Questions About Formula Supplementing

T.,

I say introduce a bottle of breast milk around 4 weeks. I'd hold off on adding formula until you absolutely have to so your little one gets the most out of nursing over the summer. Plus, formula is SO expensive, the less you have to purchase, the better.

I waited until 6 weeks to try to introduce a bottle of breast milk and neither of my boys really ever went for it, especially my second. If you wait too long, it might be harder. All babies are different in what they like for nipples, like I said, I never really had any luck with a bottle.

Good luck to you and great for you to be heading back to school!

J.

1 mom found this helpful

I agree with Jessica that its fine to intro a bottle anytime after 3wks when breastfeeding is going well, but why intro formula before you have to? Nurse him through the summer when you start school, then intro formula. THe longer you wait and exclusively breastfeed, the better his body will be able to break down the formula and digest it without problems.

My baby was exclusively breastfeed, but I also wanted to make sure she would take a bottle when I started working so when she was 3 weeks old my husband introduced her to a bottle of breast milk. He gave her one bottle every night and then I just pumped during that time to maintain my supply and also to get milk for the next night. We did also try formula with her at about 2 months just because we wanted to make sure she would take it in case I ran into supply issues once pumping. She took it just fine even though we ended up not needing to use it. I think every baby is different and you will just have to find a nipple that she prefers. We used the playtex drop in bottles and that worked fine. We stayed with the slow flow nipples for quite some time because one of the reasons a baby may decide they don't want to go back to the breast after having a bottle is that it is so much easier to get milk out of a bottle then the breast which is why in the breastfeeding class I took they suggested not giving a bottle until 3 or 4 weeks old.

Hi T.,
I had the best luck transitioning my son from breast to bottle with the Pur nipples (available from St. Luke's hospital supplies in Cedar Rapids. Probably available at other medical supply shops as well. I liked those a lot because they were smaller than a lot of the other nipples out there (my son didn't like to open his mouth very wide), so he'd get a better latch and less gas. They fit great in the Dr. Brown bottles and in the Evenflo comfi bottles.

Also, if you're in the Cedar Rapids area, I highly recommend the breast feeding support group at Mercy Hospital. Its held weekly on Wednesday mornings from 10:30 - 12:00 (or so) and the first and third Thursday evenings from 6:00 - 7:30 (I think). The ladies that run the group are extremely helpful and welcoming, and they are very supportive of all moms, no matter what methods of parenting or feeding you choose to use. I found their advice, and the advice of the other moms who went invaulable in my first foray into motherhood.

Good luck!

I had my daughter in April and had to get ready to return to work. I work as a Nursing assistant in a nursing home. SO i had to do something. I breast feed for the first two weeks, but then due to no being able to produce enough due to growth spurts we started supplementing with Nestle Good Start and she did great. I am also pumped. We used Playtex Advance bottles with the air vents. We found after trying different bottles that these gave her less gas and she was less fussy. I however also use a nipple shield from Medela while breast feeding, and there was no nipple confusion. Plus nipples didn't hurt. Good luck!
Just a quick note: Look at the age group and the flow rate for the nipples. At first they need a slow flow rate. Some bottles come with fast rates which newborns cant handle.

I had to supplement my children as well. I started at about 2 weeks. If you do decide to pump, you can do some pumped with some formula, that's what I did until I just wasn't getting enough for pumping to be worth wile. If you do that, you can just do like 1 oz pumped and 1 oz mixed formula....

Or you can just go straight to formula.

We used carnation good start on my oldest and had great results...we had trouble finding a formula that worked for my youngest, but eventually used Enfimil Gentlease-because he had gassy issues.

My kids weren't picky on nipples...my oldest used even flow, my youngest used the traditional brown playtex nipples. You may have to try a few different brands, so don't buy a bunch until you find one that works for your little one.

I had to suppliment my son when he was breastfeeding too. He had had a massive growth spurt and feed so much I had to give him formula just to keep up. What I have found with bottles and babies (I have 4, the last 3 only bottle fed) is they can be picky about which nipple they like. My son had no problems with the cheaper nipples and switching between bottle and breast. My son who is 3 months old only likes the Gerber bottle nipples and wont use any other. It took about 3 or 4 different bottles/nipple combos to find one he would use really good and not spit up after drinking. My daughter who is 3 needed a special nipple that I could get in past her tongue that she stuck out while feeding (which is why I couldnt breast feed her), the nipple had to be small and kind of long. So it will depend on what your baby is comfortable with and will enjoy using. Good Luck and congrats!!

My daughter was solely breastfeed, she wouldn't take a bottle. It was very important to me for my son to take formula so I introduced formula in the hospital after I had breastfeed him a few times. The nurses tried to tell me I shouldn't do this because it can confuse them and they may reject breastfeeding after having a bottle but to me it was worth it to make sur ehe took it becuase of the problems I had with my daugher when I went back to work. Most people recomend waiting two weeks at least before starting the formula, but to me I think it depends on if it is worth taking the chance that the baby may reject breastfeeding. Good luck and congradulations.

The best advise you can get will be from the nurses at the hospital. I would suggest going from breast to bottle after a few weeks. They say you can introduce a bottle to them around 3 weeks...I am sure you can do it sooner....it is extremely important to breastfeed though. even if you pumped out a little milk for him each day til your milk dried up it will make the biggest difference in his health in the long run. The best nipples I have found for my daughter which is just over 4 weeks is made by NUK. They are shaped more comfortable for an infant. Since I am breastfeeding her it does not cause her confusion between the two.

Hey T.,...I just want assure you that you should NOT have to justify your choice to anyone. (I get the feeling by your post that you are already defending your decision, for fear of other moms disagreeing with you) I hope no one gives you grief for either decision. Do what you're comfortable with,...and I also hope that people can offer you some great advise, instead of being judgemental about your decision.

I've been told that between 2-3 weeks is the best time to introduce a breastfed baby to a bottle...however, many babies are brought into this world and are bottle fed from the beginning (no breast), so whatever works for you. (I think there is a theory that once a baby gets a bottle, they often refuse the breast...or vise-versa, but every baby is different, as you know)

www.safebaby.com They have the best researched bottles, nipples and formula to supplement for healthy babies.

Hi T.,
I breastfed my little guy exclusively for the first 3 weeks, and then, b/c I wasn't producing all that much milk, I began to supplement him with formula. It worked just fine, and all of the lactation specialists that I spoke with said to wait until about the 2-3 week mark to begin supplementing. If you wait any longer, you may have more trouble switching your baby back and forth b/w breast and bottle. I completely stopped nursing at 4 months, and then my little guy took formula. It worked out just fine, and I was really glad to have a break from feeding now and again. Good luck!

I use Parent's Choice (Walmart brand) and I have never had a problem with it. It has the same ingredients as Emfamel and Simulac and it is almost 1/2 the price. I have used it on all three of my kids. They are all very healthy..