When/how Did You Stop Trying to Exclusively Breastfeed?

I went back to work when my son was 12 weeks old.
No matter how much I breast fed him at home and pumped at work my supply just dried up when he was 5 months old.
I put him on formula till he was ready for solid food.
He was fine!
It doesn't work out for everyone so don't worry about it.

my thoughts - a happy and relaxed mother is more important than breastmilk(and for the record, I am a HUGE breastfeeding supported and nursed all 3 of mine). I've read your recent posts and just wanted to scream STOP WITH THE NURSING(or the formula).... your baby prob isn't even TRYING to get milk from you anymore, you're his pacifier while he waits for the bottle that he knows is coming. it sounds like this is causing you a GREAT deal of stress, it's prob just time to give it up, buy some formula(it is NOT poison), and go on with life :)

It naturally happened at 12 months when my kids started eating table food.

Why do you think you need to supplement? One thing I loved about BF was I didn't have to worry or think about measuring anything. You know your baby is getting enough if they are growing. Since milk production is a function of supply and demand perhaps cut back on the formula or just give formula. This should not be causing you any stress.

If you keep supplementing with formula your breasts will never produce enough milk to feed your son. Breasts work on supply/demand so they will supply what is demanded. If you want to breastfeed exclusively then you need to make it a priority in your life. Eat well, drink plenty of water, and nurse often so your son will empty both breasts and make them produce a larger quantity of milk.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with just stopping and bottle feeding. My older 2 were breastfed until they were a yr old. My twins were breastfed for 7 weeks before it was just too overwhelming trying to balance their needs plus a 5 and 3 yr old. Sometimes you have to do what's best for the family.

Whatever you decide is strictly up to you. Don't feel that you have to continue to breastfeed if that's not what's in your heart. As far as how to wean? The less he nurses the less milk will be produced so nurse less and eventually the milk production will stop.

Before you do anything else, please schedule a consultation with a lactation consultant. The long feedings and needing to top off with formula aren't typical. There could be something simple like a latch issue that's making this harder than it needs to be. I found the first 3-4 weeks to be hardest in terms of getting feeding down and after that, it was smooth sailing.

Have you tried a pacifier for after he's done at the breast? He may not even be hungry but just wants something to suck on. Don't introduce a paci without talking to an LC first as that can introduce other problems, but it could be that what seems like hunger cries, aren't.

Again, an LC will be able to watch him feed and give you info specific to you and your baby so that you can make an informed decision on what your next steps should be.

I think you know that you have 2 options.

1) Your milk supply is driven by demand. So as long as you continue to supplement, your supply will only go down over time. If you want to continue nursing, you need to stop supplementing. If you want to do this, you could try drinking mother's milk tea to increase your supply on the same day you stop supplementing.

A good lactation consultant could also help you here. I noticed in other posts that it takes you a long time to nurse your baby. That makes me suspect that he doesn't have a great latch - which may mean that he's not getting much milk NOT because of your supply, but because of his latch. A consultant can also give you other tips on increasing supply - foods to eat, etc.

2) Switch to formula. If this will make you a better, happier mom, then maybe this is the way to go. Your baby is already getting formula, and if he's not gassy or fussy, then you know he can tolerate it. It's not the end of the world.

I would suggest that you meet with the lactation consultant before you decide. Would you regret it if you didn't at least ask if there was something simple you can fix with his latch before you decide to stop?

What did I do? Nursed both mine until they self-weaned. It wasn't always easy - with my 2nd child in particular I had to make several visits to the lactation consultant early on to get latch issues worked out. But it was worth it to me.

The more formula you give the less bm your body is going to make. You need to cut it back. Baby only needs 1 - 1.25 oz of bm for every hour away from you. Anything more is overfeeding baby. Bm changes as baby gets older, the amount you give them does not increase. BM is not like formula where they need more to get all they need, bm nutritional content changes as baby gets older to meet babies needs.

Go to Kellymom.org and read up on it. It will also tell you how to safely get your baby off of formula without you going crazy.

Take my word for it. My baby is now 17 months old and never had a single drop of formula and I am still bf'ing 2-4 times a day. You can do it and still have a life - I have 2 older children (ages 3 and 8).

Breast feeding didn't work for me so I had to switch totally to formula at a couple of weeks. Sometimes it just doesn't work. There's no shame in that.

I suggest you find out if there is a lactation specialist that your insurance will cover so you can get a professional person helping you. They will be able to look at your individual situation and let you know what might help you breast feed longer.

