Baby Preferring Formula over Expressed Milk

Have you tasted your pumped breast milk that you're offering your son through the bottle?

Some women have high lipase levels in their breast milk which can cause their breast milk to "turn" after it's been expressed. Lipase is a naturally occurring enzyme, but some women produce more than others. If you have high levels your milk would taste fine/normal coming out of your breast, but would likely taste really yucky about 4-6 hours after it's been expressed, even if you've refrigerated and stored it properly. The high lipase changes the taste of the breast milk once it's been expressed, causing it to take on a very metallic and/or plastic unpleasant taste.

If this is the case, you can correct the problem by scalding the milk right after you express it, which takes away the yucky taste and might be enough to make it appetizing again for your son.

Here's a link to a kellymom page that contains info about high lipase levels: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/lipase-expressedmilk.html

That's just one possibility, and the problem is more common than you would think. If your milk tastes fine even after 4-6 hours after you've expressed it, then your son may reject the expressed breast milk as a sort of protest - he may really want the breast milk the way he usually gets it - from the breast. That way he gets all the secondary benefits of feeling the safety and warmth of mama when he nurses, and a whole different kind of sucking then what he does with a bottle, and the milk is the perfect temperature coming out of mama! If he has another option (formula) for bottle feeding, he may take it, possibly not because he actually prefers the taste, but because he wants the breast milk the way that feels right to him. Having breast milk out of a bottle may call attention to what he's missing when he has it in a bottle instead of from the breast.

No matter what the reason, good for you for really trying to keep giving him breast milk! It offers so many benefits that formula doesn't, so I would try to prioritize the breast milk if at all possible!

3 moms found this helpful

My daughter loved formula over breast milk and it worked out fine cause I had to go back to work at 6 weeks. If you do not want him to have formula, do not give it to him. He will learn to drink your milk from a bottle eventually.

The expressed breastmilk that you are giving him, has it been frozen or is it fresh? Maybe it gives a different taste that he isn't tolerating if it has been previously frozen. If it was my child I think I would give a formula combo of 3 parts formula, 1 part breastmilk and then very slowly increase the breastmilk ratio. Maybe if you do it subtle then he will be more willing to just take the breastmilk bottles. Good luck and don't give up!

NEVER ever heard of this, but i wanted to say GOOD LUCK! I can understand you wanting only breastmilk for your baby. I wish I knew what to tell you, but I don't. Mine won't even take a bottle of EBM! My first son would barely take a bottle of EBM while I worked, but cluster fed in the evenings once I was home.

Both the taste and the texture of breast milk are a bit different than that of formula; this sudden new preference could be about either of these things. My daughter (now 27 months and still occasionally comfort nursing) would always take breast milk very reluctantly from a bottle; although we never introduced formula, when we began to introduce other liquids (diluted fresh juices, etc.) she always took them eagerly. I think part of her reluctance as an infant was that it felt out of place to her to not be actually at mommy's breast for breast milk!
Another suggestion I might make is to examine your diet. There are some obvious foods that might flavor your milk in a way your baby finds unpleasant, but there are also less obvious ones-- my daughter seems sensitive to foods in the fennel family, for instance, which includes all the "mother's milk" teas and many spices I use regularly in Indian cooking; she would also be less inclined to drink any milk I pumped after excersize or while under stress ( which was frequently when I was pumping, as a full time grad student).
I hope this is a bit helpful, and I wish you luck in figuring our exactly what your wee one is trying to tell you!
all the best,
S. (mommy of a 27 month old, a new baby due in August, Doula in training, and 4th year Oriental Medicine student)

Well I don't know if my little man preferred formula to breast milk, but I did start supplementing around 9 months or so. I had always pumped but he started rejecting bottles around that time so I took him to the dr and found out he had an ear infection. During that process I got out of the habit of pumping. I was talking to a friend and she told me that whenever she was out with her baby she just gave him formula and when at home she breastfed and she had no trouble keeping her supply for that. So that is what I did and it was so liberating! So if you are comfortable with giving him breastmilk at home and letting him have formula when you are working or out or whenever you need to, I think it is just fine. I know he is still really little but give yourself a break. You are a working mom and it is tough to pump and work, though I do know moms who kept it up for a while so it is not impossible:) As far as him preferring the milk, I think they just like the taste of formula. My son LOVED it! They can get a little picky as well, you know like one flavor comes through a nipple another through the breast etc. My son wouldn't take anything but juice in his sippy cup for the longest and would take milk only in a bottle. You put milk in that sippy cup and forget it! So it may just be something that he has decided on in his little baby brain:) If you are uncomfortable with supplementing with formula, then just keep offering the breast milk, they do adjust! But either way your little one is going to do just great!:)

Are you pregnant? Sometimes , the change in hormones changes its taste. Because you're working, perhaps the daily stresses of this are diminishing your supply and he doesn't like having to work for it. He likes the ease of bottle...but maybe doesn't like the taste of breast milk through plastic. Is it the same temperature as the formula when you feed him the breastmilk? I'm just taking stabs at this. Who knows what's going on in their little brains! :)

I think Ashli P might have something...would definitely check out her info.

Good Luck!

Hi -

I've never heard of this exact scenario but my sil had a terrible time getting her daughter to take the bottle at all. She had been breastfed for several months and then when they introduced the bottle she barely ate anything until my sil was available to nurse her again. What ended up working for them was just staying consistent in offering the bottle with expressed milk regularly. The baby went several weeks of barely eating during the day and then nursing a lot at night before she finally just decided that the bottle was the only thing that was going to be offered so she started eating. To apply this to your situation I would say stop offering formula. If the only option your son has is expressed milk in the bottle or nothing, he will NOT starve. He'll adjust and everything will be just fine once he gets used to it.

