Advice switching from BF to FF

[SJisontheway]

DS is 9 months and I need to give up BF and get him on to formula. He takes a bottle well. Has been having a bottle of EBF most days for months. However, he is less keen on formula. He does take it - just not very much. 3 oz or so is all he takes, 3 times a day. at them moment he still wakes at night and I BF, but I need to stop so would like him to drink more during the day. After a lot of the feeds he gets up a little mouthful afterwards. This is unusual for him. Is it possible he has some intolerance? Should I try other brands to see if they suit him better. Thanks

My DD didn't like formula either. As you say she would have 2-3 ounces a day and when she started on solids she didn't have any really. I just made sure that if she doesn't drink milk she get water and that we give her a variety of foods. As soon as I stopped stressing about how much milk she has, she started taking more. Basically I would offer her milk in the morning, at AM snack time, at PM snack time, at bedtime and in the time if she woke up. The last breastfed she had was at 3am at 10 month. And then she moved on cup.
Also she never took to the bottle but she was very happy with the cup from 4 months. Maybe try offering DS milk in the cup. Maybe he is expecting breast milk from the bottle. Just a though.
Also as I said, my DD woke up in the night because of the breast not necessarily related to how much milk she got in the day. When she started sleeping through (6pm - 5am), I didn't notice any increase in the food/milk intake in the day/evening.

If he is vomiting after formula and this is really unusual for him, it could be a cow's milk protein issue. There are special formulas if this is the case but generally they don't taste great and need to be on prescription as they are v expensive.

YOu could try other brands of standard formula but if it's an issue with cow's milk I am not certain they would be any better.

Is continuing to BF during the night, plus morning and evening, an option? Probaably not but if so it might actually be easier than trying to persuade your DS to drink formula!

Carmen123 - i have just started following a feeding pattern very similar to how you describe above (BF with breakfast at 7.30am, then as a snack at 11am and 3-4pm). My DS also has a BF at 11pm and 3am. I notice you say your DD's last breastfeed to go was the 3am one. Did she ever have a one about the 10/11pm mark? Did she drop the 3am one on her own or did you work out a way of dropping it? We've never got night feeds down below 2 a night and my DS is now 6.5 months...

SJisontheway - last week i experimented with formula at daytime feeds and my DS never took more than 2-3oz when i know

• in the past with expressed milk he drank more per sitting
• and he comfortably has had a full bottle of formula at 7pm

i got confused and returned to BF - but i'm not under any time pressure like yourself. Just to say that drinking small amounts of formula might be normal? but the reflux deserves investigation.

LMFAO!!!! I got a bit mixed up with your abbreviations there ..... my interpretation : BF - Boyfriend , FF Female Friend!!! sorry