Breastfed to Formula

Have you tried mixing in a little bit of formula with breastmilk when she takes a bottle- to get her used to the taste? Then you can slowly increase the amount of formula to breastmilk ratio.

I flavored the formula with chocolate instant carnation breakfast. Once my son started to drink it I slowly put less and less in until it was just formula. I'd say it took about three weeks to go to just formula.
Also I must have bought 8 diffferent kinds of formula, tasted and smelled them all, some are just plain awful!! THe best by far was Gentlease by Enfamil (25$per can), there's a generic (17$ per can ) that Safeway makes I forget the exact name but it sits right next to it in the aisle and the label is purple just like Gentlease.

I had to do this a couple times...both kids quit BF early. I used low iron formula and it worked WONDERS!. They only sell small cans of it at Wal-Mart and online. It's much closer to breastmilk without all that terrible iron flavor. Not sure why the US brand are so heavy in iron content, it's not the same in the EU. And certainly kids don't need as much iron as we pump into them. Anyway, it worked for us. GL!!!

Mix formula with breastmilk. Start with mostly breast milk and a bit of formula, and gradually change to increase the amount of formula. She might get used to it that way.

Try pumping and begin by mixing breast milk with formula. Start off with the ration being 3/4 breastmilk and 1/4 formula and gradually change the proportion size. This will gradually get her used to the taste, AND it will be gentler on her stomach. When it comes to formula I recommend, Enfamil with Lipil. Not only did it have all of the ingredients I wanted in a formula, but it also smelled and TASTED better than the other formulas we tried. Trust me, it could also be that your daughter doesn't like the taste of whatever you're giving her, and on most formulas, I agree. It's pretty harsh to simply expect a baby to swallow down whatever you give them, otherwise they can choose to starve. They have tastebuds too, and I made sure to taste everything I gave to my babies. If I gagged and then they did too...no way would I force it on them any further - I just found something else, and sometimes it meant that we had to spend a little more, but that's the choice you have to make. Good luck!

I answered this about whole milk a while ago...Just replace 'whole milk' with 'formula'.

I started transitioning my daughter from breastmilk to whole milk at 11 months. I did it gradually, replacing a few ounces per meal and then waited 3 days before increasing it. For example, if taking a 8 ounce bottle per feeding, then what I did was this...7 ounces breastmilk/formula and 1 ounce whole milk per bottle. Waited 3 days to make sure everything was fine. Then 6 ounces breastmilk/formula and 2 ounce whole milk per bottle and waited 3 days again. Then 5 ounces breastmilk/formula and 3 ounce whole milk per bottle and waited 3 days again. And so on until you have completely transitioned to whole milk. I would recommend that by the time you get to 4 & 4, start using a sippy cup with the soft tops that way you are also on your way to cutting out the bottle. My daughter took to this transition fine without any reactions to the milk and was on whole milk right around 12 months and also on a sippy. She stopped using a bottle mid way thru the transition mentioned above which was great. I also mentioned this process to her pediatrician at her 12 month check-up and he was completely fine with it and mentioned that it was good that we did it gradually as well as that we had started when we did so she was off the bottle. If your family & baby have shown no problems with allergies to this point, I would go for it.
Good luck to you!

My question is the same as the one below...why are you pumping for the bedtime feeding? And my suggestion the same...mix breast milk and formula until she gets used to the taste.
Good luck,
J.

Perhaps you should work on getting her to sleep through the night instead of introducing formula. I have a 2 month old who sleeps through the night on only breastmilk. I believe the key to getting rid of night feedings is to get on a every 4 hr day schedule. Once that is achieved, decrease the amount of time you allow her to breastfeed at night 2 minutes every 3 days until she no longer nurses at night. We did this with my first son who was up several times at night around 6 months. It went really fast, and before long everyone was sleeping through the night.

First may I ask why you have to pump? feeding your baby breastmilk through a bottle and having to pump daily is very hard. But if you can't just breastfeed then I understand you wanting to switch to formula. I have heard of people doing half and half for a while so that it still taste like breastmilk. After a while you can add more formula until your baby doesn't mind the new taste.

I am not sure if you were pumping your milk and then feeding your baby out of bottle. If that is the case, I understand what you are going through. My son wouldn't take the breast but I knew I wanted him to have the breast milk. I pumped my milk 4 months straight. I had pumped so much that I had milk in the freezer. But anyhow, you need to put breast milk with the formula until she gets used to it. Good luck.

I would try 3/4 breast to 1/4 formula and see if she takes that. If so, in two weeks try to transition to 1/2 breast and 1/2 formula for another 2 weeks and then 1/4 breast to 3/4 formula...on so on until she is solely on formula. Good luck.
K.

Why do you pump everyday? Is she on solids at all yet? I have exclusively breastfed all my children and very rarely pumped. Maybe you are making it too cumbersome.

BTW, all of my kids rejected formula too. The stuff is yucky! = )