Building a Stash, and What to "Mix" With?

[SquidMommy]

Hi all!

You were all so helpful and reassuring last time I posted in here, I thought I might some back with another breastfeeding question, as I can't find any helpful information on my own. Here goes!

I was able to build up a small stash of breastmilk - not as much as I'd like, because I'm now returning to work two weeks earlier than I had originally planned. I'm still going to pump at work, but the stress of the sudden decision to go back to work has lowered my supply. I'm sucking down fenugreek capsules in an attempt to keep everything normal, but mostly I'm smelling like my own personal WaffleHouse and still struggling to "feel like there's enough." And I refuse to go to 100% formula. No offense to moms who have made the decision, but my commitment is to breastfeed/provide breastmilk to my LO for as long as I can.

So, I poked around, and the one thing I was able to find was the suggestion that I mix breastmilk with formula. Contradictory I know, since I just said I didn't want to go to formula - BUT - my thinking is, 1.5 ounces of breastmilk + whatever constitutes 1.5 oz of formula powder = effectively doubling my breastmilk, because (through these boards!) I found an all-natural brand of formula that doesn't completely give me the heebiejeebies about using it. And it doesn't cut out the breastmilk!

As always, there's a catch. The formula recommended was this: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-7225-babys-only-organic-dairy-based-iron-fortified-toddler-formula-127-oz

(Mods, please remove the link if it's improper for me to post it.)

The Baby's Only brand looks fine by me - but that canister says TODDLER. I have an almost-nine-week-old. Clearly NOT toddling. I worry the calcium and iron levels in the toddler formula will be too much for my LO, and the company's website only shows the Toddler-Branded formula and says "consult a doctor" for any other type of use. The doctor we go to, while supportive, is part of a medical group that REALLY pushes the Enfamil/Similac agenda. She doesn't personally, but I know I'll be sent home with 400 samples and a "just switch completely" smile.

So, if any of you use the Baby's Only toddler brand in your less-than-toddling-child, how do you mix it? Is there a better organic, no funky ingredients formula base I can try mixing with breastmilk to stretch it out that's for infants-only? (Realize, this is only my "if needs be" plan - if pumping at work isn't feasible, if my supply keeps dropping due to stress, etc)

Any advice you can give would be immensely appreciated! :-)

[CheriK]

Are you planning on mixing formula powder with your milk?  Or feeding 1/2 prepared formula and 1/2 breastmilk?  Mixing formula powder with your milk is dangerous!  Both prepared formula and breastmilk are designed (by nature or man) to have the correct balance of water, nutrients and electrolytes.  If you mix powder with milk, you'll be super-concentrating the nutrients & electrolytes, putting your LO at risk for dehydration, and putting a heavy strain on the kidneys.
 

If you're simply going to supplement with formula, it's usually better to give formula and breastmilk separately.  This way, if your LO only drinks part of a bottle, you haven't wasted that breastmilk. 

I think (not positive, though) that toddler formulas don't have the protein concentration adjusted like infant formulas.  Cow's milk has a much higher concentration of casein to whey than human milk (actually the ratio is pretty much reversed in the two milks).  Infant formulas have this balance adjusted to some extent.  Whey proteins are easily digested by human infants, casein proteins are not.  So a toddler formula will be less digestible for your LO, harder on baby's GI track and possibly also on kidneys.  Plus, the nutrient balance assumes that the child is consuming other foods, so it's not balanced for a baby.  I know your LO would be getting mostly your milk, but this could be a concern.  Don't know about a good organic infant formula, but I would think there is one (I know our natural foods co-op has sometime sitting on the shelf ;-).

Are you going to pump at work?  Remember that you're likely to be more successful with the amount you pump when you're pumping instead of breastfeeding.  As long as you continue to pump at work as often as your LO would nurse at home, you should make plenty of milk for your separations.  And if you find you are struggling, you'll be able to get lots of tips from these boards!

[SquidMommy]

Heh - now I'm super-glad I asked before I acted. I guess I'm just going to have to redouble my efforts at pumping. Mostly I'm worried my employer won't give me the time/space in which to pump (I really, really DON'T want to use the community restroom!) but that's a whole different ball of wax. Thanks for letting me know, though - I didn't realize I would have made my Squidlet so sick if I had done the 50-50 like I was thinking.

As for organic formulas...I've looked at a lot of them, and I keep seeing stuff I don't like (except in that one toddler formula, darnit!), such as "glucose solids" ... organic or not, that reminds me a LOT of "corn syrup solids" found in other formulas, and I'm not even sure what a corn syrup solid is. Organic or not, some of that stuff just doesn't sound...*good*, you know? I'm not sure I'd eat a glucose solid - at least, not intentionally.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by CheriK 

If you're simply going to supplement with formula, it's usually better to give formula and breastmilk separately.  This way, if your LO only drinks part of a bottle, you haven't wasted that breastmilk. 

this is great advice.

nak

[texmati]

Former pumping mama... Middle of cooking dinner, so sorry if this is brief! 1) for common every day, you shouldn't need a bm stash-- infact, using your stash could effect yoru supply. check out work adn pump.com for info about using your freezer stash. 2) pp is totally right about mixing bm and formula-- def a no no to sub the water for breastmilk. I did have to supplement (no problems pumping, but got pregnant before my child was ready for solids). We always gave breastmilk first, and then followed up with formula if needed. Formula and breastmilk have different rules for storage Breastmilk is precious, and takes so much energy to produce, it's awful to have to throw out a bottle because it was mixed with formula.

Best of luck, and you'll do fine! I'll post back about finding a place to pump if you want tips.

[SquidMommy]

Oooh - I would love some tips on pumping at work. I work at a psychiatric hospital...little to no privacy, and VERY nosy (and low-impulse-control) population of patients. I get two short breaks per shift; is 15min/session going to be enough?

