I've nearly reached my breastfeeding goal of three months - which I'm quite excited about! I had hoped and prayed to make it this far, and I just thank God that He has allowed me to do so. I am beginning to look at the future of my breastfeeding career, and am now hoping to go for six months. I would, however, like to start giving James formula at night - thinking that he may sleep a little longer. I'm also really longing for a few hours of extra freedom - just to get out with my hubby once a week or so, which would also be easier with formula. If it were you, would you do the same? When would you start? I could pump too, but I find pumping very time consuming - and if I'm pumping, I'm worried that I will get really engorged in between - that's why I'm thinking of doing the formula at night. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one - because I'm really unsure of what to do, and when to start.
Monday, January 29
Formula?
I've nearly reached my breastfeeding goal of three months - which I'm quite excited about! I had hoped and prayed to make it this far, and I just thank God that He has allowed me to do so. I am beginning to look at the future of my breastfeeding career, and am now hoping to go for six months. I would, however, like to start giving James formula at night - thinking that he may sleep a little longer. I'm also really longing for a few hours of extra freedom - just to get out with my hubby once a week or so, which would also be easier with formula. If it were you, would you do the same? When would you start? I could pump too, but I find pumping very time consuming - and if I'm pumping, I'm worried that I will get really engorged in between - that's why I'm thinking of doing the formula at night. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one - because I'm really unsure of what to do, and when to start.
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17 comments :
Hey Heather - I was forced to use formula for a week with Micah when he was three months (I had to go on some strong meds) and I was devastated about it initially, but in the end it wasn't a big deal and I was thankful that he was able to take formula later - though we never used it a lot. It was just too expensive and we found it too difficult to use up a whole can before it went bad. You can buy individual cans, though which might make sense if you only want to use it every once in awhile. I ended up BF'ing until Micah was about 11 months and then went straight to cow's milk at that time.
Breastfeeding didn't work for me and Evan. When I was pregnant I was determined to do it because all of the benefits but it just didn't work. On day 9 at midnite after struggling for over a week of trying I finally just yelled to my husband... "make me a bottle!" We had a sample of Similac Advanced and have been using it ever since. Evan has done great on it. He is 8 weeks and is a healthy 13 lbs. We go through about a can a week and a can is about $23. If you sign up on their website www.welcomeaddition.com they will send you three $5 off coupons and then a coupon or two a month after that. If you don't think you will use a whole can or just want to try it they sell small cans of it at my Walmart for about $9. I am so happy with my decision now. Good luck with whatever you decide!!
Hey girlie! With Taylor I breastfed her ONLY until she was 7 months, and I remember wishing that i would have, early on, at least supplemented with formula occasionally also, because when it came time to switch her over to formula at 7 months (I did that during the day and actually breastfed at night because I was in school) it was really hard to get her used to the formula...I'm not sure if it's because I should have tried to occasionally give it to her sooner, or if she just didn't like it, or what! I think that its a really good idea to introduce him to formula at night time....If it doesn't work you don't have to keep doing it...I think that every baby is diffferent, and maybe he wil take really well to the formula which will allow you a little bit of freedom. I'm not sure that this is helping, I may just be rambling, but anyways...CONGRATS on making it to your goal anyway...I'm a huge goal maker, and it feels great when you achieve one!
Well, I ended up using formula with both boys early on. I didn't have enough milk with Zach and was SO sore with Jake that I needed a break. I didn't have any problems switching between the two. Granted, I didn't BF for longer than 3.5 weeks with either of them, but it worked out well. The only thing I will warn you about is that Jake was SO much happier on formula than breastmilk. He would eat better and be full longer and was happier! I was a little sad BF didn't work, but formula feeding was what worked best for us.
I highly recommend Dr. Browns for bottles. They worked way better than Avent. A little more expensive but worth it. We had one incident of gas with Jake after switching - so much better than with Zach and Avent.
We used GoodStart with Zach but with Jake there was a better formula out there. I can't remember what it was, but I am thinking it was Enfalac. It is expsnsive but if it helps you, I think it's worth it! Even if it's only once a month, you get your you time! Altho, if you're giving him a bottle at night, it would be more often. Which reminds me, a friend of mine did this with her baby. She would go to bed around 10 and her husband would feed the baby a bottle around 11 - she got some extra sleep by going to bed early and he got some snuggle time with the baby too. So you could consider that too, even if it's just once in a while :)
Good luck either way! I'll tell you something a friend told me since I felt guilty about switching to bottles, you're feeding your baby with love no matter how you do it! It really helped me!
I don't know anything about weening or supplementing. But I just wanted to say good job on reaching your goal and sticking it out! Breastfeeding moms don't get enough credit and reassurance. It's hard work and it takes a lot out of you. Good job mom! James is so proud!
I breastfeed the girls exclusively until four or five months and never had trouble with pumping to get out for a few hours at a time (not that it didn't drive me nuts sometimes though). On longer outings I'd take the pump along in case I needed a bit of emergency relief. The kids usually wanted to nurse the second I got in the door anyway, no matter how sound asleep they had been before that. I also found that it was easy to leave cereal to mix with the breastmilk once they were older and never missed having formula.
One mistake I made with Ivy though was that because we had such a tough start with breastfeeding we didn't give her any in a bottle until she was a few months old. She always hated it but drank it when desperate.
Im so happy youve had success w/ breastfeeding. i wish I had made it as far as you have... sadly I didnt.
I hope to with num. 3 haha
Formula will make james sleep better at night though I believe. It takes longer to digest.
umm..
ok I lost my train of thought haha.. ::its late!::
Oh! I use Similac Advanced with Taite.. I also used it with Caleb.
It worked well.
