Milk supply low switching 2 formula

Mandy - posted on 01/17/2010

I started supplementing with formula when my baby was 3 months old. We used Similac Advanced the premade kind. Our baby adjusted very well to it. Plus it is very convienant.

Shirley - posted on 01/16/2010

Oh.. Im a mother to a 19, 12 and 7 yr & 7 mth old daughters and one 8 yr old son... also expecting again in july!... good luck sweetie.

Shirley - posted on 01/16/2010

Aptamil formula is apparently next best thing to breast feeding... which we give to our daughter and she is doing beautifully on it.

Barbara - posted on 01/15/2010

Hi,

You've asked a really great question. It seems that you've gotten some really great information from all the previous moms. I am a mother of a 6 1/2month old. I've also encountered some of the same issues as the other moms. Keep breastfeeding for as long as possible. Contact a lactation consultant as mentioned by the other moms. I've tried a low dose of Domperidone and it didn't work for me at all. It only made my chest tight. But I've found that eating a well balanced diet, getting some extra rest (make sure you have a good sleep) and having my husband do a bit more of the chores around the house helped a lot. One of the moms mentioned about doubting themselves and having it effect their milk supply. I also agree with them. Always try to stay positive, keep negative thoughts and people alway from you. I found that my mother-in-law was constantly stressing myself and my husband out and it took a toll on our marriage. Which is not healthy for our baby, since our little one feeds off our energy (so to say). So, if you ever have to vent, make sure you have that friend or family member ready to listen.

I'll be the first to admit that I was completely against formula. To me it was the enemy and I didn't want my baby to be fed it at all. I've been breastfeeding since the first day; then I'd express whatever milk was leftover. I've made sure that for the last 6 months breastmilk was the only thing that my baby drank.

However, I've recently started my baby on solids and had decided this would be a good opportunity to introduce formula as well.

During one of my lulls when I couldn't produce enough breastmilk for my son, I gave him Enfimil A+ and it made him constipated for days. I checked with my doctor who recommended using a low iron formula. Since, I was already using Enfimil, I chose their low iron formula. It worked like a charm.

If you're going to freeze your breastmilk, keep it at the back of the freezer. And if you're going to be using your breastmilk within 24-48hrs keep it at the back of the fridge.

Thanks, for asking a really great question and giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts.

April - posted on 01/10/2010

i know breastmilk will last 3 months in the regular freezer and 6months in a deep freezer

Staci - posted on 01/05/2010

So glad that you've been able to keep breastfeeding. That is so great for you and your baby, good luck!!

Nora - posted on 01/05/2010

Quoting April:

I started feeding my daughter every 2hours or so & now my milk production is back up & when I away from home I give her the Good Start with the orange label, she seems to like that better than Similac, I also pump milk every night while she is sleep & store it in the freezer, Im a military wife so Im always on the go, so the milk Im storing Im goin to save just in case my milk supply ever starts running low again, I love breastfeeding & my baby girl hasnt been sick yet, so hopefully I can make it til she is 1yr old.

Breast milk will only last 3 months in the freeze fyi.

April - posted on 01/03/2010

I started feeding my daughter every 2hours or so & now my milk production is back up & when I away from home I give her the Good Start with the orange label, she seems to like that better than Similac, I also pump milk every night while she is sleep & store it in the freezer, Im a military wife so Im always on the go, so the milk Im storing Im goin to save just in case my milk supply ever starts running low again, I love breastfeeding & my baby girl hasnt been sick yet, so hopefully I can make it til she is 1yr old.

Anna - posted on 01/03/2010

How often are you feeding your baby? I was on Domperidone for low supply and it helped a lot. I was able to slowly wean off of it (dropped one dose every few days) by increasing how often I feed him. Instead of waiting for hunger cues, which he'd give about every 3 hours, I offer the breast every 2 hours during the day and 6 at night. He occassionally isn't hungry when I offer it, but most of the time takes it. I also started feeding off of both sides at every feeding instead of only one. My aunt is a LC and said that when I was feeding every 3 hours and one breast at a feeding, that meant that each breast was going for 6 hours without stimulation. Once she put it that way, it wasn't surprising that my milk was low. Now they're stimulated every 2 hours and I have enough milk for him. She said I need to feed him at least 8 times per day and for about 140 minutes total every day just to maintain supply.

Kristy - posted on 01/03/2010

When my breastmilk supply got low with my first born and then again with my 2nd my pediatrician told me the same things to try: Take Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle, eat Black Angus Beef ribeye steak, eggs, and drink 3 oz. of dark beer. I kid you not it worked every time!!

Miriam - posted on 01/02/2010

Hi, I'm a mum of an almost 7 months old baby girl. Since I went back to work 3 months ago, my milk supply seemed to decrease too. But so far so good I express at work as much as I can so that at daycare she still gets my milk, I also introduced her to formula before she started daycare. She didn't seem to like S26, so I tried Nan and she loves it, she prefers my breast milk though, but if she is still hungry I always have a bottle of formula Nan ready, the one that digest easy. I do agree that even if your milk supply is low, do keep on breast feeding. I work full time. Its hard sometimes but so far so good. I always give her a good feed before I bring her to daycare, at daycare she gets a 150ml of my express and she also been introduced to solid food and like I said before there's always a formula bottle ready. I hope that i'll be able to breastfeed her atleast till she's 1 years old.... You know what they say breast milk is the best for your baby. Good luck.

Amanda - posted on 01/02/2010

Hello,

I swear by the enfamil gentlease. At first I started using the enfamil lipil, but it is way to harsh on the stomach...gentlease is already predigested so it makes it very easy for a baby to digest. My only suggestion that I hope you follow is STAY AWAY from enfamil A.R......I had to use this formula on my son for 3 weeks, it was hell. He stayed constipated for those 3 weeks, would wake up screaming from the pain from the constipation as well. I finally put him back on the gentlease myself and told the doctor he is doing better on it.



Good Luck!

April - posted on 01/01/2010

thanks everyone

Tami - posted on 12/23/2009

I'll echo the breastfeeding comments. My supply dropped the more I doubted myself. I focused on eating better, sleeping more, and asking for more help around the house. My stress eased up, I felt better, more rested, more nourished and my supply rebounded. If you want to continue the breastfeeding, there are many, many resources. If you want to switch to formula, I found that for the few night feedings we use formula for (when I am exhausted and my husband gets up instead) we used Similac with DHA. There were 4 others we tried but my son wanted no part of. We just went with what he liked.

Lauralea - posted on 12/21/2009

go onto the LaLeche League website for tons of breastfeeding help. It is really an amazing sight. I also found my lactation consultant to be immensly helpful. don't quit breastfeeding unless you are ready to. there are things to try first. good luck!

April - posted on 12/21/2009

ok thanks

Katerina - posted on 12/21/2009

after i stopped breast-feeding i have been only using SMA she never had any problems with it would recommend it

Naomi - posted on 12/21/2009

it's an herbal supplement that many breastfeeding women find helps build their milk supply, have you gone to see a lactation consultant? I've had milk supply issues from day 1 but my boy is 6.5 months now and we're still able to do it.. with a lot of help from our breastfeeding doctor! It IS possible!

April - posted on 12/21/2009

whats that

Andrea - posted on 12/20/2009

try funugreek