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How easy/hard it is to switch a baby from breastmilk to formula
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Let’s talk about mixed feeding.
One of the things that annoy me about conventional breastfeeding literature is that it can come across as pretty all or nothing: either you nurse and express breastmilk until kingdom come or your resort to formula.
It is often portrayed that only one bottle of formula is enough to wreck your breastfeeding relationship forever. What a way to put pressure on mothers, no?
Especially because I think mixed feeding could be an awesome solution for mothers who are struggling with breastfeeding for some reason or other.
Not because “every drop counts” but because there is so much more to breastfeeding than just milk and the way I see it mixed feeding can allow mums to relax about nutrition (my baby is fed, hurray!) and enjoy the other benefits of the boob (comfort, bonding and yes, optimal nutrition for the baby).
Is it perfect? Of course not.
But it sure beats a depressed mother who wishes she could nurse her baby but feels that “once formula, always formula”.
(Speaking of which, one of these days we need to speak about pure comfort feeding, i.e. nursing with no milk supply. Who knew this was a thing?! Mothers nursing adopted daughters. Grandmothers nursing grandchildren.)
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Back to mixed feeding. I fed my son formula for about a month, starting around two weeks after he was born. Except for the first 48 hours I also gave him breastmilk (straight from the boob and expressed) and eventually weaned him off formula.
He is now over a year old and still nursing strong. I never thought I would give formula to my baby and was woefully unprepared – I had no idea how to mix formula, nor how to wean baby boy off it.
To make matters worse, information on the topic was hard to come by, mainly because most texts assumed that the reason for giving formula was a low milk supply (not true in my case).
This is what worked for us:
Keep detailed records: I used an app to make a note of every feed. For formula, this included the amount, for breastmilk the time at the breast.
Pump as much as you can bear: I hated pumping, or should I say expressing, since every pump I tried made me bleed. I expressed milk as often as possible but decided not to stress too much about it.
Give formula on schedule, breastmilk on demand: the Baby boy was given formula at most every 3 hours, less if he didn’t ask for it. We prepared the amount suggested on the tin for his age. At all other times, he was either given expressed breastmilk or the boob. For me, this kept the amount of unbearably painful breastfeeding sessions to an acceptable level.
Gradually reduce formula: The standard instruction is to reduce formula by 30 ml every couple of days. Since I knew we had no problems with supply and baby boy was nursing well when on the boob, I attempted to reduce the formula by 30 ml every day. I did this mainly by spacing the formula feedings as far apart as possible.
Two steps forward, one step back: There were setbacks. When it seemed like we could throw away the box of formula, one of my nipples would start bleeding again and up went the formula count. This was disheartening but thanks to my app (see above) I could see that we were gradually making progress.
Keep your goal in sight: I was absolutely 100% certain that I wanted to brave the hell and high waters to get my baby off formula. I knew it was possible since my baby was gaining and milk was flowing – the only impediment was the pain and I just couldn’t accept that my breasts weren’t made for nursing.
Your goal might be different: my mother breastfed me for 6 months with a bottle of formula every night. There are many ways to feed and bond with a baby. Just make sure you know what you want and stick to your guns.
Do I make this sound easy peasy? Trust me, it wasn’t.
One bizarre Sunday afternoon we rushed back from a restaurant lunch with a hungry baby.
Side by side on the sofa my husband was feeding our last few milliliters of breastmilk to a baby boy while I desperately expressed some more because I didn’t want to increase the amount of formula for that day. Not what I had envisioned doing 4 weeks postpartum…
I’d love to hear your stories! Any advice about mixed feeding or weaning babies off formula? Please share in the comments!
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