Dad here trying to help out mom. Our little girl has been exclusively breastfed and we have tried over the past few months to introduce formula for a bottle a day a). to give mom a break and b). in case an emergency should arise. Frankly, she drinks more than mom can pump when given a bottle, so haven't had much luck in builidng up the supply pumping, even with mom staying up to 11pm to pump a couple extra ounces for supply. So the ideal would be to be able to replace one feeding with a formula bottle, allowing mom to pump and eventually be able to wean off the 11pm pumping. Our little girl is eating fruits mixed with cereal in the am (probably about 5-7 tablespoons worth if my memory serves me right.......we make the babyfood and freeze it, so she gets 4 or 5 of the "ice cubes" of fruit in the am and probably double that in veggies at night). So, our problem is, she won't take the formula. None of them (and we have tried lots!!!). She's a very easy feeder (she happily gulps down her fruits......so far bananas, pears and apples........and veggies......sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, zuchini, asparagas and cauliflower), so the fussiness can really only be due to taste. Any recommendations? I read one that said try imitation vanilla extract. Has anyone tried that and had it work?
I guess I should clarify something. My wife will be nursing to a year, but would like the ability to take a feeding off and build up some supply pumping. Right now, it takes her 4 nights of pumping at 11pm to pump enough for one bottle (much less if she were to have to actually go somewhere for a day away......her overnight trip to New Orleans took her nearly a month to pump enough to have 6 bottles for me). So this isn't about supplementing or weaning or anything like that. She still nurses her on demand the same number of times. The fruits and veggies are more formality, but I am suprised at how much she likes them, but I feel very confident in saying that it hasn't reduced the amount of nursing one bit. The desire to add one formula feeding a day is to give mom a break and allow her to build up a supply for use later by pumping in place of the one feeding. She's done amazingly well doing it for 8 months and it is not an easy task to undertake and I couldn't be more proud of her. We've tried to introduce it a little bit over the last few months, mainly to determine if she may have an allergy to any of them. We tried mixing (as little as 1/2oz formula to 6 oz breast, but to no avail. That's why seeking ways to get past the flavor, which is what we figure is the main problem.
We tried adding a drop or two of vanilla extract and then warming it up more than we typically do for a breast milk bottle over the last couple of days. And we are 2 for 2. We did like the suggestion someone had about blue agave nectar and may try that as well.
Now as far as my question, it was for a recommendation of how to do something, not a request for opinions on what we should be doing instead of that. I am fairly sure we are not "robbing her of nutrition" as one respondant noted. At her last doc appt a few weeks ago (at about 7.5 months old) she was 18.5lbs and 29inches (70th percentile on weight and >97th percentile on height). So be wary of pushing opinions on here rather than providing answers. Some of us take exception to that. If my question had been "Thinking of Introducing Formula, what do you think?", I'd take those kind of answers, but essentially insulting me by insinuating that I was not doing what one deemed as the only right thing to do just pisses me off. There, rant over.
For those with answers that were factual and not opinionated, thank you. It really did help (I didn't realize that vanilla flavoring was a possible help until I read it on one site, but feel better having heard it from several moms out there). Thanks again!!!!
I would start by mixing a small amount of formula in with mostly breast milk, and than slowly increasing the amount to allow her to get used to the taste over time.
Wait, I don't think you said... is she already taking a bottle of breastmilk? Is she taking a bottle at all? If not, it might not be the breastmilk - it might be the bottle. You could try a cup. Or just keep offering it and keep trying.
One thing I did with my daughter that helped was that I got some Blue Agave Nectar and added just a little bit to the bottle. Over a few weeks I cut back until I didn't put it in there at all. It's organic and all-natural.
Good Luck!
Why would you want to put stuff in baby's stomach that is not as NUTRIENT DENSE as breast milk? You are robbing her of important nutrients & immune-building antigens - - everytime you substitute something - - even fruits & veggies - - for the breastmilk. The less the baby nurses, the less breastmilk the mom will produce. The more the baby sucks, the more milk is made.
I would bet it is the taste and texture, it is horrible tasting. My babies were all ebf, around this age you could add yogurt in a case where you just need to give Mom a break or if she's gone a couple hours. (or kefir in a sippy)
You might consider trying raw, unpasteurized goats milk. You can find a source at www.realmilk.com. Raw milk can only be purchased at the point of production (on farm), but it can be frozen to save from making so many trips.
Keep the baby on the breast. Back off the solids. The more you substitute, the harder it is for her to produce enough milk. It is a supply = demand thing!
Make sure Mama has enough liquids, eats whole grains (oatmeal), fruits and fruit juice (raspberry is best), and take flax seed and fenugreek.
Breastmilk tastes so much better than formula. Have you tried both to compare? At 8 months taste comes into play. Ay 8 months I really feel that you should be focusing more on getting her to eat more substancial baby food and not worry about formula. If you really want her to take a bottle you could try mixing the formula with vanilla almond milk. The almond milk makes the formula taste better and improves the consistency to be more like breast milk.
you could try mixing breast milk with some formula that usually works. Or one thing that has worked for a lot of moms is to mix half formula with half vanilla pediasure. That works well and then you just slowly added more and more formula and less pediasure over time.
Ditto the others.
Next, she is 8 months old. How long is Mom going to breastfeed?
She is already 8 months old... and has yet to take Formula for that "emergency"/giving Mom a break, reason. That has not come into play yet.
So, maybe by the time you do get her to take Formula... Mom will not be breastfeeding anymore???
For me, my daughter never took Formula nor a bottle. At all.
My son would.
I exclusively breastfed. Had to supplement my son a tad... because he drank me dry... and had a GINORMOUS appetite.
As an aside: for the 1st year of life, breastmilk/Formula is a baby's primary source of nutrition... NOT solids and not other liquids. And you need to feed/nurse... ON-demand.
Solids... is not in lieu of, breastfeeding.
So.. .if Mom is planning to breastfeed at least for 1 year... (which is soon) and then wean baby... then, you may not "need" to get her on Formula at all.
But if Mom does decide to breastfeed longer... well by then, a baby can go longer between feedings... and 'wait' for Mom to come home etc. for the next feeding.
The breasts... adjusts in milk output... per how often a baby is at the breast. It is direct supply and demand.... per being nursed on-demand.
Although I had TONS of breastmilk... and my kids grew like weeds and nursed frequently... pumping milk... just never worked for me. I did not pump much. Either.
Oh another thing... IF solids is given first.... before nursing... it will cause a baby to "wean" from breast... and the milk supply will diminish. This is per our Pediatrician as well.
SO... for nursing Moms, if you do not want that to happen... ALWAYS nurse... BEFORE solids. Solids... is not to "replace" a nursing. Nurse... then an hour or later... give solids.
all the best,
Susan
Try a milder formula in a sippy cup. You can also start out with breast milk mixed with a little formula and gradually increase the formula and decrease the breast milk until she gets used to it. My daughter like the Carnation formulas better rather than the stronger tasting like Similac, etc.
