Help! How to remove formula?

F

firsttimedad

Registered User
My baby is going 4 weeks old, been exclusively Bf from day 1 to 7, latching every 2 hours or in demand........til the doc said give formula as baby doesn't have pooh for 3 days, as he lacks fluid, my Breast milk is not enough, so i gave in, as i'm a firsttime mom as i was scared for my baby not pooing. I tried pumping to see what's my supply and it's only 20 ml, so maybe doc is right that i don't have much milk.

Anyways, i still continue latching 15 mins each breast before giving the formula as i want him to have it.

I pump today and it's now 1 1/2 ounce, so my supply is getting more.

My question is, esp to those who had experience with formula, can i still go back to exclusive BF? how to do it? slowly remove or lessen the formula? i tried yesterday to latch him the whole day, sometimes he sleeps after feed, so i know he sucks enough milk, sometimes he cries and ask for more(by opening his mouth and sucking my arms) so i give formula.

Any help is appreciated, pls. don't make me feel guilty that i give in formula, i hate doing that, but i am helpless at that time as baby still has meconium(?) after a week.

I am determined to go back to BF exclusively, please adv what to do.

Thanks a lot.
 
Please dont feel bad about giving your baby formula. Its what the doctor ordered and was probably the right thing to do at that time.

I breastfed my baby for 2 months. I was not very confident about breastfeeding. On some days, it seemed like she was hungry but didnt have the energy to suckle (she seemed to be only nibbling as opposed to strong sucking). So I'd give her a little formula to build up her energy and then give her the breast again, for the next feed. I dont know whether that was the right thing to do or not. But I did it out of fear that the baby wasnt getting enough. So I can totally understand why you felt compelled to include some formula feeds, in addition to breastmilk.

I was lucky that my baby was happy to go back to the breast even after being given the bottle. From your post, it seems like your baby is pretty flexible too. So if you feel like the baby's getting enough from you, I'm sure you can go back to breastfeeding full time.

If you are still unsure, you could have someone from La Leche help you out for a few days. You can double check with your doc as well. If the baby's gaining weight etc normally, then i'm sure that he'll be happy to recommend exclusive breastfeeding as well.
 
don't feel bad about supplementing w/ formula. you did what you believe is best for your baby. rest assured that you will be able to exclusively breastfeed.

1st of all, i think you should make sure that the ducts in your breast are not blocked. i know, the books say that if you have blocked duct, the skin will be red & it will hurt. i didn't have any red patches & both my breast were blocked 50%. as i have mentioned in the other threads, i called Mrs Chee the lactation consultant to help me unblocked the ducts when baby was about 6 wks old. my baby then started gaining good weight. LLL can also help a lot, but you have to go to the meetings so that the leader can check your breasts for you. but i didn't want to go out after having the baby, so i called Mrs Chee to come to my place.

anyway, if you don't have any blocked duct, then if you put her on the breast on demand (maybe every 2 or 3 hours?), and let baby suck however long he likes (don't time 15mins or 20 or 30) just let him suck however long he wants on the first breast. if he has fallen asleep, switch him to the other breast. i used to nurse my baby 40 mins on the 1st breast & 10mins on the next (i used to watch tv series dvd while nursing, so when the one episiode finished, it's about 40mins, and you won't be dreading until the baby finish) one thing about the bfeeding books are, they always tell you how long to nurse your baby on each side. but every woman's breasts are different & so are their babies. your baby should be the one to decide how long he wants mommy's milk. how much milk you prodcue relies on ho much stimulation they get. yes, pumpng also helps, but nothing stimulate milk production like your little one's mouth.

if you're still thinking that maybe baby didn't get enuf milk, while yu're giving formula, you pump. then you won't lower your milk supply, cos when baby is drinking formula, your breasts are also getting the stimulation from the pump. your supply should be increasing in a day or 2.

and drink loads of liquid (i used to drink 4 litres a day) - fish soup, mother's milk tea, water all good stuff for upping milk supply.

meanwhile enjoy nursing your baby, and that lovely feeling of holding a newborn.
 
i agree, don't feel bad about giving your bb formula. i sometimes feel bad when i do, but i just remind myself that as a parent we do whatever is best for our children. formula can fill up bb longer and u can use that time to pump to stimulate, but to also catch up on some rest. mom's health (diet, amount of rest, mental health, confidence level ...) is also important in milk production. even tho there's a demand for more milk, it takes time for the supply to come in ... but it WILL come.

if you're still worried about enuf milk, u can make yourself a chart where u can keep track of the number of feedings, how long, how many wet diapers, how many bm's per day and other notes. we also had to give our bb formula bc she wasn't peeing enuf in her first few days and the doctor was worried that her jaundice level wasn't going down fast enuf. making a chart gave us something more concrete to look at during her first month and eased some of the worry.

we still give our bb about 1 formula feed a day so i can get a little more rest. each mom is different. for me, i am able to express more milk on days where i'm better rested. and you can always think of formula/expressed milk feedings as a time for dad to bond w/ bb too. =)

hope that helps. i also want to thank the ppl who answered this thread as i too have low confidence about breastfeeding and it helps to hear the experience of others.
 
I supplemented with formula feed for the first 6 weeks after my son's birth. I too was determined to exclusively bf and so at 6 weeks just stopped the formula. Breastfeeding took nearly 12 weeks to get established since my son was having problems latching on. But I kept at it. He was gaining weight well and peeing and poohing fine so I knew I had nothing to worry about.

