Talk to me about combo feeding/supplementing

[winecheery]

So, AW I guess, but I am almost at my secondary goal of EBF for 6 months.  My initial goal was 3 months, and from my posts back at the beginning of breastfeeding, it was a miracle I even made it that far, simply because I've never particularly "enjoyed" it.

I am so, so proud of myself for meeting the 6 month goal (in abt 2 weeks anyway) and am comfortable with starting the process of combo feeding/and/or supplementing until I dry up completely, or decide to stop completely.  My current hope/goal is to start formula for much of the daytime, and still nurse for the first feed of the day, the last feed of the day, and any MOTN wake ups until I will night wean.  (soon, but not yet. I want to talk to the pedi, and get her more into solids, etc. in the next month or two.)  That's about 4 times a day, max, of nursing from about 7-8.

I want to know how some of you work this out.  How do I go about it?  She eats every 2-3 hrs during the day time, so I'm not sure how long you go with formula?  I know nothing about FF babies, and the "rules".

I have a small freezer stash and will no longer pump as I wean, so do I mix formula with breast milk until the stash runs out?  I am not terribly concerned about engorgement, because my boobs have been feeling less and less full these days, and my let-down now slowed to almost 3-4 minutes before it occurs vs almost instant no matter how hydrated, rested, or well-fed I am.  

Formula recs?  I want something that is easy to warm/prepare, and maybe is gentle on tummies?  Just to be safe.  I really have no clue what I'm doing!  She takes bottles beautifully, and in fact has been preferring them, (gets them maybe once a day, not everyday) so I think this can work quite well at this time.  

I want to end on a sappy note here, and say thank you to this board for the wonderful support in the early months, and the encouragement to feel confident in the choices I make in this regard.  We all know how emotional the way you choose to feed your baby can make you, and while I am so, so excited to wear regular bras, hopefully have my boobs shrink, and give myself more freedom, I have grown to really appreciate the bond nursing has given me and DD, and know that I gave/am giving her a very special gift these 6 months. I am (almost) sad about it!  But I know it's time for me.

Posting and running; I need to shower! lol TIA ladies!

[halfpint]

Great job!

I started to supplement when he was gaining slow and I couldn't pump enough. He still nurses every 2-3 hours when I'm home, but we added one 4 oz bottle of formula to his intake. When I'm home, that usually means topping him off with a couple of ounces in the morning and in the afternoon. When I'm at work, he gets 3 breastmilk bottles and one formula. I'm actually hoping to eliminate the formula as he gets more of his calories from solids, so slightly different goal.

If you're wanting to transition out, and don't need to add extra calories, maybe just replace one feeding with a bottle of formula?

We use Baby's Only formula - I was looking for something organic and did a lot of research, and felt it was the best option for us. B has no issues with it. I think there are tons of options, though, for easy to digest formulas.

[urbancowgirl]

Awesome job! I weaned very slowly, so I combo fed for over a month. When we started, I just picked a feeding and gave him formula instead of BF'ing. He still eats the same number of times per day as when we were BF'ing (every 3-4 hours, plus solids throughout the day). It took some trial and error to figure out how many ounces to give him at each feeding.

As far as formula, our pedi had given us some Similac samples so we used those with no issues. Once the samples were gone, we switched to the Target generic of Similac. HTH and good luck!

[Deleted]

Woo hoo ! Nice work! I made it to the 6 month mark and then had to take a 3 day work trip. I had given him some formula in advance of that - not wanting to stress myself out making sure I had pumped enough. i mixed bm and formula a couple of times then went to straight formula and he was fine. I started by using the Enfamil samples I had from our doctor and then switched to the Target generic (all formula is regulated by FDA). Enfamil makes a gentle one (Gentlease maybe)? Huge difference in price with generic plus with Target card and cartwheel app lots of savings!

I gave up on pumping around 7 months and just nursed morning and night for another 3 months.

[winecheery]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and suggestions! I really am not too clear which route to take, but after thinking in the shower (haha) I am inclined to try mixing breast milk and formula in a 1-2 bottles a day. I think I can safely try that. The only thing I'm really unsure of is how often to give her the formula. Surely she won't need a formula bottle every 2 hrs?? Or maybe that's accurate; smaller bottles more frequently??

[winecheery]

Feb 28, 2014 14:25:38 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

Nice work!

I would probably do straight formula first and only mix if she won't take it. You need to follow the formula storage rules, which are more rigid than BM ones, so you probably don't want to lose BM if she doesn't drink a whole bottle. I would start with a regular, generic formula. No reason go spend more if you don't need to! Both my kids at the same in formula as BM but they were never 100% on formula so I'm not sure if that matters. One (of 3) of their BM bottles was replaced by a formula bottle - same number of oz, etc.

How many times are you pumping? I'd probably lose 1 session/week till you are done. I was able to nurse DS1 at morning and before bed only for a couple months after weaning from the pump and weaning from BF during the day. I could have done it longer, but I decided to wean him completely. He was older, but I think your supply is probably stable enough that you could do it for quite a while.

Ok, so, I have bunch of lansinoh bags still so i was hoping to freeze ahead formula and thaw as I would bm.  Can I not??

I'm only pumping once w a manual pump in the AM.  I'm a SAHM.  I'd only do one side too.  I'd get anywhere from 2-5oz, averaging on 3-4oz.

[cincodemayo]

Feb 28, 2014 15:04:51 GMT -5 winecheery said:

Feb 28, 2014 14:25:38 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

Nice work!

I would probably do straight formula first and only mix if she won't take it. You need to follow the formula storage rules, which are more rigid than BM ones, so you probably don't want to lose BM if she doesn't drink a whole bottle. I would start with a regular, generic formula. No reason go spend more if you don't need to! Both my kids at the same in formula as BM but they were never 100% on formula so I'm not sure if that matters. One (of 3) of their BM bottles was replaced by a formula bottle - same number of oz, etc.

