Changing from BF to Formula

[Mossyo]

Hello all, my DS is 4 weeks old and I have been BF him. I'd like to start introducing some formula feeds so that his dad can do one now and again and to give myself a bit more freedom.

We've tried him with SMA and with Aptamil. The SMA seemed to make him very runny and we found small streaks of blood in his nappy so we stopped it. The Aptamil has actually made his poo better! Less runny and more solid but we also noticed a little tiny bit of blood. Any suggestions as to what we should do next? Just keep trying different formulas or does this mean that generally it doesnt agree with him? It's really hard to get an answer to this from my HV as they're all so very pro-BF. I agree that breast is best and am happy to carry on with it as his main feed, but I do want a break from it just now and again, and I'm having a lot of trouble expressing.

Apart from the tiny blood flecks, DS is very happy, feeds well from both breast and bottle, is putting on weight and is normally happy self.

Thanks all xxx

Hiya, I'm not a medical pro of any kind but I'd think blood in stools indicated an intolerance of some kind.
If it were me I'd try and get help with expressing and stick to breast milk... What kind of pump are you using? Have you tried hand expressing, it's much gentler...?

My DS wouldn't breastfeed at all after a very long labour and was given formula in hospital at the advice of paed consultant. He recommended Aptamil which was fine for DS. Good luck with whatever you chose to do.

Been using a Lansinoh electric pump. I find it really frustrating just sitting there wired up to the thing and after 40 minutes or so I'm only getting about an ounce and a half of milk.

Atmy - the midwife gave my DS a little bit of Aptimil when I was in hospital too for the same reason. He was fine with it then so I was surprised to see the tiny bit of blood in his nappy last night. As I said - otherwise he seems fine and certainly not in any pain which is what's confusing.

Mossyo, have you tried pumping on one side whilst you feed your ds from the other? This made quite a difference to the amount that I was able to express. You might also find that you get more out in the morning than at other times of the day.
I know how you feel about expressing, it drove me mad a bit, but I did manage to stick with it.

Firstly if you are not geting any confidence in the advice from your HV then I think you should see your GP.

FF babies should not have "blood" in their poo - that is not normal.

If you are interested in finding out information on how to get more from pumping then have a look at this bit of Kellymom.

Have a look at this UNICEF leaflet which explains all about different types of formula.

Also have a look at the WHO guidelines for safe formula preparation.

LaDi - no I haven't tried that. Come to think of it, i'm often leaking from one side when I feed from the other! I'll try that today, thanks.

Tab - yes, my DH says I need to speak to the doctor ... and I was worried about the blood. It's obviously not agreeing with him, is it?

Mossyo - try expressing from the fuller side, esp in the morning while your baby feeding from the less full side. Should be easy to get 2- 2.5oz. If you do that every morning then you can stash 2 or 3 bottles per week which should be enough to give some freedom. I left DS2 today from 10.30am to 4pm and he just had one bottle of EBM at 2pm.

I've tried doing this yesterday and today but finding it a bit logistically tricky. hard to hold both baby and pump at the same time. I can see it will work though, once I've mastered it!

I also thought I'd try again with the formula in a few weeks time as maybe DS's tummy might be a bit less sensitive when he's a few weeks older.

If you find you are leaking from the other side when you feed, you could try those breast shells (Avent do them, not sure if any other brand). You pop them in your bra and collect the drips and you can then decant the milk into a bottle. If you collect all the drips over the day, you might find you get a good amount to stick in the freezer.

Medela do them too...their mentioned below....

amoralia.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/amoralias-top-5-breastfeeding-must-haves/

tho i dunno whether there are other ones that are for leaking. My SIL recommended these tho

Mossyo Hope the doctor helps you. There should not be any blood in the poo.

We used SMA right after weaning, but later discovered that Aptamil was better for his digestion. Especially after I completely stopped breastfeeding.