Good luck,
K.

If you don't want to stop breastfeeding, but find that he is just not taking in enough expressed milk, you could always just give him formula during the day, and "pump and dump" while you're at work, to keep your supply up. As long as he continues to be willing to take the breast, I don't see why the formula couldn't be an appropriate supplement, and if it would keep mealtime from being a war zone, it might be your better option.

He might like the formula better because from the breast, the milk changes as he feeds...the foremilk is different from the hind milk. When you express and put into a bottle, it mixes the two. Perhaps it is that that he doesn't like.

I really don't think there is a right and wrong way to deal with this. Mine is just one suggestion from many options. Do what works best for you and your son, and as long as he is healthy and happy, try not to sweat it too much.

Hello- my first child had health issues shortly after birth and we had some similiar issues. You might try changing your diet to include fewer pungent items like garlic, onions, green peppers, etc and more things like yellow squash, non-acidic fruits (apples, bananas, peaches, blue berries); cottage cheese, whole wheat breads, and brown rice. Formula often has a sweeter taste than breast milk- which is not to say that you should "sweeten" it- but that some dietary changes may better fit his palette! I know it sounds hilarious! Both of my children had problems with my milk when I had too many tomatoes (which I love), mushrooms, blue cheese and processed lunch meats. The good news is my now sixteen year old loves gourmet food and has an incredibly sophisticated taste in food! Good luck!

I was in child care, in the infant room for 2 years. We had a few infants that would not take breast milk from a bottle, and would only drink formula with us. It doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about. As long as the baby is getting the needed nutrients. Just keep breast feeding at home, and pump to keep up supplies.

I agree with the previous poster. I would not offer any formula (unless absolutely necessary) and if you have to, then mix it with the breastmilk. If the only option is breastmilk, then the baby will eat. It may seem like he isn't eating much for a few days until he realizes that he won't be getting anything else, but once he does, he'll start eating normally again. If you want to breastfeed exclusively, then just put the formula away and express your milk for him.

Good luck to you!

I had strep twice in the 6 weeks after having my first born and never could get my milk production up to where he needed/wanted it. Once I gave him a bottle he pretty much told me I was excused.... inhaled the formula. I never could even make enough breast milk to express....He also went from gaining weight- but not much- to packing on the pounds- I think I had been starving him those first 6 weeks! And while I would have loved to continue breast feeding- he was not interested and he still grew up to be a very healthy happy kid. (His first illness was at 11 1/2 months) He's 17 years old now and just as wonderful as my daughters who were both breast fed longer. So don't beat yourself up if it turns out you can't continue to breast feed enough to fill him up....

Hi H.,
This is such a frustrating issue. I think you should breastfeed him when you're with him, and continue to express the milk for when you're away, your caregiver can mix it with formula for a half-and-half mixture.
I have heard of an enzyme that some women produce in their milk that somehow makes the milk taste sour when it's frozen and then thawed (fine if it's just expressed but never frozen). Could be your situation, too.
Best of luck
P.

YES! It is a real thing..my daughter was similar. I ended up mixing the two. Prepared formula and Breastmilk. I played with the mixture, then slowly made more breastmilk, and she was okay with it. Hope that helps. Good Luck!

I think that some babies just know when they taste breast milk that it is supposed to come from Mom. I think it throws them off that it smells like mom it taste like mom, but this is not mom, its a bottle. Some times babies want breast mild to be at a very specific temperature, just the same as mom's. My breast pump broke when my daughter was about 4 months old. From then on she had 1 formula bottle a day. She still loved to breast feed and dad got to feed her too. I don't think that there is any problem.
Good luck.

Unfortunately, we can't control our kids likes and dislikes. If he will not take a breast milk bottle, you are only torturing him to take it, and the caregiver for giving it. Breast feed him at night and in the morning and then give him the formula during the day. He still gets the benefits of the breast milk and is not stressed out.

My daughter preferred the same thing. She would tolerate a combination of formula and breastmilk. Her ped was not that concerned with it as long as she was eating.

when i was breastfeeding i loved this site: http://www.kellymom.com/
To me it sounds like maybe your child does not like the taste of something you have been eating and that is why he prefers the formula. also when i was breastfeeding i used avent bottles because they seemed the most similar to the real thing (within price range). I only used formula with my son at night because i thought it might help him sleep better because it had "more substance" to it. i returned to work after 3 mos and before that my son was exclusively breastfeed. i was able to pump and give him breastmilk for the first year. I would check out this site and also maybe check out your local la leche group for assistance or talk to a lactation specialist. my insurance did not cover a visit with a lac spec but i was still able to get advice from one over the phone. the doctors i went to when my son was young were not very helpful when it came to breastfeeding. i loved breastfeeding and am glad i was able to for as long as i could. good luck!
the lactaction specialist i talked to and bought my pump from was A BABYS CHOICE ###-###-#### she was wonderful!

Do what you think is right for your son. I have read on here a couple of ladies saying don't feed him formula at all. I don't subscribe to that notion. Both of my kids were breast feed and formula feed. My daughter nursed until she was 9 months old. She pretty much winged herself. My son on the other hand started the formula at 6 to 7 weeks. I was not making enough milk and needed to supplement each feeding. After awhile, I decided that formula was the way to go. You're the mom and you know what works best for your child. By the way, my daughter is 21 and my son is 17. They survived and thrived on formula.

I would just not offer formula whatsoever. If he is hungry enough he will eat the breastmilk in the bottle. He will not let himself starve even if he does not eat it from the bottle for a few days. It's good that he still nurses on you though so you can do that instead of the bottle if he does not want it.