Nursing Looking to Introduce Formula

How wonderful that your son is doing so well on your milk! Is there any special reason you want to stop breastfeeding during the daytime? If your son is thriving on your breastmilk, why then would you want to give him formula? Breastmilk is the optimal nutrition for infants! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding EXCLUSIVELY for 6 months, but for a MINIMUM of 1 year and as long as is mutually desired beyond that. The World Health Organization recommends a MINIMUM of 2 years! Are you going to school or work? Are you having trouble? Feeling overwhelmed?

I have to say that as a breastfeeding Mom (who also supplemented with formula for my first two kids after 6 months) That not only is breastmilk the perfect nutrition for baby, but it is so much easier! I am not trying to be catty, pushy, or offensive, and I understand it is your choice, it is your child. I just have a hard time understanding why you would like to introduce formula when things are going so well! If you are having any trouble or feeling overwhelmed and want to talk, please send me a message. I think every Mother deserves to have a successful nursing relationship and I would be more than happy to help you with that, if you are interested! (I am just completing my training to be a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor for WIC, so I have an idea how most of this works!) So many women have problems just from lack of support alone, and if thats the case, please know there are other Moms that will support you in your area! I am currently nursing my 3rd baby and he is almost 9 months! I can't believe I made it this far. I'm lucky I have a great support system and more knowledge than I did with my other two. I am hoping to make the 2 year mark with him. If I knew then what I know now, I'm sure I would have been more successful nursing my first two, but live and learn, right?

Breastfeeding really is the most valuable and precious gift you can offer your new baby. I am so proud of you for making such a great decision and making it to 6 weeks too! The first 6 weeks can be tough, I know, but you've made it! I also want to inform you that at 6 weeks, your body is NOT making milk on a supply and demand schedule. It is run by your endocrine system and the autocrine system doesn't take over until around 4 months. In the first year, the various growth spurts are enough of a challenge without having to constantly maintain a "night only" supply. I feel this might be a bad idea, as your milk will most likely dry up and you will have to switch completely. :-( I sure would hate for you and your sweet little guy to miss out on the most important time between the two of you. I hope you are able to continue,and as I stated, please feel free to contact me if you need to. Good Luck Momma! :-)

I too breast fed for about two months with my first daughter and only about a month with my second due to the fact I had to return to work. Here's what I did, I would pump in the morning and the babysitter would give her my milk during the day. When I was at work if my breasts began to hurt I would go to the bathroom and just excrete milk from my breasts by squeezing them. This would relieve the tenderness and tightness of full breasts, then when I went home at night I would breast feed. This was a pretty good system for me and I kept on part-time breast feeding for about two and a half months. Eventually my breasts were producing less and less milk and it was not a painfull transition at all. Good luck.

I too think that nursing is best, but am so sick of people quoting the AAP. You should do what works for you. When my daughter was about 6 months she got a viral infection and stopped nursing for 5 days. My supply dropped and I had to start supplementing. I cried at every feeding. But I am fine, my daughter is fine. I still pump everyday at work because that is what for works for me. I mix breastmilk and formula to make a full bottle. Sounds gross but my daughter drinks it great. Do be careful if you plan to nurse only at certain times of day, your supply may not last too long that way. I have gotten a couple blocked ducts along the way and I find that nursing is the only thing that helps. I have heard that going cold turkey can be painful so I suggest you go slow as another mom said and eliminate one feeding at a time. Whatever you decide good luck. I never thought feeding my infant would be such a difficult decision. Just remember that an unhappy mommy makes an unhappy baby so do what works for you.

I noticed you are a SAH mom...why do you want to use formula? Could you pump your milk if the reason is to use bottles? Breast milk is the best for your baby if you can give it and it's free!

If your baby is thriving at 6 weeks from being breastfed, then why stop? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for 6 months, but it's even greater if you can go longer. If it's going so well, I think you should continue with it... it's so good for your baby AND you, it's convenient and free! I know it can be demanding, but try to keep going for as long as you and baby can! Remember breast is best!

D.,
I have four children and no one suggested that I could nurse and use formula! WEll, baby #4 is almost a year and we are still doing it. It was the best thing ever. I had some freedom and could still bond with my baby. What works for me is I nurse her in the morning, before bed and during the night if she wakes up. Your supply will be there for these times if you stay on a routine. The catch was that I needed to pump twice at work ( I work 3-11)to keep my supply up..so you will need to pump sometimes and use that milk in place of formula bottles or I mixed breast milk with formula when she got bigger and needed more calories. There is no right or wrong way to do this...it's what works for you and your baby. You can always call your OB who can refer you to a breast feeding consultant who can make more suggestions. Good Luck and happy feeding.

I inquired about stopping all together with my doctor. She said I could do it cold turkey or little by little each day. You could just skip one feeding each day for a couple of days and then skip two for another couple days, etc. Your body will learn how much to produce over time. I would assume the same idea would work if you just want to breastfeed at night. Just skip a feeding during the day. I thought about stopping all together at about 6 weeks because it was too inconvenient etc. But I stayed with it, and now at 3 months I am so glad I did!