How many times are you pumping? I'd probably lose 1 session/week till you are done. I was able to nurse DS1 at morning and before bed only for a couple months after weaning from the pump and weaning from BF during the day. I could have done it longer, but I decided to wean him completely. He was older, but I think your supply is probably stable enough that you could do it for quite a while.

Ok, so, I have bunch of lansinoh bags still so i was hoping to freeze ahead formula and thaw as I would bm.  Can I not??

I'm only pumping once w a manual pump in the AM.  I'm a SAHM.  I'd only do one side too.  I'd get anywhere from 2-5oz, averaging on 3-4oz.

No, formula can't be frozen and thawed. I'm not sure why you would do that anyways? It seems much more difficult to thaw a frozen bag than just mix up a new bottle to me. 

[winecheery]

Feb 28, 2014 15:09:13 GMT -5 cincodemayo said:

Feb 28, 2014 15:04:51 GMT -5 winecheery said:

Ok, so, I have bunch of lansinoh bags still so i was hoping to freeze ahead formula and thaw as I would bm.  Can I not??

I'm only pumping once w a manual pump in the AM.  I'm a SAHM.  I'd only do one side too.  I'd get anywhere from 2-5oz, averaging on 3-4oz.

No, formula can't be frozen and thawed. I'm not sure why you would do that anyways? It seems much more difficult to thaw a frozen bag than just mix up a new bottle to me. 

Because I'd like it to be warmed.  And the comotomo bottles are silicone and take forever to heat up in the bottle warmer.  So the bags are much more efficient for us.  6 mins from frozen, 3 from fridge.

Can I store it in the fridge?  Like what I need for a few days??

[thebreakfastclub]

Feb 28, 2014 15:22:59 GMT -5 winecheery said:

Feb 28, 2014 15:09:13 GMT -5 cincodemayo said:

No, formula can't be frozen and thawed. I'm not sure why you would do that anyways? It seems much more difficult to thaw a frozen bag than just mix up a new bottle to me. 

Because I'd like it to be warmed.  And the comotomo bottles are silicone and take forever to heat up in the bottle warmer.  So the bags are much more efficient for us.  6 mins from frozen, 3 from fridge.

Can I store it in the fridge?  Like what I need for a few days??

You can make 24 hours worth and keep it in the fridge.  Many of us use the Dr Browns pitcher for this.

[soozy87]

Feb 28, 2014 15:22:59 GMT -5 winecheery said:

Feb 28, 2014 15:09:13 GMT -5 cincodemayo said:

No, formula can't be frozen and thawed. I'm not sure why you would do that anyways? It seems much more difficult to thaw a frozen bag than just mix up a new bottle to me. 

Because I'd like it to be warmed.  And the comotomo bottles are silicone and take forever to heat up in the bottle warmer.  So the bags are much more efficient for us.  6 mins from frozen, 3 from fridge.

Can I store it in the fridge?  Like what I need for a few days??

Can't you just use warm water to make it?

[countthestars]

Feb 28, 2014 15:22:59 GMT -5 winecheery said:

Feb 28, 2014 15:09:13 GMT -5 cincodemayo said:

No, formula can't be frozen and thawed. I'm not sure why you would do that anyways? It seems much more difficult to thaw a frozen bag than just mix up a new bottle to me. 

Because I'd like it to be warmed.  And the comotomo bottles are silicone and take forever to heat up in the bottle warmer.  So the bags are much more efficient for us.  6 mins from frozen, 3 from fridge.

Can I store it in the fridge?  Like what I need for a few days??

We just use warm water!

[cricketwife]

Feb 28, 2014 14:25:38 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

Nice work!

I would probably do straight formula first and only mix if she won't take it. You need to follow the formula storage rules, which are more rigid than BM ones, so you probably don't want to lose BM if she doesn't drink a whole bottle. I would start with a regular, generic formula. No reason go spend more if you don't need to! Both my kids at the same in formula as BM but they were never 100% on formula so I'm not sure if that matters. One (of 3) of their BM bottles was replaced by a formula bottle - same number of oz, etc.

How many times are you pumping? I'd probably lose 1 session/week till you are done. I was able to nurse DS1 at morning and before bed only for a couple months after weaning from the pump and weaning from BF during the day. I could have done it longer, but I decided to wean him completely. He was older, but I think your supply is probably stable enough that you could do it for quite a while.

I second this!  I started formula in a very emotional and sleep-deprived state and picked the Similac for Breastfeeding Moms -or whatever it's called exactly and I wish I had just chose the cheap generic off the bat.  We're wasting sooooooooooo much money!  Both the pedi and the LC have recommended not switching since what we're using is working.  So START CHEAP and them move up the money scale only if needed.

Congrats on BFing so long.

[winecheery]

Well, yes, I suppose warm water makes sense…

Ugh in the tiny bit I am researching I'm overwhelmed! Right now, the typical schedule is that she nurses every 2 hrs practically, between 7:30am-7:30pm and she will wake once MOTN to nurse too, often.

Sooo…I'm guessing she'd need a 4oz bottle every two hours to drink during the day to replace any nursing sessions?? For her age range, it seems like she needs 24-32 oz, and when I give her a bottle of pumped milk it's been 4oz lately. So, that's what I'm basing it off of. I have no idea if I should try to give large bottles less frequently? Waaaah

Her 6 month well visit isn't for a couple of weeks and I'll certainly talk to the pedi but this all seems more complicated then I realized. I still want to do it; I just wish I felt like I had a better direction/plan.