Supplementing with Formula - Tulsa,OK

Formula has it's place. When there isn't enough breast milk for a baby to grow, that's a proper place.

My son was formula fed from day one. He is 3 1/2 and has been mildly sick once. He's beginning to read. He doesn't have arms growing out of his forehead, or anything. I could not produce milk, so formula had it's place.

You son either gets formula, or continues not to thrive. Seems like an easy decision, to me.

Please keep in mind that if you supplement your breastmilk production will NOT increase but will go down instead. Supply follows demand. I think your 4month old needs to nurse more often. At 4 months old, my son would nurse at least 8 times per day. I know that you are experienced and probably very busy with your 4 other children but maybe this weekend you and the baby can take a "nursing vacation" described here on Kellymom.com: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/low-supply/

My son and I did this at least 2-3 times while he nursed and it was wonderful when he was little. Not so fun after he was more mobile! I would highly, highly suggest you take the baby to bed with you this weekend and nurse on demand as much as possible to try to get his weight up and your supply up. I'm sure you can get your supply to match his needs and if you need help, contact someone from LLL or a certified lactation consultant.

I would give almost anything to curl up with a 4 month old right now. Enjoy him! C.

This might seem silly but did they use the same scale as the previous visit? this happened to my SIL and it turns out they used different scales for each visit and they were not all calibrated the same. They thought her son had lost a ton of weight when he really hadn't and the scales were wrong. She also had a nurse write it down wrong. Is that 5-6 times he eats in a 24 hour period or only during the day. My 13mo BF 5-6 times in a 24 hour period. If it were me I would try to feed him more often.

I would first, make SURE that you are producing enough milk.
And make sure that he is latching on properly.
If the answer to these 2 questions is no...then see a Lactation specialist.

Now, are you nursing him, on-demand... or by a schedule????
Babies, need to feed, on-demand.
IF babies are fed according to a schedule... they do not get enough intake.
My kids as babies, nursed an awful lot more, than only 5-6 times daily.
And, at 3 months, that was a growth-spurt period... and during growth spurts, babies NEED to feed more frequently and they need more.

Supplementing with Formula, means, that AFTER you nurse, you give your baby a little, Formula. BUT if you replace each breastfeeding with Formula... THEN your milk production, will lessen.
And, be aware that some babies will NOT take a bottle.
AND some babies, if they are given a bottle or Formula in a bottle, then they might not... want to nurse anymore. Because bottle feeding is only by gravity and it is easier to suck from. That happened to my friend.

You need to make sure you are producing enough milk, and that your baby is latching on properly, and that you are nursing on-demand day and night 24/7, and per their development and growth-spurt needs, it is normal and common... and a baby will NEED to nurse, even every single hour. That is called "cluster feeding." For example.

My kids as babies, when they were under 6 months old and just infants... nursed every 2-3 hours. Sometimes every hour when they were growing. They had ginormous appetites and I nursed them on-demand. And they grew like weeds. I used both breasts each nursing session.

Nurse your baby, more often.

I would do as the doctor asks and supplement with formula and try it and if you are not comfortable with it, go back before the next check up and formulate another plan, maybe do blood work for baby and you. I supplemented with my son and he was fine, he did not get confused about breast milk v. formula, or bottle v. breast, I think if you are ok with it then baby will be too. I hope baby begins to put on weight soon, Good luck!

i dont really have advice, you do what you think is right, whatever that may be.. but i thought id tell u my story... -my daughter was having such a hard time latching during the 3 days after she was born and i was still in the hospital, but the nurse that was on duty the first 2days kept saying o just keep trying just keep trying.. finally the last day i was there another nurse came in and was like "no one gave you anybottles to try!!??" they weighed my daughter that morning.. she went from 6-12oz to 6-7oz.. i kept trying to breastfeed after tthat but she would get so frustrated and so hungry.. so i continued supplementing with formula.. took her to her first doctors appointment and the second the doctor looked in her mouth she said o0 wow shes tonguetied pretty bad, im not surprised your having trouble breastfeeding.. from then on i have been just feeding her formula in bottles... she was 10lbs 7oz at her 2 month check up!!

Hmm, how long is he nursing at each feeding? Does he nurse at night at all? At that age, my babies were nursing every 3 hours between 7AM and 9PM (so about 5 times), plus a dream feed around 11 PM, plus once in the middle of the night. So about 7 times a day.

So if I were you, I would try to look at your schedule to see where you might offer additional nursing sessions. Don't wait until he's fussy to feed him, if it's been 3 hours, offer and see if he'll latch on. Set a kitchen timer if you have to, so you don't lose track of time. Also, if you put him down for the night at 8, but you don't go to bed until 10, I would do a 'dream feed' at 10, just before you go to sleep. (A dream feed is an amazing thing where if you take a sleeping baby and put him to your breast, he will latch on and eat out of instinct, without ever really waking up. It sounds crazy, but it works.)

You've said run into this more with each baby, and I'm wondering if it's because you've got so much going on that you lose track of time more easily and don't take the quiet time the baby needs to really nurse. You also won't let down as much milk if you are not relaxed and paying attention to the baby - which could easily happen if you are trying to attend to 4 other kids while nursing. I'm not trying to be critical, but trying to point out that you may need to really set aside time for this baby if you want him to get the nourishment that he needs from you. And this many not be as much about biology as it is about time management :)

He hasnt gained at all lost almost a lb. I say give him a bottle or 2 a day of formula like 4oz each and if he wants more then give him breast milk

It sounds like you have good supply, but if you add in formula that will negatively affect your supply. Quality of breastmilk is always excellent. There shouldn't be any worry about that at all.

The baby would let you know if he wasn't getting enough milk. He sounds like he's thriving and getting enough. However, you should also listen to your instincts AND get a second opinion.

Find a lactation consultant and talk to them. Honestly, some doctors aren't familiar with breastfeeding and baby growth. Get more info before going for formula supplementing. If you do need to, that's OK!

You could try taking a fenugreek supplement to increase your milk supply.
Eat more oatmeal - that can help your supply, too.
You can drink more water and nurse more frequently.
I completely dried up at 5 months (pumping at work just did not keep my supply going even though I nursed at home as much as possible) - so we transitioned to formula and it was fine.
Our son was 9 lbs 1.5 oz at birth and 18 lbs at 5 months.
As long as he's meeting his milestones, peeing/pooping frequently, the weight issue is less of a worry - but it's good to keep an eye on it.

S.,

You don't have to supplement at all! If he is gaining weight, he is fine. He is just on a different curve than other babies. Your doctor shouldn't be so quick to resort to formula. If I were you I would change pedi's. Good luck!

Losing weight at that young an age is not a good sign. If you feel formula isn't right for you, get a second opinion. Has he been sick at all or any other reason for weight loss? You might want to look closer for a cause, but a hi-cal supplement may be necessary in the meantime.