Adding Fruit juice + Formula question

[Summer1216]

I started back to work three days a week. I'm gone for 8 hours at a time. DS is 7mo old.

DS has reversed cycled and has been eating at night, but that's seriously affecting my job. I'm not getting enough sleep and can't keep my eyes open. 

I can't pump - have tried everything. I have a weak letdown reflex. I used medical grade pumps, regular pumps, hand pump and hand-expression. It takes me an hour to get 3oz.

My son won't take breast milk while I'm gone. He won't take foruma either. Unless it's it's sweetened with natural fruit juice (once I squeezed about 10 blueberries into it and he'd take it). Is that okay?

I am worried that he's eating too much table food (3 meals a day) without enough milk. So I wanted to try to fgure out how to get him to drink more while I"m gone. 

Is it okay for him to ONLY HAVE BREAST MILK at 5am, 9:30am, 6:30pm, 10:30pm and 2am? And then eat 3 meals of fruit/veggies/rice during the day? Should I add one more meal of formula in the middle of the day??? And is fruit juice in the formula okay?

[cristeen]

Fruit/veg/rice is not a suitable replacement for BM/formula, no. He needs fat and protein. Rice serves no purpose other than to fill him up. Id be far more comfortable w egg, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, meat, beans, etc.

But at 7 mos, food is not about nutrition yet anyway. He should not be filling up on it, it does not have what he needs. Since you cannot pump, i'd push formula. Generally speaking, i would not reccomend mixing it w juice at all, but i dont really see the harm in a handfull of blueberries. However, you may want to try a different brand. They do not all taste the same. He may be more willing to eat another brand.

[Jayray]

Someone posted this link on the discussion boards at some point and I thought it was really interesting.  You might double check this info, but according to this, you are nursing your babe enough.

http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53:what-to-feed-the-baby-when-the-mother-is-working-outside-the-home&catid=5:information&Itemid=17

[Summer1216]

Thank you guys for your responses! 

I tried the blueberries and formula today and he wouldn't do it. Even with his favorite food, and just a tiny bit of formula - I was going to try another forumla but the link the 2nd response gave me seems like it's not necessary. I think I'll just cut out rice cereal and give him more meat and maybe some whole milk during the day (for fluids) and baby tea. I'm only gone for a total of 8 hours.

I was worried he might lose weight, but it's been 3wks since I last weighed him - Today we checked again and he's a pound heavier! (He's in the 90% for height and weight).

That link was exactly what I needed - I feel a lot better about things now.