at 12. My baby was underfed and HUNGRY. There was no different other than she started guzzling it down and gained too much weight. I felt so guilty about it all but she's doing a lot better than she was in the early days just BFing. I wish I could have BFd for a year but it wasn't meant to be.

P.S. We went with the stupidly overpriced Aptamil but it meant she's not had any constipation issues until solids and even then minor ones.

 

[I_AM_LIVID]

I BF for nearly three weeks but finally had to throw my hands in the air, swallow my pride and switch to FF. The main problem for me was that my supply was very low mainly because I was eating poorly (I had a huge cyst which caused terrible stomach cramps when I ate, and I was recovering poorly from my c-section) and because my baby girl had trouble latching I simply didn’t produce enough milk for both babies. So, both twins were getting half the supply they needed and were constantly hungry. Also, they were lazy suckers and slept while feeding (they sucked and slept continuously, but when you pulled off boobie hoping they were fast asleep, they would cry, so they slept on my boobie and were ALWAYS hungry). As a result, it seemed all I did all day long was breastfeed (keep in mind I had two babies who didn’t always have the same feeding hours) two very hungry babies who only slept 30-40 minutes before they were demanding more milk.

When I switched to FF, I noticed they slept more (finally, I could get 3-4 hours in between feeds to run errands, cook for myself and actually EAT) and cried less. Their poop also sometimes goes green and stinks really bad. I finally have my sanity back and everyone is happy and less tired. They have also picked up weight beautifully. That said, preparing and sterilizing bottles does consume time as well and our outings have to be better prepared and timed unlike before.

 

[ouchwithNo.2]

I only breastfed for 3 weeks BUT, LO started sleeping longer stretches on the bottle, stopped falling asleep on me and stopped the comfort sucking.
I am personally glad I switched, I was a milking machine for 5 solid hours every evening when she was colic-ky and it was truly wearing me down.
Most of my friends breastfed up until 6mths and they never got their LO's to sleep all night without waking until they introduced a night top-up of formula....