Bad Idea to Start Supplementing with Formula?

Supplementing with formula is a downward spiral to feeding with formula. I would not do it unless it was an emergency.

I never use formula because as Melissa says, it is a downward spiral.

If you don't want to breastfeed, then go ahead, but if you want to breastfeed, I don't think i see the point.

pump. avoid formula unless you don't have breastmilk. your body makes the perfect food for your baby. and the more you pump or breastfeed, the more it makes. so if you start using formula your milk production can decrease and you may end up weaning before you were ready.

for the exhorbitant price of a few cans of formula you could buy a new or used hands free pump and do it while you take care of other stuff, like emails or reading. i know someone who pumped hands-free while she was driving.

you can make it work. your baby will thank you.

good luck mama!

I never saw breastfeeding as stressful, it was guaranteed time that I got to sit down and rest. Needing a "break" from it never crossed my mind. That said, he'll be drinking out of a cup in a few months, so if it's such a pain to pump, why start a bottle habit if you don't need to? He's old enough to leave for an hour or two between feedings, too.

I guess it depends on why you need him to take a bottle and how badly. I mean, if it's so you can have a break once in a while then it might be worth it to pump for those specific instances.

I'd be very hesitant to introduce formula for a couple of reasons: a) family history of allergies - why take the risk? and b) if you want to continue to breastfeed - introducing the bottle and formula will very likely diminish your supply.

Well sure it's fine but if he's never had a bottle, or formula, isn't that going to be hard? The rubber nipple, the fake milk, it all seems so strange, why did you wait this long? Didn't you read anything? It's like you're shooting yourself in the foot :-(

Why introduce a bottle at all? You made it to four months, you're past the hard part. Soon you can drop the night feedings, and daytime feedings will decrease as well. Nursing is pretty easy from here on in. Before you know it you will only need to nurse about four times a day, and sitting down to nurse will be a lot easier than mixing up a bottle of formula! I'm sure a little formula is OK, but why bother?

If you don't to use formula, why start? I think it's "okay" but I think you should try pumping first. I think your son's allergies are unrelated to the formula. My sister and I were both partially formula fed and she's the one with allergies and I am not. My DD was exclusively nursed and has an allergy. The issue with formula, in part, is that every time you don't nurse, you tell your body you don't need the milk, so if it's going to be a frequent thing, you may find your supply dropping off for lack of nursing/pumping. If I knew I was going out and needed milk for DD and I wasn't working, I'd pump before bed, after everyone else was in bed.

Waiting this long for a bottle is going to be hard no matter if it's formula or breast milk. Hard, but not impossible. If I were you, I would simply pump (I know it sucks!) and work on giving him the bottle.

Good luck!

I would question why you need/want to supplement with formula? Do you not want to breastfeed? Is he hungry and you aren't producing enough milk? I HAD to supplement with formula for my last baby because I was working full-time, and he stopped nursing months earlier than my other two because of it. If there are no problems, I wouldn't give him a bottle at all.

You'll never know if it's an allergy problem until you try.
Both of my kids were 100% formula, and they're healthy as horses.

I don't generally think it's a problem but in your case it may be a bad idea. We have eczema and allergies in the family and that was one reason I avoided formula altogether.
I would say if you only need to feed the occasional bottle you can either hand express milk into a bottle or use a manual pump. You will get the most milk for your pumping time if you pump first thing in the morning - just try to get up 15 minutes before your kids wake and you should be fine.
Freeze the milk you pump for when you need it. As I said if you only need the occasional bottle just do this for a week or so and you will have a nice stash.
Good luck.

I have to agree with Zelda girl. I'd first try to get baby to take a bottle of pumped breast milk. You may need to try a lot of different nipples to get him to take one. Then you could try to mix a little formula into the breast milk once he's accepting the bottle, if you really need the break from pumping.

You're lucky that you CAN pump. I couldn't. Thankfully, my kids didn't care which they got - breast or bottle/formula. But I started them off early switching between breast and bottle. At four months, the breast is an ingrained habit.

I do wish you a lot of luck!!

Given the family history I would be concerned of allergies with your second one as well. If there is not a desperate need to use formula I would really give it a miss. Or if you really feel that you have to use formula I would try a soy based one instead of a cow's milk one to try to avoid any allergies.

