Supplementing Soy Milk for Breast Milk So I Can Enjoy a Night Out

Updated on July 02, 2011
S.2. asks from Bakersfield, CA
14 answers

HI ladies,
I would like to have a couple of drinks tonight. I do not have enough time to pump out enough milk so thats not an option.
The only 2 are give powder milk based formula or liquid soy based formula. It would be just for this one time. My daughter is nearly 9 weeks and I havent been anywhere since before I found out I was pregnant.

My concern is that this will either hurt her stomach or throw her off this routine that we are in now.

Any suggestions or advice is appreciated. Mainly is one worse or better than the other? I've tried milk based it seems to not fill her up. The soy based is new i'm wondering if it'll be any different.

Thanks!

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So What Happened?

I did enjoy myself on my night out (which was going across the street to another new moms house and sharing a bottle of wine) I didn't get drunk but I did have 4 glasses of wine. I gave my daughter the milk that I had pumped when I got home she went back to sleep. By the time she woke up in the morning 4 hours had past so I just fed her myself.
I'm gonna shy away from the soy based formula and if indeed I do need some form of substitution i'll do the milk based.
Thanks everyone!

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B..

answers from Dallas on

Wow...9 weeks is not a long time. Most woman don't go anywhere by nine weeks, it's part of the deal!! If it's really that important to you to get out so soon, stick with what she has already tried. If it doesn't fill her up right away, then she can eat more shortly after. Does she take bottles well? If not, I would not leave her until she does. You don't want her to be struggling to eat while you're away. That would be unfair to her.

6 moms found this helpful

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B.B.

answers from Missoula on

I know that I'm a bit late to this party, but I just have to say that I hope you went out and had a great night!
Just to let you know, I breastfed my first son, now 3 1/2 and am currently nursing my 3 month old son. Both boys took formula on occasion, whenever I didn't have enough pumped milk and was going to be away from them for a feeding. Formula never caused any digestive problems for them, and they had no problem switching from a bottle nipple back to breastfeeding--we had no problems with routine being upset.
I think that it is so sad that some people tried to make you feel guilty for wanting to go out for a evening of grown up fun. Breastfeeding your baby does not mean that you should be confined to you house, blouse open, until the child weans herself or goes off to college, which ever comes later.
Hope your night out was great!

4 moms found this helpful
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J.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

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3 moms found this helpful
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M.G.

answers from Chicago on

Soy based shouldn't fill her up more than milk based. Try the milk based. As for the comments that this won't work and your daughter won't take the bottle, she'll be fine. Go out, have fun, and don't worry. Your daughter will not die from a bottle of formula. I exclusively breastfed my twins, but occasionally they would need a bottle of formula. They ate it fine, didn't react, and had no issues.

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A.F.

answers from Chicago on

My newborn will be 6.5 weeks when i head to the U2 concert July 5! I undrstand... And I have been waiting 2 years to attend this concert as it was a rescheduled stop from July 2010 and we got the tix in 2009! I have been pumping one breast a day 1 time since his birth so we are good there...and don't have your issue. Give your baby the milk-based since you don't have any pumped milk...soy is for allergic kids. It is not a good thing to give infants unless you HAVE to. About the drinking. You should not nurse your baby as long as the alcohol is in your blood stream...1 average drink can be metabolized by an average weight woman every 1-2 hours. While pumping/ dumping is not necessary, just waiting till the alcohol is out of your system, your baby is so young that if you don't pump during the time period your baby is having the formula, you risk engorgement and harming your supply- I plan on pumping with a battery pack on my double electric pump on the way to and from the concert in the car while hubby drives. I refrain from drinking until my babies are MUCH older and sleep through the night. This is my third baby in 4 years. Best wishes and enjoy your night out...don't listen to the nipple confusion comments- if you don't want your baby to reject bottles, it is good to try them out every now and then from 4 weeks on- just a single bottle a week helps to keep baby accepting them and doesn't lead to latch issues!

2 moms found this helpful

S.L.