If you supplement with formula then your breasts are not stimulated and will produce less milk. So if you want more milk then you have to nurse more - supply and demand. Try not to get stressed out about this - it will affect your supply. Relax, there's nothing wrong in supplementing with formula and at this early stage you can still go back to exclusively BF without any problems.

Also don't forget a baby is much more efficient at getting milk out of your breasts than you are at pumping. How much you pumped is not an accurate indication of how much milk you are producing or the baby is getting.

Regarding not poohing for 2 days it can be normal for a breastfed baby. I think you should contact the La Leche League. They are very helpful and will help you.
 
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Thanks everyone for all the replies, it makes me feel better, i might be suffering from post partum too so the whole thing is very depressing. I won't feel guilty giving him formula now.

I guess the problem is the supply, but i know it's slowly increasing now, anyway i'm just 4th week tom.

Miaka, yes, baby also had jaundice, so lack of fluid that's why no pooh pooh.

Lgremlin, i have called Mrs. Chee twice and she is a BIG help, i've been latching before but not much milk, so when she massage the blocked duct, my supply has increased now. Been doing what she said on pumping, formula and latching today, so hopefully it will work out well. She has different approach compared to LLL, it's totally different, you listen and do whatever you think is correct for yourself and for the baby.

I know some people who never did latch but just pump and they have lots of milk supply, everyone is different and some are just lucky to have the flow.
 
yes, mrs chee is a great help. her ways are different, and whatever works for you & bb is good. i still have to thank her for helping me nurse my baby. if bb is latching well, than i'm sure you're gonna be fine.

also, rest is VERY important. try and get some lying down (not necessarily falling asleep).

good luck!
 
One way to get back to full breastfeeding when you are giving supplements is to give formula at the breast is with a Nursing Supplementer

You can find a nursing supplementer at http://www.meridianhk.com.hk/special_feeding_main.html

Although it does involve more cleaning to use the supplementer many mothers I have helped have found it to be very helpful when their babies know how to breastfeed but the mother?s milk supply needs increasing.

This would allow you to reduce the amount of formula more slowly so that both you and your baby are happy and at the same time increase you milk supply.

Dr. Jack Newman has a video clip on his web site which shows a mother supplementing at the breast. The address is http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/newman.shtml

He has a number of handouts and some videos on this site.

The handout you might find helpful is:

Using a Lactation Aid http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/5.html

and a video called Lactation Aid about supplementing at the breast.

The other videos on this site talk about getting the baby to latch on correctly. You may be interested to watch these and have to scroll down the page until you find them. (I like the first and the third latch videos best.)

First Latch
Second Latch
Third Latch
Asymmetric Latch
Asymmetric Latch Two

If you are interested I can send you a photo of a mother using the supplememter. And a copy of our newsletter with a story from a mother who used a supplementer. Please e-mail me at [email protected] if you are interested.

Meridan and Celki sell nursing supplementers, the Medela agent in Hong Kong is, http://www.meridianhk.com.hk/

Celki have quite a lot of shops around Hong Kong. Their head office address is,
Meridian Hong Kong Limited
Head Office
21/F., Tins Enterprises Centre, 777 Lai Chi Kok Road, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon
Tel: (852) 2328 2662 Fax: (852) 2358 0263
Email : [email protected]
Web-site : http://www.meridianhk.com.hk/

Kellymom.com has information about weaning from supplements to the breast and a useful form to fill in which helps you know exactly where you are and what the next stage is.

Weaning from Supplements Instructions
http://www.kellymom.com/store/handouts/concerns/wean-supplements.pdf

Weaning from Supplements Log
http://www.kellymom.com/store/freehandouts/wean-supplements-log-sample.pdf

Two more techniques that may be helpful are Breast Compression and Switch Nursing.

Dr. Jack Newman also explains how to do Breast Compression on his web site, http://www.drjacknewman.com/

Breast Compression at http://www.drjacknewman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&itemid=98

He also has video clips on his web site which can be useful. (I think that a picture saves a 1,000 words and a video saves a 1,000 pictures.)
Second Latch, Some Compression
Compression
show the Breast Compression technique.

Another good technique is Switch Nursing. Switch nursing is changing to the other side when the baby no longer seems interested. Usually when we start feeding the baby is very interested to suck, as the baby slows down we start the breast compression and when the baby slows down with the breast compression we change and get the baby to have the other side. On the other side after the baby starts to slow down we again use the breast compression and when he slows down again swap back to the first side again. We can continue swapping sides as much as we like and for as long as the baby is willing to continue to suck. It is fine to swap sides 8, 9 or 10 times in one feed.

The other essential is to get on-going support. I?m glad to hear that you are receiving this from Mrs. Chee. A well trained lactation consultant combines both support and lots of knowledge of various techniques which can be helpful.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
firsttimedad,

I had to use a supplemental nursing system like Sarah mentions. It can sound very intimidating or like a lot of trouble, but it really is not so bad once you get the hang of it. That way your breasts get the needed sucking to help up your milk supply while you can rest assured your baby is getting the needed milk. Sarah helped me get started with it. The Jack Newman videos really help to see how it works.

Milk supply seems to be something that is a constant worry for mothers! But as others have said, keep in mind what you pump is not a good indication of what you produce. I have never been able to pump much! My daughter was in the bottom 3% of weight for a long time so I used an SNS to get more milk into her while also trying to get my supply up. Things finally got a lot easier and my daughter is now 13 months and we are still going strong with bfing.

Also just want to repeat what others said - get lot's of rest and drink a lot! I don't think those can be said enough.
 
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