my first formula feed...

[PepsiChic]

ive managed to exclusively breastfeed to this point and am now supplementing 3 feeds a day with formula due to supply decreasing to the point my LO is loosing weight.

i bought Enfimil gentlease, just made up a 6oz bottle (i think i did it right 6oz water, 3 scoops of formula and i used nursery baby water)

lets see how he likes this...

wish me luck!

 

[OmarsMum]

Good luck hun xx

 

[PepsiChic]

this is not going as planned, hes having a complete meltdown, spat it out, pulls the bottle out his mouth and clamps his mouth shut the moment i put the bottle near him

 

[OmarsMum]

Did he take a bottle with EM before?

 

[PepsiChic]

Did he take a bottle with EM before?

yup without a problem, could it be the taste? is there a formula that is suppose to taste more like bm? or can i put bm in the bottle with formula?

 

[OmarsMum]

Yes hun, you can mix it with EM at 1st. Formula is trial & error as they dont taste the same. We changed formula several times until we found one he liked & didnt cause him tummy issues. It's not easy

 

[angel2010]

Good luck! Hopefully adding a little bm will help. Let us know!

 

[PepsiChic]

ok i had 2oz of bm i was going to try and store to get the full 6oz for his bedtime but i went ahead and poured some of the formula out so i had 2oz of formula and 2oz of breastmilk, mixed together in the same bottle.

at first he wouldnt take it because he was so stressed and crying by this point, so i let him on the breast for a minute and when he was sleepy and calm i put the bottle in his mouth and he drank the full 4oz. burped and was alseep before i even put him down.

last night i didnt have any stored bm, so he fed from the breast and woke up at 2am and went back to sleep at 5am, woke at 8am and today he didnt go down for his nap at noon and his second nap is normally 4/4:30ish and its now 5:45pm, better late then never.

 

[angel2010]

Do you think you will be able to express another oz or 2 to add to his bedtime bottle?

 

[Vickie]

Good luck

 

[PepsiChic]

Do you think you will be able to express another oz or 2 to add to his bedtime bottle?

im pumping now, but tbh, he looks so peaceful im not going to wake him, just to stess him out and back to bed again

so im pumping now and if i cant get 6oz (which im never going to get in 1 pumping session tbh) then i'll match whatever i do pump with formula to make up the feed! and whenever he does wake up he can have that

angel how often and how much does carter get? obviously i cant tell with my LO when hes on the breast but he drinks 4-5oz easily for his naps and 6oz for bedtime i was thinking of increasing all 3 bottles to 6oz now that im not only using breastmilk.

 

[PepsiChic]

Barry woke up after 2 and a half hours, i had been pumping though because i thought he might stay asleep so i let him latch on and he fed for 10 minutes and seemed fussy afterwards, i figured hed still be hungry so i had made up a 2oz bottle of formula, he didnt want it at first so i let him latch back on me and while he was latched on i gently pushed the bottle nipple into his mouth and he latched onto that instead, he drank the 2oz so fast!

so i made another 4oz of formula and he drank all but a dribble and pushed the bottle out his mouth when he was done so i knew he was full.

im so glad he drank the formula, it will make things so much easier.

i have to say though, i feel like SHIT. i went and had a cry in the bathroom while my roommates played with Barry. I feel guilty, my goal and determination to breastfeed him blurred my vision of reality. the reality that my baby boy was not getting enough to eat, and stopped gaining weight. it wasnt until he started to loose weight and my attempts to increase my milk supply failed that i realised my mistake.

i feel like i starved my little boy even though i know that might be called extreme its just how im feeling. the fact he drank 13oz in 2 hours just was a reality check and a shock to my system.

i cant stop apologising to him and crying when i look into his big blue loving eyes. i never meant to cause him harm. i love him, and now i'll make sure he puts on weight and eats properly.

*sigh* i feel some of the stress finally lifting from my shoulders.

