Breastmilk and Formula

I used a Medela hospital-quality pump that I borrowed from a friend. I never tried the Gerber pump, but I did try the Avent hand pump and couldn't even get an ounce out! But with the Medela pump I was able to get 8 ounces in under 10 minutes. So the kind of pump you use can make a big difference. Ask around and see if anybody you know (with toddlers or preschoolers) has a pump they aren't using. All the parts that touch the milk or your body are dishwasher-safe so it is ok to rent or share pumps. Also, sometimes hospitals will have a pump rental program with payments on a sliding scale depending on what you can afford, so that's an option too.

But it's also fine to give your baby formula when you need to! The formulas they have now are very good, and your baby will do fine on that too. (The only drawback is, it costs more than breast milk! =)

Congratulations on your baby, and good luck with school and work!

It is perfectly OK. to give her formula if you need to. Try to breastfeed as long as you can. Giving her formula to supplement the breastmilk will not hurt her at all. I gave my daughter a bottle of formula once a day when she was about 2 months old, so my husband could help out with feedings and give me a little break. I stopped breastfeeding when I went back to work (5 months). I felt it was too stressful/hard to keep pumping everyday.

Seriously the madella pumps are the best way to go I work full time and have been using the double electric madella pump, I am able to fill 4-6 ounces per breast in less than 10 minutes, no joke its totally worth it, my baby is now 10 1/2 months and has never had a drop of formula.Good Luck. All the money you save breastfeeding pays for that pump.Its worth it.

I didnt read the other responses so someone may have already told you but, you can rent really good pumps from your hospital. They make a huge difference. I use medela pump wich was 200$ from target. The more you pump and put your baby on the more milk you will get. I had a hard time when I went back to work pumping out enough. But now what I do is I wake up before my son wakes up in the am, and pump then. Also drinking plenty of water throughout the day makes a big dofference. But really it may just be your pump the manual ones are really not the greatest. I would look into renting one. Good luck
P.S. if you can breastmilk is the best thing for your baby. My son is 6 months old and I'm gonna just keep going for as long as I can...

my son is unable to breastfeed and so I have pumped for over 6 months to make sure he gets breast milk. The rule of thumb is to do 8 pumps in 24 hours with a hour break between the end of one pump and beginning of the next. I try my best to do my pumps every 3 hours, but with being home alone with my son, its difficult. I end up doing 7 pumps and getting up only once at night. Also, I take both Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle summplements. Lastly, you need to pump a minimum of 15 minutes and alot of "diehards" will tell that in order to increase milk supply to pump till the breast is dry which can be 30-45minutes (i just cannot go that long). Don't forget to drink water. Lastly, I do some formula and some breastmilk because I don't produce enough milk for the amount my son eats. Not only that, I need to fortify my milk with formula for other reasons, so mixing formula and milk in her daily diet is completely fine - as long as she tolerates it.

Good luck

I am going to join the chorus and recommend that you get a really good hospital grade pump such as the Symphony or the Pump-in-Style. It will make a tremendous difference. Are you on WIC? They have hospital grade pumps they loan out for free, and as a student you would most likely qualify. You will be able to pump more in the morning than the evening, so getting up before she does in the morning to pump is a good idea. Many babies will also shift their eating habits so they get most of their nutrition at night and parts of the day when their mother is home. I would like to say, however, that supplementing with formula is a very slippery slope. Of course you don't want her to be hungry, but at two months you don't need to give her 6 ozs at a time. It could be that she is getting milk too fast from the bottle you are using--it should take 5 minutes for her to drink an ounce of formula. Good luck and congratulations on your new baby!