Follow on milk at 6 months for ebf baby

[afshanmkhan]

I was wondering if i could start with follow on milk for my soon to be 6 month old baby. He is ebf till now. I have read arguments for and against follow on milk but i want some experienced views. I am planning to gradually cut down breastfeeding to one in the morning and one at night. My son still doesnt sleep through the night, so i would continue breastfeeding him in the night too. Apart from that, during the day i want him to get on to solids and either formula or follow on milk.

Any of you ladies done something like this? I have been trying out sippy cups with expressed breast milk so that he gets a hang of it. Thats still under way and he will take time to get the hang.

Also he is a thin baby just under the 9th percentile. Though i know breast milk has more calories than formula but i sam still tempted as all ff babies are so chubby!!

The NHS only recommends first formula from birth to 12 months.

Follow on has extra iron in it which can make some babies constipated, and as you are switching from breastmilk that could be even more of a problem for him. So first milk is probably better for his digestion.

By they way why do you feel formula will help him gain weight? As you say breastmilk has more fat in it and as he gets bigger the fat content increases and is easy for him to digest.

How would you feel if you switch and he doesn't put on more weight?

MigGril - whatever you have said is so whats going through my head.

Well honestly i find breastfeeding so convenient and easy to manage. Its just the chubby look that i miss. I know its kind of unreasonable well i m just thinking whether to add another milk source or not. I belong to india and there they start giving regular adult milk along with weaning, whether its 4 months or 6. Of course they do dilute it depending on the baby's age. But i m not planning to do that definitely! Also back home ppl think that as soon as i start my son on solids, he will grow fat. Most of us would agree that doesn't happen though i so wish it does!!!

So its more of a 'peer pressure' thing. Very few people i know continue with breast milk as the only 'milk source' later than 4-6 months.

All in all i m a confused first time mum!!

If your both happy feeding then why not just keep feeding. After all both the NHS and WHO recommend breastfeeding along side solids.

If you want to add more fast then when introducing solids go with high fast foods, maybe with dairy to. So cheese, yogurts that sort of thing. You can add full fast cows milk as a drink from 12 months if you want but before that it should be formula as the sodium content in cows milk is to high for small babies.

Remember breastmilk have evolved to be the perfect food for your baby as he is human. How would giving milk from another species be better for him. Oh and there is the case for saving your self money to.

That should be fat, dame phone

He he...i so understand the typos with these phones!!!!! God i want a keypad again

I will try adding high fat foods early on along with trying to maintain a balanced diet. The money saving and convenience is a big big plus. No bottles to wash and sterilise...nothing to carry when out n about -- i m loving breastfeeding!!!

I ebf until we weaned at 6mo. I bf alongside solids until around 7mo then started dropping the day time bf one by one in prep for going back to work. I dropped the midmorning one first and replaced with formula and a little yoghurt. Then dropped lunchtime bf and just gave water with lunch. Last to go was midafternoon bf. We replaced that with biscuit and formula. I still bf first thing in the morning and at bedtime.

I tried no. 3 Aptamil but found it made DD constipated (combined qith starting on solids) HV advised to start on no. 1 as they weren't really that diff but just had less iron in. After a month we went up to no. 2 and when DD was about 9.5 mo we got up to no. 3.

HV suggested superdrugs own beaker with built in flip-straw. Supposedly good for bf babies as they are used to sucking rather than sipping with a sippy cup. DD had never gotten on with the TT sippy but this straw cup was great. Dead cheap too. She has her formula and water in it.

Sometimes an open cup in the bath or sat outside when eating. Not quite ready for it inside just yet!!!

Maybe should've said DD is 10.5mo now. Went back to work 3 weeks ago :-(

That's exactly what I have done- dd2 just seven months. The follow on milk is quite handy as you can buy it in screw top bottles which are great as there is less wastage. I have used hipp and SMA and baby not shown any preference.