Hi all.

im going back to work next week. been unable to express for the last few months (anxiety mostly but not achieving let down with the pump). i am so very very pro breastfeeding. i dont understand formula. my plan, which was supported by my ABA cousellor and doctor was to continue feeding outside of work hours and ds just having solids and water at childcare. he is 7 months old. we are doing BLW and he eats like a horse. unfortunately today at my MCHN appt it became apparent that he is not putting on enough weight. only 400g in 4 months sad her recommendations is that he does not miss that important mid day milk feed.

im stuck. i have enough frozen ebm for one week. long term i have no idea. the MCHN suggested a small formula feed at childcare, like 50-100 mls until he can start cows milk in a few months.

so, which formula is good?

i wanted to feed until at least two, this decision has been very very difficult so please, in your responses keep that in mind. i have looked into other bf options (including milk donations!).

TIA x

Hi,
yeah i can understand what you are going through. I always struggled with expressing in fact using the pump I could hardly get anything. The only way i could express was by hand. I ended up putting my daughter on formula for two months before switching her to cows milk.
I found Caricare was really good. My mum (who is a midwife) said that she doesnt like S26 at all. I personally couldnt mixfeed cos my supply just dropped too quickly and then she was completely on formula but I made it breastfeeding exclusively until almost 11 months. Just do what works best for you and don't let anyone make you feel guilty about making a decision one way or the other.

im so worried my supply will drop off. argh, near tears just thinking about it all! my silly body. wish i could just express sad

When i have to i use Nan Pro Gold. My health nurse said that it is digested similar to breast milk. Have you tried putting bub on the breast and pumping the opposite side at the same time? A little awkward if you have a wriggler but sometimes that is the only way i can express.

I think you've made a fantastic effort to BF for as long as you have so far, so congrats and well done on that first and foremost!

I can understand your wanting to not use formula if you can avoid it, but can I say that there will come a time where BF is no longer enough to help put on a healthy amount of weight, and this is where formula could really help - especially if your carers are concerned your son is not putting on enough. Formula may just be substantial enough to "fill in" whatever could be missing. Nobody has the right to judge you about needing to move onto FF, as I said you've done well to keep it up this long!

Also, if you're finding that you're unable to express for future feeds, it could be your body's natural way of saying that it's time to move on, so please don't feel bad about it smile If you can find another solution that you would be more comfortable with then naturally that would be ideal, but if not, FF certainly won't be the end of the world either.

Good luck!

When i have to i use Nan Pro Gold. My health nurse said that it is digested similar to breast milk. Have you tried putting bub on the breast and pumping the opposite side at the same time? A little awkward if you have a wriggler but sometimes that is the only way i can express.

yeah, tried that. my mr man knows they are 'his boobs' lol and grabs at the pump to shove it away. think ill try again tomorrow though and see how we go.

I think you've made a fantastic effort to BF for as long as you have so far, so congrats and well done on that first and foremost!

I can understand your wanting to not use formula if you can avoid it, but can I say that there will come a time where BF is no longer enough to help put on a healthy amount of weight, and this is where formula could really help - especially if your carers are concerned your son is not putting on enough. Formula may just be substantial enough to "fill in" whatever could be missing. Nobody has the right to judge you about needing to move onto FF, as I said you've done well to keep it up this long!

Also, if you're finding that you're unable to express for future feeds, it could be your body's natural way of saying that it's time to move on, so please don't feel bad about it smile If you can find another solution that you would be more comfortable with then naturally that would be ideal, but if not, FF certainly won't be the end of the world either.

Good luck!

thank you grin that has made me feel better. i worry about his weight gain but reason with myself that he has just started crawling so far more active. other than his weight being off he was hitting all the 12 month milestones! i hope it all sorts out so i can relax smile

Hi all.

im going back to work next week. been unable to express for the last few months (anxiety mostly but not achieving let down with the pump). i am so very very pro breastfeeding. i dont understand formula. my plan, which was supported by my ABA cousellor and doctor was to continue feeding outside of work hours and ds just having solids and water at childcare. he is 7 months old. we are doing BLW and he eats like a horse. unfortunately today at my MCHN appt it became apparent that he is not putting on enough weight. only 400g in 4 months sad her recommendations is that he does not miss that important mid day milk feed.

Who says that's not enough weight? I still don't understand what this obsession with weight is.......weight gain slows down significantly from 6 months of age, and IMO ANY weight gain is a good thing. If he is a very active baby and is eating to his limits, meeting milestones and seems content then I'd personally not be concerned about his seeming lack of weight gain.

im stuck. i have enough frozen ebm for one week. long term i have no idea. the MCHN suggested a small formula feed at childcare, like 50-100 mls until he can start cows milk in a few months.

You can try formula if you want...but just so you are aware it's not a guarantee that they will gain more weight; it did naff all for our DS1 and this was even with him on 'top-ups' from 4 weeks and formula full time during the day at 5 months and still bf morning and evening.

so, which formula is good?

They are much of a muchness so it's usually just a case of finding one that suits them.

i wanted to feed until at least two, this decision has been very very difficult so please, in your responses keep that in mind. i have looked into other bf options (including milk donations!).

