supplementing breast milk with formula?

[Kelley55]

i'm a new mom to a beautiful baby girl, lola (3 weeks this thursday)...breasting feeding is finally going great (we had a few bumps in the road initially, but i met with a lactation consultation and she was a huge help).  i nurse all day/evening and i pump for a nighttime bottle.  i was in labor for 36 hours followed by a c-section, so the nighttime bottle allowed my husband to help feed her and for me to get some much needed rest/recovery time.  i pump about 4 times a day - right after i feed her.  i only ever get enough for the nighttime bottle, but the problem is i can never get enough for an extra supply.  i have a couple events coming up and i'll need a bottle on hand.  have any of you ever supplemented breastmilk with some formula?  i'm not an advocate of formula feeding, but would it be okay to add some to the breast milk for the times i need to leave?  this is all very new to me and any suggestions are really helpful!  even suggestions on how to pump and get a reserve.  THANKS!

[annaconda]

I'm definitely in the minority around here but I have a 8 wo and had an emergency cs as well and supply trouble. I did supplement with formula and am happy to say I "weaned" us back off of it and am now ebf!

So my personal feeling is that we would have been in big trouble without the supplementation and I'm thankful for it. So supplementation is not ebf, it takes you away from baby natural sterile gut, but after 2 wks of ebf I read somewhere recently you can get the sterility of the gut back with ebf. Sorry don't remember for link.

I also pumped a ton at the beginning. I don't remember when I had excess. At first it was all going into Lo, plus formula to make.up the gap bt what he needed.and what I made. By 5 or 6 wks I was only supplementing 6 oz a day... and thought I'd never catch up, but I did by continuing to pump 4-5 times after feeding each day.

So you may be able to build those bottles you need by pumping a ton and freezing it a little at a time then thawing and combining? Or you could try pumping and freezing and giving formula in a feeding before the event (maybe twice or 3x) so you have enough... or some combo... giving some bm and some formula in feeding as you stockpile half oz by half oz... just follow bm storage rules, don't add new milk to frozen over and over, you would want to freeze separately and thaw and combine so you aren't raising the temp of frozen milk.

Anyway I hope I don't get flamed cause I know formula is not popular around here but I am grateful I had it (even though I never imagined I'd use it.) It sounds like you are doing great to not be stuck supplementing every day. That was a tough place to get out of but also, still possible with hard work and pumping.

You want to make sure Lo tolerates the formula you plan to use in a controlled environment first... that it makes it all the way through without incident iykwim! We used enfamil newborn with no issues. Feel free to pm me. I have definitely btdt so I hope you can rest and recover.

I found that getting to ebf required me to really step in and breastfeed at all feeding times for a few weeks. I kicked Dh off of bottles and supplementation "unless we both explicitly talked about it" at around 2 or 3 weeks. He thought he was helping me rest but I knew I'd never make up my supply if he was giving formula in the name of getting me rest.

Good luck mama!

[AutumnW]

This really depends on what your goals are.  I completely understand the need to rest after a c-section and it is wonderful that your husband was willing to give you that rest. 

If your goal is to exclusively breastfeed, now that you are healed you should think about taking up the night feeding again.  If you give your breasts a long break it tells them that you don't need them to make as much milk and your supply will never grow and may eventually slow down enough that you have to supplement because you won't make enough to meet the needs of your baby.  If you start nursing at night and still pump during the day you should be able to store some and increase your supply.

If your goal is to stay on the same schedule you've been on and don't mind giving formula from time to time then do that, but know that it can be a slippery slope and you may end up giving more and more formula as your body starts producing less and less milk. 

[Megan73]

Originally Posted by AutumnW 

If you give your breasts a long break it tells them that you don't need them to make as much milk and your supply will never grow and may eventually slow down enough that you have to supplement because you won't make enough to meet the needs of your baby.  If you start nursing at night and still pump during the day you should be able to store some and increase your supply.

If your goal is to stay on the same schedule you've been on and don't mind giving formula from time to time then do that, but know that it can be a slippery slope and you may end up giving more and more formula as your body starts producing less and less milk. 

This. Unnecessary supplementation can really do a number on your supply especially as your babe gets older and most women's abundant milk supply regulates to what their little one actually needs. I'd starting nursing at night, keep pumping a few times a day and bank that milk in the freezer for when you go out. Keep in mind that missing the occasional feed without pumping is OK but it can hurt your supply if it happens too often.