Breastfeeding, Back to Work, Swtiching to Formula

http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/fenugreek/

Give a read, but also remember, the more you pump, the more you produce. Pump 8-12 times a day. Continue to pump at work, so that the milk continues to come in.

http://breastfeeding.about.com/od/lactation/a/relactation...

http://www.gotbreastpump.com/10_Ways_to_Increase_Breast_M...

If it were me...I woudl try to pump at least once a day at work...and continue to nurse at home. That way you can cut down on your formula costs and your son can still get the benefits of breastmilk.

If you do choose to switch to formula completely...there really isn't any advice needed. Just mix and heat up a bottle of formula and give it to him.

Doing it gradually is best...not just for your son...but for your boobs! When you stop cold turkey, you will become engorged and it will hurt like crazy. If you pump less and less over a week or two...it will give your body time to adjust, as well as your son's stomach time to adjust to the formula.

Just remember formula is crazy expensive so if you can make it work...maybe pumping 50% of his milk, and giving him formula the rest of the time. Does not have to be an all-or-nothing. Hope this helps....and best of luck!

I know it's a bit of a pain cause I did it myself, but I agree with A.M and Mira that both you and baby will be a little happier if you can keep up the breastfeeding some - it doesn't have to be a complete either/or situation (unless you're body just refuses to cooperate). I wasn't a super successful pumper either, but I pumped once a day at work anyway. I was able to pump some, supplement with formula when I was a work and nurse when I was home, once in the morning a couple of times afternoon and evening. I really liked still having that breastfeeding time with my kids.

If you are not able to pump and have to switch to strictly formula don't stress about it. No one on here knows all the ins and outs of your situtation. You given your baby a great start with the 6 weeks of breast milk. I would try to continue to breastfeed in the evenings and pump at work if you can. Give him formula for what you are lacking in breastmilk and don't worry about it. Seriously consider the generic formulas, Target, Wal-Mart, Costco and Sams Club all have a generic and they meet the same strict standards the full price stuff does.

Give yourself a break, stressing over it is NOT going to improve milk production!!

M

The transition may be easier for his tummy if you can mix BM and formula for a few days, so maybe keep up the pumping if you can.
Remember, no matter what anyone tells you, what's important is THAT you feed your baby, not so much WHAT you feed your baby!
Congrats & good luck!

The more breastmilk you're able to give your son, the better. So before you think about switching, please do the following:

Go to a La Leche League meeting, meet with a lactation consultant, and visit the website Kellymom. These are all great sources for pumping advice -- they may recommend a different pump, a different diet, a dietary supplement (e.g., fenugreek), etc.

If that doesn't work, don't SWITCH TO formula, SUPPLEMENT WITH formula. Keep pumping as much as you can, and have your son's caregivers give him formula when the pumped milk runs out. When you're home with him, keep nursing.

You may have to switch completely to formula if all else fails, but you're a long way away from there now. I also recommend speaking to your employer: state that you're pumping and ask if they have any space where you can do this privately. Worst-case-scenario, you'll have to pump in the employee bathroom, but the benefits to your son will be worth it.

I couldn't seem to pump enough either...but I just kept trying. If you can I would try to stick to baby's schedule and pump at work every 3 hours or whatever his schedule is? It might be just an ounce at a time but it's better than nothing and that way you will have some breast milk to mix with the formula, which like others have said, I think you should do, at least in the beginning to get the baby used to the formula. You never know, maybe your supply will increase and your problem will be solved?

I know it is frustrating but it doesn't hurt to try, ya know?! Unless you are done with BF all together, if that is the case that is OK too and I am certainly not going to judge you and neither should anyone else...and if they do their opinion shouldn't matter to you anyway!

We did breastmilk at home and formula at daycare because I couldn't pump enough either. I recommend using generic formula (we used Target brand) and keep the water on the counter so when you mix it it's room tempature. You don't need to heat it. At least neither one of my sons had any problems withit being room temp.

We used both breast milk and formula from birth with my boys. I breast fed at home, but due to my huge breasts I did not feel comfortable doing so out and about (I was a 38 H) so we used formula when out. It also allowed my husband to do some of the night feedings early on before they started sleeping all night.

I read your SWH also here's some advice from a fellow working mom :)
I breastfed the baby the very last thing before I left him at the daycare. Then I would pump every 3 hours, and nurse as soon as we were together again. And of course keep nursing all evening and the weekends were no bottles at all.

For bottles, I made 3 oz bottles each morning (figuring the baby would be fed around 10, 12:30, and 3, every 2.5 hours after I left since I had just nursed). I would split the breastmilk evenly between the 3 bottles, and then top them off with formula until it was at the 3 oz line. The daycare had extra powder for formula, so that if they needed one more bottle for some reason, they could make it.

The down side of this method is that if there is anyleftover in the bottles at the end of the day, you can't keep it. This is because the breastmilk and formula are mixed, and while breastmilk will keep for up to 7 days, formula needs to be made fresh daily. If you had a bottle that was 100% breastmilk and it wasn't finished, you could keep what was left for the next day and give it again. But, my babies didn't like the taste of pure formula very much and so they were more willing to take the bottle when it was mixed with breastmilk.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about not pumping much now. You are pumping on top of breastfeeding right now, yes? Then it makes sense that you aren't pumping much, because she's eating most of what you have all day. It may be much different when you are away from the baby.

Good luck!

I was in your same position. I started out breastfeeding both of my kids exclusively and about 3 weeks into it I started pumping to save up breastmilk for daycare days. I would feed and then pump but it never seemed to help increase my supply. At the end of 3 weeks I only had enough save up for about 4 days. I couldn't replace it. I was so down about it that I spoke with doctors, lactation consultants, friends and tried everything I could think of in order to build my supply. In the end it was actually more stressful for me to do that than to use formula. After it was all said and done my supply never did increase and after 5 weeks of trying I had to move to formula. I bought it in bulk through Sams Club and had it shipped to the house. My pediatrician said to buy the cheapest formula (with DHA and iron) that the baby could tolerate. I breastfed when I could, either mixed formula with breastmilk (when I had it) or went with formula only. It was fine.