should i try her with a ff?

[mum2b09]

my 16 week old DD is exclusively breastfed and she feeds that often that i have real trouble expressing because after ive expressed she cries for a feed and i end up having to offer her the bottle of ebm.

I was wondering would it effect her atall if i gave her a formula feed when i wasnt able to be with her. I am a SAHM so im with her alomost all the time but every now and again when i had to leave her with my dp??

did you ever give your dcs formula when breastfed?

[Horton]

"after ive expressed she cries for a feed and i end up having to offer her the bottle of ebm"

It would be better to express the feed and then offer her the breast. It will only take a couple of days for supply to catch up with demand, I think.

I'm sure a formula feed once in a while wouldn't affect your supply, particularly if you express the feed you would have given her or as much as possible anyway. You can dump it if it's not needed or if you've been drinking.

[Habbibu]

If she cries for a feed after you've expressed, you can breastfeed - your breasts may feel empty to you, but they never completely empty, and babies are more efficient than pumps. At 16 weeks she could be going through a growth spurt anyway, and the more she feeds, the more your supply will increase.

Hoping someone who knows properly will come along to confirm this.

[undomesticatedgoddess]

Hi

I'm no expert but I can tell you what works for us until somebody qualified comes along.

I feed on one side for the morning feed and express on the other. This makes the most of your let down and also means that baby doesn't miss out on anything.

Even if you just get a little bit you can put it in the freezer for your DP to use at a later date.

HTH

[ShowOfHands]

Why do you give the expressed milk instead of just offering the breast?

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

I used to express in the morning as well. Just take the pump up to bed with you the night before and once your baby has had her feed from one side, express from the other. Then it's over and done with and you can get on with your day.

Agree that you should offer the breast if she wants feeding, even if you have recently expressed. Otherwise your body isn't getting the signal to increase production.

[mum2b09]

she feeds off both in the morning and at every other feed. I have tried to feed after ive expressed but she doesnt seem to be getting anything, pulling off and crying so i just assumed she isnt getting anything so i give her the bottle of ebm..

[jasperc163]

Hi there - I have the same problem - she feeds frequently and is hungry in the evening with just the breast (she feeds all evening but settles immediately if i give her ebm) but i cant find a time to actually express as she is then even more hungry (not helped by fact that one boob is underperforming big time). I was expressing at 2am while she sleeps for the following evening but now she has started waking up more in the night and wants a full feed (14 weeks) so am running out of ideas! My supply does not increase and she is not happy with what feels like a fairly empty breast.

Will have to resort to a ff soon if i cant find a solution (but dont want to..)

[mum2b09]

how many times is she feeding during the night jasperc? i have tried expressing during te night but its hard enough getting up 5 times to feed her without expressing too

[jasperc163]

It was only once so i could do it about 3hrs after i went to bed. Now its 3 times so I have no spare milk to express :-(

[Lulumama]

why are you expressing ?

the odd formula feed probably won't affect your supply, especially if you are expressing,b ut the best way for your supply to reach demand is to put her to the breast as much as she wants

[tiktok]

mum2b09 - I'm another one who doesn't understand this either....maybe there is something missing from your post?

If she cries after a feed, feed her again

[CherryChoc]

Oh I had this problem - I think it was because after I had expressed, I didn't have the same fast letdown DS was used to when my breasts felt fuller. I got around it by gently holding the breast slightly squeezing it (I think it is called breast compressions?) which seemed to increase the flow for him and he was less frustrated.

To other posters, the problem is, the OP is expressing and then her DD is wanting a feed, but then pulls off the breast and cries so the OP thought that there was no milk there and offered the bottle instead, meaning she now has no expressed milk to leave if she wants to go out!

OP, you always have spare milk - your breasts are never empty and they don't "underperform" when they have just been fed/pumped from. I know it feels that way when they are little, but the only difference is the initial letdown is less forceful. I found it hard to get milk out with the pump when DS had just had a feed so I used to express when he was due, overdue or nearly due a feed and then if he woke up or was awake and smelt the milk and wanted some I'd offer him the breast using the compression technique, and it worked fine.

[mum2b09]

thanx for your replies everyone i just assumed that because i had expressed she wasnt getting enough off the breast but i will definately try the breast compressions and let you know how it goes