Has Any One Tried a Home Made Alternative for Infant Formula

I can't say that I have personally tried this, but I have read blogs of a few people who have. It looks a bit complicated, but if you're committed to not using formula, it could help. Here is the link: http://www.westonaprice.org/children/recipes.html

Hello ~

I had the same type of lactation problems. So frustrating!

Goats' milk is a good option, and there is a formula we ordered from the UK for awhile with none of the "icky" stuff, but it was SUPER expensive.

You can order breast milk from a professional bank. It comes tested, frozen and Fed Exed.

Some people use rice or oatmeal milk, but we were advised against it as it doesn't have enough nutrients.

Good luck.

I looked before I posted so I'm not giving you the same websites. I second the weston a price website. I however decided not to actually make it. I instead give my twins unpasteurized goat milk. At first I watered it down to give their digestive tract a chance to get used to it and then I went to full goat milk. There is also a dry goat milk formula on the market if fresh goat milk is unavailable. We also do the goat milk due to me being allergic to cow milk and my husband being extremely intolerant of cow milk.

Good luck finding your balance. I understand the frustration at not being able to breast feed.

S.

I don't know anyone who made their own formula but a quick internet search did yield some results. I do know that goat's milk is closer to human milk than cow's milk is (babies can digest it much easier and rarely have allergies to it), however it's lacking in key vitamins and folic acid. Please do A LOT of research and check with both your pediatrician and a nutritionist you trust (the one we went too was horrible, just pushed Gerber products - which we avoided - and chastised me for raising our daughter vegetarian).

Anyways, I just wanted to see if you tried organic formulas? You didn't mention what brand(s) of formula you tried or which ingredients are the offending ones, so i don't know if that's an option. I have a few friends who used Earth's Best once they weren't producing enough milk for pumping. They were much happier than the ingredients with other brands and their babies had no problems with it. You can even look at their ingredients online:
http://www.earthsbest.com/products/product/1665.php
I don't know about the other organic brands, but I'm sure you can find info about them online, also. Good luck!! :-)

I have a beautiful and exteremely nutritious recipes. a milk based, a meat based, a fortified commercial formula, a digestive tea recipe, and an egg yolk recipe (mamas in china eat up to 10 eggs a day when nursing!) it's easier for me if I can scan and email to you instead of retyping all these recipes. Info about them can be found at www.westonaprice.org these are based off of traditional diets and nutrition before there was grocery stores, corn starch/suryp, and additives/preservatives etc. let me know if you are interested. the recipe book is called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. E. ____@____.com

Check out Budget101, I have not tried the formula route, but they have every thing make your own that you could think of. If you have trouble send me a private email and I will send links.
For others reading, this site also has budgets, how to feed your family on 250 a month and all kinds of tips. It is a great site.

We had some issues with Formula and through advice of another friend I started using Baby's Only Formula. We only used Formula for a short time, but this worked for us. I don't know what ingrediants your referring to but we had issues with the added DHA and ARA that many formula's now contain.
http://www.naturesone.com/index.php

Its hard to find at grocery stores but I believe PCC and Central Market carry this brand.

Good Luck.

Hi, L. - Have you ever considered goat milk? Ask your doctor, of course, but it is much less allergenic than cows milk, and is also closer in composition to human milk. Since my daughter was allergic to cows milk as a young toddler, I offered goat milk as a healthy alternative. All 3 of my kids still drink it, and my youngest, now 4, actually prefers it to cow milk!
Good luck . . . I hope this helps.

If you decide to go the goat milk route, there are specific guidelines on how to dilute, to make it easy on kidney function, and what supplements to add. I had to supplement with both my kids due to inadequate supply and I followed a recipe that my Naturopathic doc/midwife gave me. It was wonderful for my first, but my 2nd is allergic to even goat milk. Until I started going out to a farm in Sandy and buying fresh unpasteurised real milk. He does fine on this stuff, but cannot tolerate store milk.
I started typing the "recipe" I had and lost it, so email me if you want it

I've heard people say Goat's milk is the closest milk to human milk. Buy I would ask a naturopath for a 2nd opinion.

