back to work, need formula advice

[Flor]

I am going back to work in 3 weeks after taking the first semester off (I teach). I will only be able to pump at work one time. Ds has been given occasional bottles of bm or formula off and on since birth but now is refusing the formula. I have tasted it and it is pretty gross, very metallic tasting. Any ideas about better TASTING formula? He has Enfamil Lipil now. No organics in our grocery store.

[heket]

We did the same thing before I came back to work with dd. Thankfully, we didn't have that problem or she wouldn't have had anything to eat! I have to agree, Enfamil Lipid isn't very tasty -- but none of the formulas I've tried are. :gross

We've tried Similac, Good Start, and a few store brands (supermarkets and discount stores). I have to say the best for us was Similac. However, we're currently using Good Start because it's cheaper.

It may just be a trial and error kind of thing until you can find one that works. Most of what we tried came from the hospital or sponsor samples when she was born.

Good Luck!

Nissa :lady

[tracymom]

we used Carnation Good Start for my DS when he weaned prematurely. I don't remember tasting it, but it *smelled* better than the standard Enfamil and Similac I had smelled before. He also did better on it than he did on the Similac samples from the hospital. (Yeah, yeah, I know, using those samples - but, hey, I was a first time mom!)

Anyway, I know it's a Nestle product, though doesn't come under the boycott, however, I always felt like U.S. moms were more exploited by the makers of the above two formulas; the way people I knew reacted to what I was feeding DS, you'd have thought it was poison, simply because it wasn't one of the two given in the hospital. I actually remember somebody saying, "well, if Good Start were any good, don't you think they'd give it in the hospital?" Oh, please. :rolleyes:

Anyway, didn't mean to rant, there, but it might be a consideration. We always used the powder, also.

[Quirky]

A couple of ideas:

1) Start pumping in the mornings, when your milk supply is highest, to build up a freezer stash of breastmilk to carry you through. Continue this when you're back at work, and pump on weekends, and you'll have a lot more breastmilk saved up than you would otherwise.

2) Your baby may reverse cycle, ie save the nursing for when you're at home in the evenings or night, like mine did. When I was back at work, I ended up with a huge freezer stash because ds just hated the bottle and would nurse a ton at night to make up for it.

3) The organic stuff does taste better IMO. I know because we had to supplement w/formula in the beginning when ds refused to latch. I also think it's better from a health perspective. You can mail order it at places like www.organicbebe.com, or look for sources and compare prices at the website http://www.naturesone.com/ (and they have a rebate program too, which saves a little money). Nature's One is fine for babies; they meet the FDA standards for baby formula. Horizon is also producing an organic formula now, I hear, but I don't know where it can be purchased.

HTH!

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

Well, I guess I should share the flameproof suit with Tracymom. I too found that my daughter was happiest with Good Start. We tried a bunch and this was the only one she would take.

While it is definitely worth doing whatever you can to provide more bm than anything else, many of us who work do find it necessary to suppliment and at least there is a little less guilt if baby doesn't dislike the taste.

[tracymom]

Jane, I think those are excellent ideas! Some people do find that they can pump really well; I have had friends who had great gobs of frozen milk that I wished I could have bought from them! :D One friend in particular whose husband nicknamed "Elsie" produced milk with 1-2 inches of cream on top. Gawd I was so jealous!

In my own case, I was such a poor producer and a worse pumper that if I pumped for 20 minutes with baby nursing on the other side I would only get half an ounce. Pitiful! :rolleyes:

With DS #2 the only way I could make the nursing work was to WAHM for 18 months, eat barley with every meal, and take fenugreek to up production. That wouldn't have been at all possible had I had to WOH FT.

I hadn't thought of the organics; that does sound like a great idea. Seems like all this cool mail order stuff started after my kids were weaned. :p

*edited for spelling*

[Flor]

Thank you all for the suggestions. It's all too expensive to just buy a bunch of different brands. We'll try the Good Start and I am pumping, I just wanted a back up.

[norasmom]

Do you attend a la leche group? I know there are several mams in my group with more milk than they know what to do with. It's not like asking to borrow a cup of sugar, but if you know the mama and trust her supply it might be an option if your milk reserves run low. Just a thought, I know we are all just trying to do right by our babes.
nak

[Flor]

thanks to you all! I am back to work and babe is taking Good Start from a cup, some solids, and i nurse at lunch. i pumped like crazy but this boy will not take bm or formula from a bottle, though he loves water in a bottle. He's doing well!

[tracymom]

:thumb

way to go! LLL doesn't really recommend the bottle, anyhow, and if your caregiver will give a cup, it's actually better and less potential for interfering with nursing anyway!

Glad to know it's going well!