I have a five week old baby boy and I am wondering what the best way to switch from breast milk to formula would be. He is exclusive breast feed, not from a bottle. I believe he has some reflux and definetly has colic. I am just unsure if I should do a little formula with more breast milk, half and half, or just introduce the formula by itself. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
Please don't give me your opinion on breast feeding. I am asking about switching, not about what you think about breast feeding. Thanks! also......should i still feed from the breast during this transition or pump and feed the breast milk out of a bottle?
I agree as well - I can't see how formula would help, and think it would be more likely to make things worse.
As a Doctor of Chiropractic and mother of three, I agree 100% with what has been said here. Breastfeeding is the best thing you can do for your baby. It is by far the easiest to digest and the MOST nutritious for him. Breastmilk for as long as you possibly can, even if that means pumping if you are going back to work. It gives him the best start in life and there is proven documented facts about the long term positive effects.
Good luck.
of course everyone has their reasons, but since you didnt say, and you mentioned the reflux, i can tell you that switching to formula is not going to solve that problem...
As a mom that nursed my last dd for 2 1/2 years, I totally agree that you should keep nursing.
Why are you switching? If he has reflux, you should continue nursing as breastmilk is a natural antacid, formula will be very hard on his system. Also with colic, it could make it alot worse since it will be so hard for his body to digest. Right now, especially if he is dealing with some digestion problems like reflux and colic, you will want to make his food the easiest to digest, and his body was made to break down breastmilk only.
If he's nursing exclusively, then keep going because it sounds like he's nursing well. Nurse from one breast at each feeding, do not switch breasts mid feed. At the next feed, use the other breast. You might find his colic or reflux symptoms clear up if you allow him to nurse one breast per feeding so he can get the foremilk AND the hindmilk.
If you are considering switching to formula to help his colic or reflux symptoms.... trust me it won't help. Please continue, seek out a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) to help if yo uneed it, or contact La Leche League, or send me a msg and I will try to help. Stopping nursing under the false pretense that it will help out your son is an old myth and it won't help him out any.
M.-
sounds like everyone of course has some strong opinions to your question. the reality is that you have to do the best option for you and your baby. sometimes that means trying different routines til you just figure it out. could take some trial and error...in the end i've found as soon as you get used to a new routine baby starts...he changes it on you and you have a new one to get used to!:) i won't go on about either side of the issue of Bmilk vs. formula, but i will offer a great book for colicy babies. "the happiest baby on the block" teaches really great techniques for soothing a baby, which includes swaddling, swinging, shhing, sucking, and one other S that i can't remember. handle the feeding situation however he seems to best respond and maybe some of these things can help him in the process as well....i also LOVE "the miracle blanket" to swaddle super tight. i've heard of moms mixing equal parts of formula and breastmilk to start the transition...also sometimes changes in moms diet can certainly help with reflux at times. i also have a girlfriend who just went cold turkey on the Bmilk and it went fine. so good luck with however the transition goes! i've found i always ask for peoples advice and in the end i do whatever my instincts tell me to...each kiddo is different! best of luck again!
Although I am still breastfeeding my 17 month old daughter, I did introduce formula at about 4 months because I was super overwhelmed with the constant feeding. I only did a couple bottles a week but it was helpful. Anyway, she had pretty bad acid reflux until she was 1, and what I found that helped more than different formulas (we used Earth's Best Organic formula, it was great), was the bottle. We are huge believers in not giving children BPA, so at the time we opted for glass bottles. A lot of bottles are BPA free now. Anyway, we used the Dr. Brown's glass bottles. They have an amazing vent system, and she never got gassy. Hope this helps.
Good for you for standing up for yourself. I'm tired of hearing people preach the virtues of breast milk. Everyone knows it's the healthiest, most natural option, but you have to decide what is best for you and your family, and FORMULA IS NOT EVIL. Hundreds of thousands of babies are fed it every day and they grow and learn and thrive without any problem.
That being said...
Every baby is different when it comes to switching. Some babies like to be eased into it by slowly adding formula to their milk. With others, cold turkey is easier in the long run. Either way, I'd switch to bottles only ASAP if you have a pump to continue with the breast milk for a little while.
I would try mixing it first. Start with mostly breast milk and a little formula, and slowly add more formula to the mix.
If that doesn't work after a good try, you may just have to go with straight formula. He might fight it at first, but he'll eat when he's hungry enough.Five weeks is early enough that the transition shouldn't be too difficult. I'm transitioning my 10 week old and he's just fine with it.
Good luck!
Have you spoken with your pediatrician? He or she may have recommendations re: formula that may be most gentle on the tummy. Breast milk is the easiest to digest from what I understand but the Dr. may have some recommendations. Congratulations on making it to five weeks breastfeeding, not an easy thing those first sleep-deprived months. It gets so much easier after the first month. Colic is difficult, I wish you the best! One thing I learned it it all passes very quickly in the end, although at the time, it can seem like the miserable sleepless crying moments will last forever. My boy did best when I held him; I even slept with him in the crook of my arm, elevating his head. I elevated his head the same way and nursed lying in bed. I would have never ever gotten any sleep whatsoever if I hadn't co-slept. I also couldn't bear to be parted with him any more than possible. I worked full-time during the days beginning when he was six weeks old. So, anyway, keeping his head above his tummy could help with acid reflux? My daughter was easier, once she fell asleep in my arms nursing, I could lay her down in bed and she'd sleep for hours. Is sleep related to your issue? In the end, trust your instinct! My son also had a hernia but we didn't discover it until he was nine months old and cried vigorously one day as I was giving him a bath. Turns out that when he would cry it would extend and then probably hurt which would escalate his cries, which is also why he got held a lot and slept with me, because it calmed him down and comforted him. I'm SO GLAD I listened to my motherly instinct and co-slept safely; you sometimes don't know what underlying medical issues could be causing your child's crying...
Good luck!
I am actually doing the same thing now, my son is 4 weeks old and has the same issues along with taking in alot of air due to fast let down. I started giving him similac Isomil and just tried it to see if he'd take it and does just fine so far, in fact it is helping him alot cause now he is not so fussy and I am getting more sleep. I am using the playtex bottles with the drop-ins that help reduce colic however I do have breast milk saved in the freezer for back up cause it usually takes a couple weeks with the food change to see if there is any difference but so far he is taking the bottle just fine so I'd say give it a test run I am sure he will do just fine if you have any more questions feel free to email me ____@____.com