There is nothing wrong with using formula. If you have a known milk protien allergy, then milk formula should not be used. But, I also have 2 kiddos with it, and my daughter used soy formula, which was fine, but caused constipation, so we had to find a mix between soy and Alimentum. For my son, the pedi said that soy mimics estrogen and not to give it to boys for sure. He didn't really say about girls. So, we used the Alimentum for him as well. (I don't make enough milk for them). This is expensive, but, it is not as much as Neocate, so that is one happy thing. Also, if you are supplementing breast feeding, then you won't go through too much a month, maybe 2 cans? Your sanity is totally worth $50 a month. Good luck, and don't let anyone tell you that it isn't because YOU are worth it! Oh, and if you get WIC they will help with it also.

If you have the money for the formula - then do it.

If you don't - dust off the breast pump and save yourself some money.

Personally? I wouldn't want to subject my infant to possible allergic reactions. So I would feed him/her what I KNEW was purest...breast milk.

However, you need to do what you need to do. My preference? Breast Milk. But that's ME. I don't know why you "hated" pumping - I loved it. It made my life sooo much easier!! My husband was able to participate in feeding and we didn't have to expend any money for his food....

Good luck!

If I was in your position I would pump. My second was very stubborn and wouldn't take a bottle until 8 months but I would pump and try and eventually she took it. I won't lie, it made life easier for me that Dad could give her a bottle of my milk every once in a while.
About the old pump, you might inquire with our insurance company about the possibility of one being covered. With my 3rd, three months ago, I was able to get a brand new Medela electric pump with no deductible or shipping. It certainly is more efficient than my previous 14 year old one!
Best of luck to you in whatever you decide! Nourishing our children isn't always as easy as it should be!

I agree with the post that says happy mama=healthy happy baby. I have exclusively nursed all three of my children for as long as I could. With my first two I had to pump when I went back to work and then I did have to supplement with formula after a few months. I am now at home with my 9 month old who just started taking a bottle. And I had no issues making it bottles of formula. First of all, I felt it was such a waste to pump as I didn't get much with her and she refused it for so long. Secondly, she is still getting a great deal of breast milk. Third, I have my others to worry about which means there are times I have to leave her. And, the occasional night out with my husband or friends makes me a better mom! Go with what YOU think is right for you and your baby.

Updated

I agree with the post that says happy mama=healthy happy baby. I have exclusively nursed all three of my children for as long as I could. With my first two I had to pump when I went back to work and then I did have to supplement with formula after a few months. I am now at home with my 9 month old who just started taking a bottle. And I had no issues making it bottles of formula. First of all, I felt it was such a waste to pump as I didn't get much with her and she refused it for so long. Secondly, she is still getting a great deal of breast milk. Third, I have my others to worry about which means there are times I have to leave her. And, the occasional night out with my husband or friends makes me a better mom! Go with what YOU think is right for you and your baby.

Sounds like you might need to change your routine up a bit and SIT down to nurse. I enjoyed sitting down and not doing anything but nursing with a bottle of beer and rocking my baby. (I had one bottle a day for the brewer's yeast). My son knew to leave mom alone at that time and to play quietly by himself.

Do get lots of rest and drink lots of water and your milk production should increase so that you can pump comfortably. You should have a routine by now of when to feed and go.

Good luck to you.

the other S.

PS If you want to nurse? No formula. It is also cheaper to nurse than to buy formula.

You know, I wish women would stop with the judgement and guilt.
Happy mom=Happy baby.
There's no proof that formula caused your sons eczema.
It's more important THAT you feed your baby than WHAT you feed your baby.
YOU are the O. that has to live YOUR life.
You have to do what works best for YOUR family!
Good luck!

they won't tell you the eczema IS related, only that it might be.

check with LLL if you need ideas for how to get a break.

formula is not going to help you get a break - nor will it help your child.

potential allergy, as well as a host of all kinds of other problems. Including parasites - which won't come from your milk.

westonaprice.org is another place to look for the dangers of soy.

Kellymom will have ideas for how to get a break, too.

Good luck,
M.

I personally have never given formula to any of my three kids, and never would unless I had no alternative. I also never pump unless I have no alternative because I hate pumping in the worst way. I guess as a stay at home mom it turned our it never really mattered whether or not my babies would take bottles--once they are a few months old I kind of knew when they'd need to nurse, and I'd just work around that, ie plan to be away from them when they wouldn't need to nurse. If you hate pumping, are you really going to regularly pump and give a bottle? Because I felt like, for my babies who would take a bottle, that they would refuse the bottle once I stopped giving one regularly. Having said that, there's all kinds of nasty stuff in formula and I'm convinced its linked to so many allergies we're seeing in kids. It really is such a short time of your life and theirs that they are nursing. Not trying to sound like a bf nazi, but if your first baby had an allergy, I'd def be wary.

Sure formula is fine. If allergic, you will find out. Hopefully he will take a bottle. My granddaughter was stubborn.