I don't understand why you are giving him formula at all? If you really WANT to breastfeed then stop giving him formula and nurse him as much as you can. You are making it harder on both him and you. Yes, it's exhausting in the beginning, but if that's what you want to do then do it. After a few weeks or so your milk supply should be up and you will both be happier and more comfortable. Meeting with a lactation consultant might help too, because maybe he's not latching on properly.
Now if you really don't want to breastfeed then by all means go ahead and give him formula. He'll be just fine, even though "breast is best" it's not a failure on your part to admit that it's just too much for you.
Though I will say breastfeeding was easier for me because I never had to stop what I was doing to go make a bottle. If I was in the middle of reading a story or doing an activity with my older ones I just popped the baby on the boob and kept going!
Either way, make a choice soon, because it sounds like he's confused and fussy and so are you :-)

This may not be an answer to your question, but a suggestion.
His suck may not be strong enough to get all he needs, as my second child had that problem. I would simple nurse him......then pump right after and feed him the remainder. It will help in increasing your milk supply until he is strong enough to do it all on his own.

Doctors are super quick to tell you to supplement. They told me to supplement both of my boys. I did with the first, and getting back to all breast milk took about 4 weeks. I pumped after every feeding and cut back on formula (we started this process very early, about a week old, so his quantity of formula never got super high).

Doctor told me to supplement my 2nd, and I ignored him. I had bought a baby scale and knew the baby was gaining 1/2 to 1 ounce a day. I measured weight rather than liquid. For the record, he didn't gain his birth weight back until 3 weeks, but was 80% for height and weight by 2-3 months. He was happy, just didn't gain weight as fast early on as they thought he should (weight charts/gain are based on formula fed babies, although I heard that they did/are trying to revise that?).

It's not your fault you're in this situation, as you were probably told to supplement at some point. It will take some time and work to go back to breastfeeding. I know a number of people exactly like you who quit and were relieved, although they felt like a failure. You're not a failure, but there is a failure in our medical system that encourages many women to supplement when they don't need to, causing them to stop producing as much milk when milk supply should be being established. This makes it quite a bit harder to go back to just breast milk, as your body hasn't had to keep up with demand.

Good luck to you! Formula is getting better all the time. Your baby will be fine on formula if that's the route you want/need to go. A happy momma is better than a stressed out one:-)

I was able to easily and enjoyably BF my daughter for 8 mos. My son was a totally different story. I stopped about 2mos in b/c he had digestive issues. My sister stopped after about 4 weeks b/c it wasn't working. Baby wasn't getting what she needed and my sister was miserable - exhausted, in pain and crying.... MY POINT? Do what you need to do to feel energized and enjoy being a Mom. If that means you feel it's time to go to formula, go ahead. All 3 kiddos mentioned above are just fine! Don't beat yourself up and do what's best for you and the baby. If you will be a happier Mom then stop now - just wean slowly so you aren't in pain :) Best of luck

My son had a medical condition at birth so I could only pump and feed him from a special bottle. While I desperately wanted to feed him only milk, I wasn't able to produce enough. Because I put so much pressure on myself I became frustrated and gave up around 4 months and didn't really enjoy his early months at all. In retrospect I would have not put that pressure on myself to try to go exclusively milk and realized even a small amount each day would provide benefit to him. I believe that I would not have given up so early if I had taken a more relaxed approach.
DD was complete opposite, she refused anything but the breast to the point where she'd barely eat at day care during the day. She was a breeze to nurse to 12 months.

i carried both my kids for 10 solid months-they were both 12+pounds..i did not nurse either one of them and they turned out just fine..their in their 30,s now-were close,their both very healthy..so guess its up to you if you want to keep doing it or not..both my kids were on rice cereal by week 2-formula just wasnt enuff for their fat lil selves-they have no allergies..nothin..good luck..

Hi.
Stop supplementing, but gradually.
Get a lactation consultant. They are worth every penny! Your body is capable of producing enough milk and more. Trust yourself and trust your baby. The lactation consultant can and will help you.
Good luck.

Message me if you would like more information. I have a long story about struggling to breast feed 2 different child. But in the end, I did it. We did it (the babies and I). I had to supplement the first but I refused to do it with the second and she is and has always been super-healthy and thriving.

You are doing a great job! I completely agree with everyone who recommend that you get a lactation consultant!

In my experience, I suffered a dip in production around 4 and 8 weeks, but then things were fine. Try not to stress (I know it is hard), and do what you can to make more milk -- drink fluids ALL DAY LONG, drink Mother's Milk tea, eat oatmeal, get enough calories in what you are eating, etc.

I don't know if you nursed your older son or not, so maybe you already know that it will get easier in a few months. If you can make it through these first few hard months, it really does get so much easier! Good luck!