Hey ladies... I could use any advice or suggestions about supplementing breastmilk with formula. It would be once a day at most while on a 3 week vacation in Puerto Rico. There will be long car trips and pulling over on the side of the road isn't really an option (safety). Any thoughts on powdered vs liquid? My son is 11 weeks and has had bresmilk exclusively till now. THANKS!!!
Thank you for the advice ladies! We ended up buying the individual sleeves of enfamil and only using two. Turns out my breasts are so large I can lean over his carseat (with both of us still buckled) and breastfeed one side at a time. Good thing for tinted windows, we would have been quite the sight! He didn't have any trouble taking the formula but was a little constipated afterwards. Thanks again!
I wouldn't advise this because it's possible your son could have a milk allergy and you don't want to risk a reaction while trying formula the first time on a trip. My son was breastfed and didn't have milk until he was 6 months old, at which time he had a strong allergic reaction and had to be rushed to the ER.
Hi,
I am sure that many people will write in on this tpic but... I wanted to share that not all babies will accept formula if they have been exc. breast fed for 11 weeks. The taste and consistency of formula is very different from breast milk and your nipple is very different from one on a bottle and many children reject this transition. If you do intend to offer some formula, my thought would be to start before you leave and get it worked out befoe you are on the road in P.R.
Have a great trip!
While i didn't supplement formula until later, my sister-in-law did right at the start due to needing recovery from c-section. Anyhow, her little boy seemed to do fine with having a little formula but mostly breast milk. She did say it changed his bowel habits some and it would be wise to try before you leave in case of milk allergy. As far as powder verse premixed--They sell powder in small sleeves (enfamil )that are easily mixed with water they are in 4 oz. servings. That might save space and you don't have to worry about keeping it cold. The premixed as far as i've seen seems to have a little more calories to it but depending upon how many oz. you need for the feeding you could end up with extra that needs to be kept cold or it will spoil. I use to think i'd breast feed exclusively until one year but I know realize life happens and using some formula isn't the end of the world. For me it was the fact that I got prego again while breast feeding and just thought it was too much on my body so i started to supplement around 7 months. As always check with your pediatrician!
Could you pump and give him milk in a bottle while on the road. I have a great little (inexpensive) Medela manual pump that is very compact and comfortable to use. They sell nipples to go right on the bottle you pump the milk into. So you could be riding and pumping milk, take the pump off and pop a nipple on and give it to him.
Either way you go, I'd definitely introduce a bottle before the trip, if you haven't already.
