Hi Mommas! My almost 8 month old has been drinking bottles of my pumped breastmilk pretty much since he was born. (He never took to breastfeeding since he had torticollis when he was born and it hurt him to turn his little head.) My question is, how did you introduce formula? I don't want to waste my breastmilk b/c I know you have to throw out the bottle if it's mixed with formula. Did you mix it with breastmilk or go cold turkey? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks so much! :)
Thank you all so much for your valuable input! I think we'll try the gradual mixing idea first and see how it goes. We bought the Good Start Gentle formula so hopefully this will be one that he likes. My older son did very well on Good Start too! :) Thanks again, Mommas!! :)
I mixed it....he didn't seem to mind at all. Breastmilk or formula he would drink either one with no preference.
Mix your breastmilk with the formula, 75% to 25%. Do this for a few days until he is used to it, then go to 50/50 for a few days, then to 25/75 and finally all formula. You know how much breastmilk you have so can adjust the days accordingly until all or most of it is gone, especially if you have a timeframe in mind for completing this.
Have you tried to give him one bottle and see what he does? He might take it right away (or reject it completely); everyone is different. My son didn't care whether he was drinking breastmilk or any brand of formula, as long as he was fed on time! Others really have a hard time and youwill have to make the change slowly. I am not sure if your concern is for the taste or your baby's bodily reaction to the formula. If it is the taste, then try a little at a time, and mix with breastmilk as needed. If it is his reaction after drinking the formula, then give one bottle at his first feeding and see if he has any reaction to it. Don't do this toward the night, just in case the formula doesn't settle in his stomach well.
Hello, It is important to mix the formula with your breastmilk starting with more breastmilk than formula, then working to use more formula than breastmilk, then to only formula. This will help your son's digestive system to get used to the change. I would do mostly breastmilk for a week, then add more and more of the formula a week at a time.
Good luck with your precious little baby.
K. K.
I have two kids both breast-fed. Funny thing that you will get used to very fast is there is not another child out in the world who is like yours. Best thing is to store up milk for "wasting" and just try it. My son took his mixed, my daughter never took it, hated it, went to almond milk (she is allergic to dairy). Good luck. No matter what they'll always think you are the best mom ever.
i did this as well, what i did was just start adding a small amount of formula to the breastmilk to get him accustomed to it and then i went to only formula. i would just do it until you use up your breastmilk and not pump anymore. just try to gradually quit with the pumping because if you quit cold turkey you will be SO engorged. i think he'll probably take to it quickly, i found that it wasn't the formula that my son had a problem with, it was the switching from breast to bottle. since you don't have an problem with that it he should do fine.
I mixed my formula and breastmilk all the time. I know it's not "recommended" but at 8 months I was definitely putting the bottle back in the fridge and using it for another feeding if I had to. It didn't happen often, but I would use it up within 24 hours. If it was more than that then I threw it out. The big issue with throwing it out is that once it has touched the mouth, bacteria can grow, the same with baby food and just about anything else honestly. So, try small amounts at a time but don't be worried about reusing it the same day.
My daughter had a huge problem going to a bottle, but I don't think it was the formula that was the problem. Once she got over her objection to the bottle she nursed at home and had bottles of breastmilk at daycare for several months. You might want to try the formula alone, as I agree that wasting breastmilk seems wrong!
Give him small amounts of breastmilk with formula at a time, so you wont be wasting the breastmilk.
I started one feeding of formula with expressed milk early on....even mixed it on occasion - my son didn;t seem to care....be prepared to try different formulas and bottles till you find the right fit....I would recommend starting with one nightime feeding of formula ( will sleep longer!) and then increasing if he doesn't object.