 

[angel2010]

Carter likes to eat when he wakes up from a nap and before he goes down for the next one. He also likes it warm. So a lot of the time I waste some of the bottle because I can't reheat it even if it is in the 2hr time frame. Which is usually all he can stand to be awake for before he gets grumpy. Anyway, I will start with bedtime
8:45pm 8oz(this just started tonight, used to be 6oz)
usually has 1 wake up for a feed and will have about 5oz out of a 6oz bottle
usually up between 6 and 7 will have anywhere between 4 and 6oz
has another bottle of about 3oz before next nap (around 8 or 9)
will wake after about 1 hr then will have about 3oz
awake for 2 hrs and usually has about 4oz before next nap
sleeps for about 2hrs this time
wakes has a little lunch (we have had carrots, green beans and sweet potato so far) and will have a 6oz bottle
up for 2hrs and will have another 3oz before next nap
asleep for about 1 1/2hrs and wakes to have another 3 oz
up for 2 hrs, has his dinner between 5 and 6 and will have another 3oz before next nap
asleep for 45min and because it is so late I try not to give him a bottle because then he won't have so much at bedtime.


Confusing I know, seems like I am always feeding him. It is not an exact science for us. We are by no means on a schedule (except for bedtime routine), so he does what he wants. Sometimes he will eat more or less. He usually has about 45 oz.

I have prob scared you more than helped you with that reply.

 

[angel2010]

Barry knows that you love him. There is no need to beat yourself up over this. I know that is easier said than done. You have made your decision, so you are on the right track. You are a great mom and have done your best.
Now, we need to straighten out that OH of yours!

 

[angel2010]

Going to bed now, will check back in with you tomorrow to see how things have gone. Hopefully you won't have to get up at 5 again.

 

[OmarsMum]

HI hun. Glad it's working. At 4 months your LO needs 24-28 oz of formula if he's exclusively FF. Mine never went for more than 24 oz in 24 hrs. Good luck hun, keep updating xx

 

[PepsiChic]

well, barry decided once he was awake he didnt want to go back down for a while, so at 11:30pm i gave him a mixed bottle 3oz bm and 3oz formula, he drank it and he went to bed no problem and slep till 4am.

i gave him another 6oz bottle of just formula because i had just pumped 10 minutes before he woke up (this baby must have instinct for when i get my boobs out!) and put him back into his bassinet and he went back to sleep and woke up at 10am.

i fed him from boob when he woke, and pumped the otherside becuse they were quite full and the let down made it leak bad. at noon i'll give him a bottle of 6oz of formula and see how much he drinks and put him down for a nap.

then when he wakes i'll bf him again and his next nap i'll give him a mixed bottle because i have 2.5oz of ebm now and i might be able to get some more before then.

so
10am - bf
noon - bottle and nap
1/1:30pm - bf
3:30/4pm - bottle and nap
5:30/6pm - bf
7:30/8pm bottle and bed

and he gets bf on demand during the day whenever he wants on top of that

lets see how it goes!

as for OH, while i went out with MIL to get some christmas shopping done, he did dishes and cleaned out the litter trays. i had sent him a really long email the night before telling him how i felt. i guess he read it!

 

[angel2010]

It sounds like things are starting off really good. And I am glad that your OH is finally coming around. I on the other hand was up at 5:30 and Carter wouldn't go back down til 8:30. So glad tonight is OH's night.

 

[PepsiChic]

It sounds like things are starting off really good. And I am glad that your OH is finally coming around. I on the other hand was up at 5:30 and Carter wouldn't go back down til 8:30. So glad tonight is OH's night.

well we'll see how OH is today, i woke up to some dishes so i havent done them...will see if he has the initiative to do them before he goes to work.

the other day barry woke up at 2am and didnt go back down till almost 5am. strange times these babys want to wake!

 

[angel2010]

You're telling me! Think tomorrow I may try to sleep til 10am!