Questions for moms who have to supplement

[caitlyn2009]

Hi ladies. As much as I hate the thought and feel like I have failed for having to do so (I know this is irrational, but I just can't shake the feeling!) the time has come that I can no longer keep up with pumping the amount of milk that my little man is drinking. I do not have a lot of time to pump at work, usually only once per day and I am away from DS from 7am-5p. I have a few questions about this and I am hoping that someone with some experience can help me out. Thank you in advance for your help!!!

1. Can I use any kind of formula or should I buy the special kind meant for supplementation?

2. How should my sitter be instructed to use it? Every other bottle? Only if she runs out of BM?

3. How easily did your baby take to the different taste/ consistency?

4. Did it cause digestive issues in your baby (I am afraid it will constipate him)?

I am working on boosting my supply and making sure that I pump at least 2x during the day. He will continue to nurse from me during the night and on the weekends. I guess I am just so nervous because for 3 months he has had nothing but BM. I am not against formula (My daughter was formula fed), but for some reason this feels like I am letting him down. Am I being ridiculous??

Thanks again for all the wonderful support!!!

 

[Rhiannon137]

I'm exclusively pumping for my son and, for about a month or two, my supply lagged behind his demand. I just used regular Enfamil formula powder - I've not actually heard of special supplementation formula. I always made up bottles to have a mixture of formula and breast milk to minimize any distaste or discomfort. Mine never really seemed to mind - even once when we got stuck on a roadtrip and I just had to give him a random emergency bottle full of premade Similac. To some extent, I know that I just got lucky with an easygoing eater. Ibwoild recommend at least starting out with a mixture of mostly breastmilk with increasing amounts of formula as you go.

 

[caitlyn2009]

So for example... You would make up a bottle that was 2 oz of breast milk and 2 ounces of formula? I could have her do that.

Did your supply pick back up to the point you could discontinue the formula?

 

[Rhiannon137]

That's exactly how I would do the bottles. If you have more milk, use even more milk, but I think the mixed bottles are less of a shock than a whole bottle of formula.

My supply did catch up to his demand. I was pumping at least 8 times per day for the first 2-3 months, and gradually got that down to 4 times per day. I try to always double pump (15 min pumping, 10 min break, 10 min pumping). I wrote a pretty long response in a BF after Reduction thread in November where I detailed the things I tried to help with supply.