[Lynn08]

A few things for informational purposes:

1) baby's only organics only makes a toddler formula. iirc, it's because they follow the who guidelines recommending breast milk for the first 2 years. not sure how the nutritional values differ from an infant formula but CheriK makes sense. 

2) pumping at work is hard. especially if you do not have an office/cubicle of your own.  but your employer is federally mandated to allow you to take breaks as needed (paid or unpaid) and to provide a private location (not a bathroom) to do so. 

i find that it takes about 25-30 minutes per pumping session.  that is including set-up, pumping both sides (with an electric single pump; manual will take longer, while a double will be faster) and break-down/clean-up.  and i do have a few days worth of freezer stash, just in case, but it will only get used if i'm not home to nurse dd2.  

i can't really think of anything more because i need to sleep, but i just wanted to throw that out there for you!

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Lynn08 

i find that it takes about 25-30 minutes per pumping session.  that is including set-up, pumping both sides (with an electric single pump; manual will take longer, while a double will be faster) and break-down/clean-up.

You can shave a few minutes off by storing the pump horns and tubing attached (or entire pump if a manual) in a ziplock bag, and popping it in your cooler bag. No need to rinse or wash if you can keep everything cool and you are not commuting/working more than 10 h (at room temp) or 24 h (in a cooler with icepacks). (from kellymom)

[SquidMommy]

I think I'm just going to be a snot about it - because federal law or not, I know I'm not getting on-demand breaks of any variety - I'm just going to barricade a conference room door and say "too bad, so sad" to those who complain. My baby comes first.

[Anna Phor]

You don't say how much your stash is and how much you anticipate baby needing when you are at work. I just wanted to make sure you knew about these resources from kellymom which I found very useful.

Here's the index page on pumping & bottlefeeding: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index.html

and here's a guide to how much EBM to leave: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

I know a lot of moms who worried about how much milk they were pumping because they had daycare providers whose ideas about how many oz they needed were based on formula-fed babies. 

Good luck!

[NewBeginnings1]

Just a suggestion to talk with your employer about extending your work day by the extra time you'd need to pump. If you are worried that it will compromise your job, keep a log of your time that you work and pump so that you can defend your time. Take a pic or keep videos of your baby on a phone to help your let down come quicker. 

[CheriK]

SquidMommy, you don't say how old your LO is or what's making you think your supply is low currently.  Are you trying to pump at home and not getting much?  It's normal for your body to adjust production to meet your nursling's demands, so most moms aren't successful at pumping huge amounts when pumping and nursing.  If you want to build your freezer stash up more, there are a couple of things you can try.  One is to pump one breast while nursing on the other.   Your baby will trigger letdowns (often a challenge with a pump) and you'll get more milk than pumping alone.  And since your pump isn't as efficient as baby, when your nursling is finished with the first breast, simply switch baby and pump.  Your baby will get enough!  Another trick that works well for some moms is to pick a time each day (often morning works well b/c most moms find supply is highest in the morning) and pump regularly at that time, every single day.  You won't get much at first, but your body will grow used to the increased demand at that time & you'll get more than if you simply try to squeeze in random pumping sessions.

Nancy Mohrbacher, an IBCLC & author of several breastfeeding reference books, talks about a mom's "magic number".  This is the # of nursing or pumping sessions per 24 hours that your body needs to maintain a full supply.  Now, while you're exclusively breastfeeding and feeding on cue, is a good time to figure out this for yourself.  You can track about how many times your baby typically nurses; there will be some variation, but you'll probably find in general that your baby nurses a fairly consistent # of times each 24 hours.  When you go back to work, you'll want to maintain that # of nursing/pumping sessions.  Depending on your work situation, it might be tough to fit in the # needed at work, but you can also fit in more nursing sessions while with your baby.  Some tips that may help - plan to get to baby's daycare 30 minutes early and feed at daycare.  This will mean baby doesn't need a botte for a longer time, also.  Nursing at daycare when you pick baby up also helps.   Cosleeping & wearing baby in a sling can increase nursing sessions as well.

Definitely check out the links posted by Anna Phor re. the amount of milk to expect your baby to need, and ideas for storing your milk.  Many babies will take more milk than they actually need, many daycare providers expect baby to "need" more milk, and will use milk as a comfort mechanism.  If baby is taking in more than needed at daycare, baby will nurse less at home.  You'd rather baby nurse more and take less at daycare, it's a lot easier that way!

[azgirl]

Babys Only formula has the recommended nutrition found in all infant formula. The nutrition info can be found on their website. They have detailed info that explain why they call it toddler formula. The WHO guidelines are about the MARKETING of formula for infants, so Babys Only is following that guideline by calling their formula toddler formula.

I had low supply and supplemented but I was thrilled that I could provide breastmilk for over a year.

You may never need formula but after all my research I felt great about using Babys Only.

http://www.naturesone.com/dairy/

[JudiAU]

I don't have any personal experience with formula but I do with pumping/bottles and the like.

Babies Only has the best reputation because it doesn't have the junk of other formulas and uses the best quality sweetener.. It is labeled "toddler formula" because it tries to comply with the WHO Code of Marketing Breastfeeding Substities. http://www.naturesone.com/dairy/frequent-questions/ So, yes, it is appropriate for an infant. They just take the high ground. Some parents report constipation issues with this formula so be aware of it.

Formula needs to be mixed with the correct amount of water. Most people do mix breastmilk directly with it. Most people do reuse the bm in a bottle if it isn't used in one feeding, refrigerate promptly, but that is usually not something a daycare is willing to do.

I found double pumping helpfull in building a stash. PUmp ten minutes, take shower, pump ten minutes.