URGENT HELP NEEDED - need to introduce some bottles

[Jen2727]

Please help me. My father-in-law is in intensive care at hospital. I have a 7 week old DD who is EBF. We had been trying to express the odd bottle here and there to get her used to taking from a bottle so that i could start to re-gain some independence. She has always been a slightly fussy breast feeder and she also fusses over the bottles. Some days we have given up altogether, other days she has taken all 3 ozs and then wanted more.
I need to be able to spend more time at the hospital to support my husband and his family. Up until now, DD has come with me and i have fed her in the corridor (she is not allowed on the ward as there is risk of infection for her). My mother-in-law is nervous about me spending so much time with DD at the hospital and it is not ideal so i want to be able to leave her with my mum and a bottle.
I think i am going to struggle to be able to express enough for her so i am considering trying formula whilst i am at the hospital. It would probably only be 1 bottle a day, so i would not stop breast feeding totally. The other problem with expressed is that when she has taken the bottle, she has always then wanted more than the 3ozs. If my mum is only left with 3 ozs she will get left with a screaming baby. With formula, she can make more ...
I just want some tips as how to introduce this ... what formula she would need? Whether to try and persist with expressing ... should 3ozs be enough? I just need advice and support really. Has anyone else had a similar situation? Please help me. I need to be there for my husband but i don't want to put my DD at risk. Sorry if there are any typos in this message.

Also, the hospital is too far away really to be able to pop there in between feeds, so that is not really a viable option

OP - are you able to pump at regular times in a relaxed place? For example first thing in the morning and last thing at night? If you pump at the same time every day and you are able to relax then the amount you express will increase dramatically. If there any chance you could be set up to pump at hospital? Use the maternity faucillities? They will have hospital grade pumps/

Introducing formula - even if its only one bottle a day - will effect your milk supply. So will expressing. The best thing for your baby is to feed 'on demand' as much as she likes, meaning she should be with you all of the time at only 7 weeks old.

Your choice really is to weigh up the importance of that compared with the importance of supporting your husband. Nobody can know the right answer apart from you!

If you decide to introduce a formula milk, go to somewhere like Boots and ask for advice about which formula will best suit your daughter. There are a lot of different types and you might need some help!

When DD2 was a similar age DD1 ended up in hospital. I expressed when I could, and had a supply of formula for when I couldn't. They were mixed together if I only expressed a small amount. i used the ready made cartons - just made things a little easier and cost wasn't an issue as the amount of formula was so small. I went back to EBF a week or 2 later - no issues. Best of luck

I had a similar kind of dilemma when DS1 was 5 weeks, except i was the one in hospital - was rushed in for an emergency operation and just had no choice. We too had to mix-feed for a while but it was fine and I was able to gradually move back to EBF once home and recovered.

I did the same as sjisontheway - expressed when feasible (at least every 3 hours to try and maintain supply as much as possible) and had a backup supply of formula for my mum to use if the expressed stuff ran out. This worked well. It's probably worth trying to persevere with expressing if you can, but definitely leave your mum a backup carton or two of formula (don't bother faffing around with powder, much easier to use cartons in this situation) and at least that way you'll know there is definitely enough milk for DD whilst you are away. At 7 weeks you are probably looking at 3-4oz per feed but a hungry baby may want a little more. The cartons are about 8floz each I think so your mum should get a couple of feeds out of each one (split the carton between 2 sterilised bottles and refrigerate the one not used straight away).

In terms of which formula to use - we always used Aptamil as it is marketed as 'closest to breastmilk' - in fact a friend of mine once tasted every single formula plus her own EBF (mad!) and confirmed that it was the one that tasted most similar!

Good luck and I hope your FIL is better soon.

All the formula brands are basically the same. The guidelines as to what can be included in infant formula are very strict and there is very little room for variation.

As long as you use a formula suitable for your baby's age i.e. a first milk not a follow on milk then you can use any brand.

You might be better off with the cartons rather than powder because its quite fiddly to prepare formula safely (alot has changed since your mum's day) and it will be easier to leave your mum a carton rather than a long list of instructions.

There is a chance that giving even one bottle a day could damage your supply but you could minimise this risk by expressing at the hospital for any missed feeds. Even if you pump and dump this would still help to maintain supply.

You have my sympathies you must feel so torn but I think that if you have to feed a mixture of expressed milk and formula for the times you can't be with your baby then it's not the end of the world and your baby will not suffer for it. I wish you all the best and hope for a happy resolution to this horrible time.

fwiw I mix feed with Cow and Gate

Massaging whilst pumping can significantly increase how much you get. I'd say you'll need to pump while at the hospital or supply will be affected and you might get sore.

Cartons of formula are hugely easier when you're only using a bit and then you don't need to worry about making it up correctly. You have 24 hours to use an open carton. And unopened cartons can sit in the cupboard as back-up.

Be aware your LO may want to comfort suck and gets through a bottle too fast. They need to comfort suck more when Mum isn't there. Dummies can help - our daughter first had one in SCBU for pain relief and comfort = so don't dismiss them straight off.

A Medela Calma teat may help with the fussiness and avoiding her starting to prefer bottles - with it the milk only flows when the baby sucks, so it's more like breastfeeding (and not so easy or fast for them). Whoever feeds her needs to ensure she has a good latch even with a bottle though (we#ve really struggled with confusion so have lots of experience with this now!).

Does the hospital have a maternity ward? Would it be worth asking them if you could pop into the feeding room to feed your LO? Might be a bit less stressful (and less draughty!) then the corridor.

I hope it works out for you and your FIL recovers.