Have you thought about buying goat's milk? It's the closest thing to human milk you can find and it's protiens are very easy to digest. I've used goat's milk with my son since he was about nine or ten months because he is allergic to cow's milk. It's very healthy and is better than formula by a long shot.
I buy it from a lady in my area that has goats. She sells it for like four dollars a gallon.

Hope this is helpful!

Love,
J.

Hi L.-

I don't have any information on formula, but have you thought of the breast milk banks. They are screened and safe. Just a thought.

D.

Hey L.,

I have a recipe for goat's milk formula. If you would like it let me know and I'll send it to ya. I haven't used it yet because I haven't had a need to but have kept it around just in case my kids couldn't breastfeed.

D. Rylander
A Blessed Birth Doula Services
###-###-####

Hello L.,
Yes the ingredients in infant formulas are disturbing. I can give you instructions to make oatmeal milk, which you can do easy and organically. I did for my 2nd child and wish I knew about it for my first, as both only had about 2-3 months breastfeeding due to unusual circumstances. Homeopathy can often bring back the lactation level you need, so is another consideration.
I posted the formula method a few months ago but don't know if a search can be done on this site. Feel free to write me for it.
Be well,
Liz
Classical Homeopath

Yes, I have a little experience. My close friend has an adopted daughter she had (12 now) milk protien alergy. We used to make rice milk and fortify it with a powder vitamin suppliment from a health food wholesaler. Your nutritionist should be able to recomend a good supliment.

My aunt use to use a banana formula.. She has given me several lectures about the benifits of this formula but I have not tried it. It would be worth the research.

My DD's pediatrician was a naturopath and we used goat milk from the time she was 4 weeks old. We got some liquid vitamins from the naturopath called Pediatrivite and added it to the goat milk so she was getting the nutrients she needed.

Like you I did the LC and tried a bunch of other things but I'd had a breast reduction as a teenager so I just didn't have all the plumbing working correctly.

I started out buying liquid goat milk at Trader Joes but quickly switched over to the powdered by Meydenburg (sp?) as it was easier to keep that on hand and I could get a case of it at PCC.

My mom was raised on goats milk as was my older sister who couldn't tolerate other milk. Many cultures use goat milk as their main source of milk.

Congratulations on the birth of your son.

C.-WAHM of 4.5 y/o virtual twins
Owner: http://www.BeHappierAtHome.com

Good responses so far! I just wanted to mention that when I was a couple of months old my mom was not able to breastfeed for about a two months' time. My dad gave me goat's milk (undiluted because no one told him to dilute it!) and that worked great. I've always been really healthy - although I've always blamed my slight tendency to be overweight on the undiluted goat's milk! :) Anyway, just thought that might be an encouragement!

R.

Homemade formula is a big undertaking; it can't be made more than a day ahead and you have to struggle with sanitation (ask your grandma).

I've heard that most homemade formulas you can find on the web don't have the right nutrition -- too much casein, not enough fat, are hard on the baby's kidneys, or are otherwise problematic for babies. I tried about a dozen different brands of commercial formula when my preemie baby needed a supplement because my breast milk had nearly dried up. I was extremely frustrated when the doctor finally listed for me which of the formula brands I had been using were detrimental to my baby's health.

Seeing a nutritionist was the key to finding a formula that my daughter would take and grow on. Only one store in the Seattle area carried it, and we finally ordered it direct online. My daughter also had a problem sucking thoroughly, which we got a therapist for (referred by the doctor). It's amazing what you can teach a baby that young.

There is nothing worse than being told you're not able to breatfeed your baby sufficiently and that she has "failure to thrive". Hang in there.

Breast milk donation has been going on (in an organized and regulated way) for about 10 years now, and the results are great. The kids who were raised on the milk of multiple donors have been SO healthy on account of all the immunities passed along by the multiple sources of breast milk! It makes sense, right? Anyway, I know that in the Seattle area there are a number of places I've seen unpasteurized goat milk, but if you want to go the breast milk route, that's available, too.