After Caleb was 4 months old I switched him to the generic brand formula (parents choice advanced) *its basically the same thing just much cheaper!!*.
1 can of similac advanced will cost 21 dollars. 1 can of the generic brand was 12 dollars. Huge difference.
What sort of pump are you using?
I used a medela hospital grade pump (rather expensive) I was able to pump both my breast in 15 minutes. It went very quick.
If you had a good pump that be a nice option.. but if your wanting to get more sleep at night I think a bottle of formula would do it :-)
Ok I cant think of anything else 2 say :-D
Need to finish feeding Taite.
*We are on WIC (women, infant, children) its a program that provides help for woman, infants and children HAHA. Hence the name WIC. Any how. They give us free formula. So because we have that this time around (we didnt have it with Caleb) we dont have to worry about formula cost. SUCH A BLESSING!*
oh i was going 2 add that I didnt like avent bottles. I have 3 and probably wont use them until taite is much older. they seemed way to fast!
Im using playtex nurser dropin bottles. they work well.. really slow flow. And its nice not having to wash the entire bottle after im done. I just wash the nipples.
I also use the 1st years soothie bottles some. They are nice as well. (avent are really expensive!)
sorry babe, i don't have much to go on with this one! i only bf for 3 weeks. all i can say is don't worry about formula - my kid ended up quite smart - and super cute, so it didn't affect her badly in the least! :)
proud of you for making it this long!
Way to go on making it to your goal!!! I haven't even really set a goal for myself yet. I guess every woman in my family has nursed their kids until they were 9-12 months, so I just assumed thats about how long I'll go. I know there have been MANY days where I've just wanted to quit, but have been nervous about switching to formula. Let us know how it goes for you. I'm sure he'll do great on it if you go that route. By the way, you have an adorable little boy! You should be very proud! And you look great yourself! :)
I highly recommend Dr.Brown bottles. They are worth EVERY SINGLE PENNY!!! I actually ended up buying them off of ebay.
They are specialy design to prevent gas. My kids got very gassy on Avent bottles.
I weaned my last one at two months because of poor milk supply. I introduced them to formula gradually. Adding an once to a couple ounces to breast milk and so on. Eventually it was straight formula.
I also found that there wasn't a hugs different in the kinds of formulas. I used president choice. It was the only kind he didn't throw up with, plus the cheapest. I guess I lucked out with that one.
also, do not feel bad for using formula. i used to get alot of 'rude' remarks from people about it and that 'breast was best' but other then the fact he was getting enough milk, I hated breastfeeding and felt like i had failed like a mother because we were supposed to love it.
I love that they had a bottle, I had more freedom and my husband could help with night time feedings.
Well, many times I wished to have the freedom of formula, so I'm going to encourage you to try it. Just remember that when you try a bottle, to only go one feeding at a time, otherwise you will feel like you're going to explode! President' Choice liquid concentrate worked the best for us. Because Rowan was on just breast milk for so long, he didn't like the gritty taste of powder formulas. If you have any samples, try those first. Then try whatever seems best for you.
Good for you on reaching your bf goal! we tried formula with Taeya early on in hopes that she would sleep better. that totally backfired, as the iron totally constipated her. she does ok on it now, but when she was an infant it was bad news! every baby is different - give it a try and if it works well, then you have your answer!
I know what you mean about pumping being a lot of work, and a bottle of formula here and there is SOOOO freeing! So i hope you and James are able to find a formula and bottles that work for you and let you have some time out with your hubby! :)
Good for you in reaching your goal and setting a new one! as you can tell every woman has a different experience and we all make our decisions based on our own reasoning. I finished BF at 6mons and had no problems switching over to formula; I used Goodstart. The nurse in prenatal classes talked about formula, she said that the cheap stuff is just as good as the expensive stuff - the most important thing is to make sure that it is iron fortified. Also the formula's that have Omega's in it are not necessary (plus it's super expensive) Powder is the cheapest and will not go bad near as fast - but watch what you have to mix it with, some is water some breastmilk. wishing you all the best!
I recommend Dr.Brown's bottles too! I registered for Advent and used them the first few days I bottle feed. They gave Evan lots of gas so on a friend's recommendation I bought a pack of Dr.Brown's and it has greatly reduced the burps and spit ups.
One thing I just thought of... if you are still going to breastfeed most of the time, maybe you should get a formula that is NOT iron-fortified. Your body has enough iron stores for the first six months of your babies life. If you add more iron, like kelly said, James will probably get constipated.
Glad you have reached your goal! My goal was always to go longer with Preston but I couldn't, because of the birth control the doc gave me.
Anyhow, I had formula and I gave it to him before he was a month. I don't remember exactly why, but I needed to for some reason. The first time I gave it to him he slept like a log, after that he didn't sleep any longer than he did with breast milk. So I'm not to sure what to say about that...did you try mixing in a tad of infant cereal in a bottle of breast milk? That might tie him over all ya need? Just a suggestion.
When I first started using formula I used liquid...oh jeepers I can't remember the name! lol Oh right, Enfalac, it was the cheapest at the time. After a few months, and Preston started eating more I switched to powder formula because it was cheaper. A few months ago when they changed the name "enfalac" to "enfamil" (or something??) they uped the price by $10!!! (for only a slightly larger can) That was about the time that we started using Whole Milk anyway, so it wasn't that bad. But my doc did say that if you look at the ingredients on formula now-a-days, they are all the same. Unless they have specific things added(protein, or if they are non-dairy), they have the same ingredients list, so you're only paying for the name. We would have started using no-name (probably wal-mart...who doesn't love wal-mart? lol) if we hadn't switched to Whole Milk.
Good luck with your decisions!
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