answers from New York on

Of course you can go out tonight! While you are gone have caretaker give milk based formula. If you have about one drink an hour your body will filter out the alcohol. Throughout history mothers around the world have had wine and beer while nursing, if you're not getting blinding drunk day after day dont feel guilty for enjoying a night out.
I just dont want this to discourage you or any one else from breastfeeding;
it is hard to find research on drinking a lot while breastfeeding because mothers who drink too much during breastfeeding often drank while pregnant and we know how dangerous that can be.
I also dont want you to buy into the theory that being a good mother is all about sacrificing yourself, never taking care of yourself, never taking time for yourself, those moms can be exhausted, cranky, yelling, annoyed, kids always late cuz they take on too many activities, the best moms are balanced, happy moms who can truly enjoy being a parent!
It is not recommended to drink excessively while nursing because of the passage of the alcohol into the [breast] milk," the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Alcohol levels in breast milk peak about 30 minutes to an hour after drinking alcohol (on an empty stomach). Journal of Human Lactation
Dr. Jack Newman, member of the LLLI Health Advisory Council, says this in his handout "More Breastfeeding Myths": Reasonable alcohol intake should not be discouraged at all. As is the case with most drugs, very little alcohol comes out in the milk. The mother can take some alcohol and continue breastfeeding as she normally does. Prohibiting alcohol is another way we make life unnecessarily restrictive for nursing mothers.
Thomas W. Hale, R.Ph. Ph.D., member of the LLLI Health Advisory Council, says this in his book Medications and Mothers' Milk (12th ed.): Significant amounts of alcohol are secreted into breastmilk although it is not considered harmful to the infant if the amount and duration are limited. The absolute amount of alcohol transferred into milk is generally low. Beer, but not ethanol, has been reported in a number of studies to stimulate prolactin levels and breastmilk production (1, 2, 3). Thus it is presumed that the polysaccharide from barley may be the prolactin-stimulating component of beer (4). Non-alcoholic beer is equally effective.
Adult metabolism of alcohol is approximately 1 ounce in 3 hours, so mothers who ingest alcohol in moderate amounts can generally return to breastfeeding as soon as they feel neurologically normal. Chronic or heavy consumers of alcohol should not breastfeed.

2 moms found this helpful

L.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I've heard negative things about soy in general. It's not the wonderful health food people think. It mimics estrogen, so it's probably best to avoid it.
My daughter would not take a bottle. You want to avoid nipple confusion, where they forget how to nurse when they learn to use a bottle.
If you drink, I don't know how long alcohol remains in your system, so you would want to be careful about nursing her when you got back.
Hey, I know it's an adjustment caring for a baby. Hang in there - you must be a great mom, or you wouldn't be asking. I'd really recommend waiting before you go out. It seems like it could be a little soon. It all pays off when they grow up, and you realize your invested time and energy built a strong relationship with your child. It's helpful to hang with other new moms for support - maybe you knew that already.
Blessings!

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P.M.

answers from Tampa on

If you are gone 2-4 hours... you can have up to 3 drinks and be alright to nurse here within 2 hours of returning home. I'm sure she can be without breastmilk 4-6 hours ONE time.

At 9 weeks, any formula - milk or soy will disrupt her GI tract and cause inflammation or irritation.

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S.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

I would use the milk based fomula. If she's had it before it should be fine. As long as you know she'll take a bottle, you are good.

My daughter was completely BF for the first 3 months, then she needed to go to daycare for partial days and was fed milk based formula there for one and then two feedings each day. She did fine.

Alcohol is filtered out of your blood at a rate of about one drink per hour. Your milk is not produced until needed, so by the next morning, your breast milk is fine for feeding your daughter. You might need to pump some at night to not get painfully engorged, though.

Enjoy your night out!

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M.F.

answers from Houston on

I would give her the milk based one and if she gets hungry again she can have more. I am not sure why the soy one would keep her satisfied longer... Just make sure she takes a bottle and she will be fine, however, if she has never had formula it may or may not hurt her stomach. I would limit my drinks to two or even better have beer instead. Drink lots of water, you'll both be fine have fun!

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S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

i wouldn't give her soy out of the blue. i had a terrible pediatrician misdiagnose my son's rash for formula intolerance (it was an allergy to his laundry soap) and the soy made him projectile vomit.
you need to ease your baby onto occasional bottles and/or formula before you take your night out. i don't agree with some others that you're wrong for taking a little time for yourself, or that occasionally supplementing breast milk is terrible, but you can't just do it this suddenly. either plan for it and pump enough breast milk to get her through a night, or start mixing your breast milk with formula little by little so that you can find out gently and safely what formula she'll tolerate.
khairete
S.

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B.P.

answers from New York on

Will she actually take a bottle? Will she drink formula? I think its great that you want to go out and throw back a few. Since you daughter is exclusively breastfed you may want to pump a bit before you go out depending on how long you will be out to avoid engorgement. I agree with the poster that said that as long as you only have a couple drinks there is no reason to pump and dump the entire next day. But I would make sure that your baby takes a bottle and formula (usually milk based is reccomended for most babies) because my son hated for bottles and formula. I doubt you could relax and enjoy yourself if yo were worried about your baby eating.

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J.S.

answers from Hartford on

If she doesn't seem "filled up" it could be that she wasn't fed enough of the milk based formula. She may need more than what was given. Or she may need to be fed more than one feeding on it. Unless your daughter is lactose intolerant, which she doesn't appear to be if she's breastfeeding successfully and is able to drink milk based formula, then the soy formula won't be "better." It also won't "fill her up more."

Plan for whomever is watching her to give her two bottles, and have each bottle filled with two more ounces than you anticipate her needing. It's far better for her to have extra left in the bottles than for her to drain the bottles dry.

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R.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

If the milk-based isn't filling her up there's no guarantee the soy would either. Soy is usually given to babies who can't tolerate milk-based formula, are allergic to it, like my granddaughter who it made throw up.

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