TIA x

If you want to look at the donor milk route and it's something you are comfortable with then go for it. smile We've used formula in the past, but if I ever couldn't bf I'd be looking at donor milk before formula just because ensuring my babies get bm is so important to me.

Good work for bfing so long smile I started mix feeding my DS at 7 months. My supply slowly dwindled and by 10 months he was fully formula fed. I think you will need to be prepared for your supply to dwindle. It is sad I remember being quite sad too. Try and continue to express and feed bub when you can and your supply may be able to keep up. Good luck Hun smile

This isn't for everyone but a friend of mine goes to her dd's day care in her lunch break to bf her. I guess it would depend on the proximity of your day care to your work.
Unfortunately without that day feed your supply will probably drop. apologies if you have tried these things already, but have you tried expressing while sitting next to your sleeping baby? expressing in the bath? first thing in the morning? do you have a big drink of water before expressing? I find that then I sit there and watch how much is going in the bottle my let down is slower, so I find the best results happen when I am either really relaxed, or doing something else like watching tv! GL smile

Thanks for everyones replies smile

I have been expressing as much as I can, still only getting 30mls a go but its better then nothing.

I still am unsure and undecided what im going to do. I have bought a tin of formula but whenever i look at it, it makes me feel a little cr*ppy! I know that sounds silly to mums who have chosen the formula root but golly, I hate the stuff. I dont understand how something that is 'just add water' can possibly be good for my baby compared with mummas milk. I mean no disrespect in saying this, its just a struggle for me at the moment.

I have a giant gap of support at the moment. My mum (who will be having DS one day a week) has always been great but the last week keeps saying he needs the formula feed a day. Childcare are driving me insane, telling me he needs at least two feeds over the 6-8 hrs he is there. At home he has morning, afternoon, dinner and bedtime breastfeeds. With the occasional 'snack' overnight. Why do I suddenly need to increase that if i switch to formula?? And then, a very close friend is telling me to go to the ends of the earth to maintain my bf. I respect her opinion but im scared to tell her I may start to mix feed. So all that combined leaves me feeling like sh*t! O and im a single mum now.

Sorry for the essay.

I wont be able to go to childcare to feed him at lunch-time. Im a nurse, shift work and Melb city traffic says I would need over an hours break. Not really do-able on the ward!

Thanks again.

Thanks for everyones replies smile

I have been expressing as much as I can, still only getting 30mls a go but its better then nothing.

I still am unsure and undecided what im going to do. I have bought a tin of formula but whenever i look at it, it makes me feel a little cr*ppy! I know that sounds silly to mums who have chosen the formula root but golly, I hate the stuff. I dont understand how something that is 'just add water' can possibly be good for my baby compared with mummas milk. I mean no disrespect in saying this, its just a struggle for me at the moment.

I have a giant gap of support at the moment. My mum (who will be having DS one day a week) has always been great but the last week keeps saying he needs the formula feed a day. Childcare are driving me insane, telling me he needs at least two feeds over the 6-8 hrs he is there. At home he has morning, afternoon, dinner and bedtime breastfeeds. With the occasional 'snack' overnight. Why do I suddenly need to increase that if i switch to formula?? And then, a very close friend is telling me to go to the ends of the earth to maintain my bf. I respect her opinion but im scared to tell her I may start to mix feed. So all that combined leaves me feeling like sh*t! O and im a single mum now.

Sorry for the essay.

I wont be able to go to childcare to feed him at lunch-time. Im a nurse, shift work and Melb city traffic says I would need over an hours break. Not really do-able on the ward!

Thanks again.

Try not to worry too much about what everyone else is saying and just do what is right for you.

Hey,
i totally get where you are coming from i couldnt do the FF thing, made my tummy churn just thinking about it. I know you said you looked into donor milk but have you seen the f/b page? human milk for human babies

the link is for the NSW facebook page but they have one for every state.

Have you thought of a nanny? we have a nanny from the USA that started with us a month ago and it costs us $150/wk. You must have a room where they can stay but so far we have found no downfalls for having a nanny. She may be able to bring your bubby to the hospital for your breaks?

Other than that i dont have much more advice, although i think you should tell your mum to pull her head in and support your decisions <span class="emoticon smile">smile</span>

Good luck

I still am unsure and undecided what im going to do. I have bought a tin of formula but whenever i look at it, it makes me feel a little cr*ppy! I know that sounds silly to mums who have chosen the formula root but golly, I hate the stuff. I dont understand how something that is 'just add water' can possibly be good for my baby compared with mummas milk. I mean no disrespect in saying this, its just a struggle for me at the moment.

I was the same...we had the tin for a week before I finally caved and opened it. I cried the whole time and continued to cry for weeks afterwards. Only you know what the 'right' thing is for your family and what is right for you might not be right for someone else.

Who says that's not enough weight? I still don't understand what this obsession with weight is.......weight gain slows down significantly from 6 months of age, and IMO ANY weight gain is a good thing. If he is a very active baby and is eating to his limits, meeting milestones and seems content then I'd personally not be concerned about his seeming lack of weight gain.

I agree completely. My DD1 was such a tiny thing and still is. But so long as she was gaining some weight i wasn't worried. All babies are different.