Solids in place of formula to supplement a low milk supply?

[tincia]

My son is four and a half months and is primarily breastfed however my low supply results in him receiving about 6 ounces of formula per day..a lot of people have been suggesting i add some beginner solids to his diet as opposed to the formula since i cannot produce quite enough breastmilk. Most professional sources recomend waiting until 6 months, but he does seem intetested (i have tried a very small amount of mashedbanana) and formula seems to constipate him..
Feedback is needed!

[greenmama66]

Have you tried herbs to rev up your milk supply? This one works http://www.golacta.com/ as does this http://www.motherlove.com/product/580-More-Milk-Special-Blend.html

[tincia]

I should have mentioned..i am taking domperidone and just recently added fenugreek as well..they have helped along with frequent nursing/pumping, however i feel that my supply is likely as good as it can get..it has gone from exceptionally low to moderately low and has doubled, so i doubt i can completely eliminate supplements but just don't know which is the lesser of two evils?

[Megan73]

I think it's really a matter of personal preference. I needed to supplement my first son with 8 oz of formula a day. I chose to continue to supplement with formula for his entire first year so I could go slow with solids. I personally think "solids before one are just for fun" and that few solids are as nutrient-dense as formula - even though it is an inferior substitute for breastmilk.
But Dr. Jack Newman - a breastfeeding guru - talks about supplementing with solids on his site.
All I'd say is that if you choose to supplement with solids, I'd pick the most nutrient and calorie-dense foods possible - avocado, mashed egg yolk, meat and fish, full-fat Greek yogurt, buttered sweet potato etc.

[Parker'smommy]

at 4 1/2 months of age, I would substitute any breastmilk feedings with formula. While it's not as good as breastmilk, it isn't poison and it will give your baby all of the nutrients your baby needs at this age. Solids should be just what a previous poster said, "just for fun", at even 6 months old. And I can't imagine that a 4 1/2 month old would ingest enough solids to say that it replaces a feeding. When I started solids, it didn't interrupt how many feedings my baby had of breastmilk. It was just added to her diet...more food for a growing baby!  ANd I would definitely wait until 6 months to introduce solids. 

I know that you don't want to give formula. But it's just 6 ounces, and this is what formula was created for. To help mommas like yourself who just don't make enough, despite your best efforts. 

Good luck Momma!

[JudiAU]

I'd stick with the supplement of formula for now and hold off on solids. Solids are so much harder to digest and less nutritionally dense than bm/formula. You'd have to feeding a lot of solids to make up 6 oz of bm or formula. Really solids should be play food for a long long time. Pushing solids hard enough to make up a 6 oz.  feeding could mess up your milk supply even more.

[PatioGardener]

Just wanted to mention that some moms supplement with donor breastmilk. Not sure it is an option in your case, but it may be worth considering.

[rebecca_n]

sorry for the late reply but I was in a similar situation with my ds and started solids early (almost 4 months with rice cereal and a bit of formula :( ) then onto avocodo and baby food and whole fat yogurts. he took right to it (was ready for food already, and didnt know enough about blw, my dd started out on table food lol).  it got him off formula (he started rejecting it, trying to nurse more - wouldnt take a bottle or nurse with my sns on ect, he did not like formula lol) and the food made a big difference. I guess each child is different but my lil man's gut was good to go with food and it helped with his weight. he loved avocoda with a lil bit of lemon juice on it. sorry if this is rambling, distracted by the kids! good luck with everything

[tincia]

Thanks for the advice. I have been following the information on Dr. Newman's website and so far so good..i haven't eliminated all formula but have been able to keep it to the minimal amount possible. He is enjoying banana, peaches, pears, avacado, and we r going to try goats milk yogurt next it is helping him to poop more regularly which is great (although i forgot what poopy diapers r like once they start solids..yuck!) I think that i will have to continue a small amount of formula but this will prevent me from having to increase the formula intake as he grows.
Thanks for all of the imput/resources

[Megan73]

If you plan to go the early solids route, I'd really focus on foods that are higher in fat, protein and calories than fruit. Also, you would not need to increase the formula as he gets bigger (unless your supply declines - which can happen with early solids) because BF babies (unlike FF babies) don't consume more milk as they get bigger, which is why weight gain naturally slows.
Here's a quote from kellymom.com:
"In exclusively breastfed babies, milk intake increases quickly during the first few weeks of life, then stays about the same between one and six months (though it likely increases short term during growth spurts). Current breastfeeding research does not indicate that breastmilk intake changes with baby's age or weight between one and six months. After six months, breastmilk intake will continue at this same level until -- sometime after six months, depending in baby's intake from other foods -- baby's milk intake begins to decrease gradually.
The research tells us that exclusively breastfed babies take in an average of 25 oz (750 mL) per day between the ages of 1 month and 6 months. Different babies take in different amounts of milk; a typical range of milk intakes is 19-30 oz per day (570-900 mL per day)."

[tincia]

I have been feeding on demand and then just adding in a small snack a couple of times per day..he has still been getting 2-4oz of formula per day but the decrease along with the addition of the fruit/avacado blends have eased the constipation so i'm pretty happy with things thus far. I'm hoping that by 6 months we can ditch the formula as we slowly introduce more foods.
I agree about using more nutrient dense solids, i just wanted to try a few of the more traditional starter foods first to see how he handled them.