For All You Breastfeeding Mamas

Great that you are still nursing, even part-time! If his weight and development are appropriate, I would not worry about the amounts of food. Children go through picky points where you can't get them to eat anything that convinces you they're well-fed. Breastmilk and formula should not be compared ounce-to-ounce. Formula has a fixed composition based on the age range it is for while breastmilk will quite literally change throughout the day and is always the right balance for your child (so breastmilk you produce for your newborn is very different from the milk you produce for your 8-month-old). If your child is on solid food at this age, he is starting to have a lot of his nutritional needs met this way. It sounds like he is doing just fine. Different children also have different appetites and needs for their bodies.

You didnt say how old your son is. But if he seems like he is satisfied I am sure he is fine and also as long as he is growing on track :0) Also your baby is eating food where your SIL is not.. So her baby is probably more hungry and that would be the reason for more bottles. It sounds like you are doing everything okay and like I said as long as your baby doesnt seem like he is hungry and is growing okay I am sure all is good :0) I fed my kids first before I gave them a bottle. And when I did that they didnt drink as many bottles but they were also replacing some of the nutrition with food. So I think you are doing just fine!! ;0)

hi. my son is 10 months and i exclusivly breastfeed. he does not take any formula or bottle and does not eat any baby food. so i am not relating 100% with you but I do know that if your son is hungry he will let you know. I think you are doing just fine and to keep up the good work. And breastfeeding 90% of the time is better than none at all. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Good luck

I am a strong proponent of doing whatever you can to successfully breastfeed as long as possible...and that is exactly what you are doing. I was lucky and never had to supplement, but it is often the situation if you have to work outside of the home. I think you should keep him on "the boob" until he is at least a year.

If your son is gaining weight, hitting his milestones, and not giving you a constant signal that he is hungry...I think you are right on track. If he was gassy, had bowel problems, etc. I would be more concerned.

P.S. My daughter NEVER took more than five ounces from a bottle of breastmilk. I pumped for the first year and I used 4 oz. bottles the whoe time...just filled up to the tippy top.

I'm currently breastfeeding my twin boys. They will be 12 mos. on the 28th. I feed them 6 times a day and believe they get about 4 oz. each time. One of those times, I give them a bottle of pumped milk. So they're getting about 24 oz. a day. I do give them baby food too. At noon, I feed them stage 2 & 3 foods. A fruit mixed with a separate rice cereal and then a fruit that is already mixed with oatmeal and then one Yo-baby yogurt (they share all of these). Then at 6pm, I feed them one jar of a meat food, one veggie one and then one dessert one that they share. For a snack they get cheerios. The pediatrician told me to always feed them the breastmilk first and the food is extra because there is more calories in breastmilk than in baby food plus more nutrients.

One of my sons has tripled his birth weight (he's the better sucker) and the other is 4 lbs. shy of it.

There was a time early on that I had to supplement with formula, but then I decided to feed them whenever they wanted and pumped in the middle of the night to build up my milk supply. I think it was at about 6 months when I was able to exclusively feed them breastmilk. I still pump in the middle of the night to give them that one bottle at dinnertime but I nurse the other 5 times which is about every 3 hours after the first feeding when they wake up. I think I did it every two hours up until they were about 9 months and then they just went to every 3 hours on their own. I do not feed them during the night when they should be sleeping.

Hope this helps. I think any amount of breastfeeding is good for them. There was a time I wanted to quit, but the mama's on this website encouraged me to continue and that's when I decided to go all out to exclusively feed them. It really cut down on their gas that they would get from the formula too.

Good luck!

My baby will be 8 months old next week. She is breastfed about 99% of the time, because like you, I don't always pump enough for when she is at the sitter's house. She gets 4 oz bottles when she takes breast milk or formula. She only goes to the sitter twice a week and gets the formula maybe one bottle a day (so, 8 oz of formula total for the week). She is my third and none of them ever took more than 4-5 oz at a time of breastmilk. My first had breastmilk exclusively, my second and third had formula supplemented at times and they took the same amount- 4oz. (By the way, I had to supplement more with the second, I produce more this time!) Anyway, they have all nursed differently, for different periods and different styles! My first weaned at 15 months, the second at 20 months. I think you are doing great to give him whatever breastmilk you can, but do what your heart tells you, not the pressure of what you "think everyone else would think is right". You know what is best for you and your little man. Congratulations on getting this far and I hope you continue to enjoy feeding him- however that may be for you. Hope this encourages you!