Advice on which formula for mixed feeding- is it worth it? Should i express?

[MrsVidic]

Hi,

My DD2 is 8 weeks and is bfed exclusivley- dd1 i bfed until she was 1 and i intend to do the same with dd2. However, DD2 will not take a bottle, dummy or anything apart from breast. I am going back to work at 6 months and have my first keep in touch day in december.

I am getting wprried she wont take a bottle and to be frank all of the palava of expressing when she wont take it is getting me down. So I'm thinking of buying ready made formula to try to get her to take the bottle and doing it regularly (once a day) in hope she takes it- I cant do this at the moment as I have a really strong let down which gets worse when I express- then results in dd1 gagging on her feeds for the folowing day.

So which formula is best- I am drinking lactose free milk as she had colic until I switched. So is there a lactose free formula?

Also Im finding it really psycologically draining as I know I cant get a break for more than an hour as she feeds so regularly and wont take a bottle- any tips?

Thanks- sorry for the rant!

Which bottles are you using? And does she refuse to put the teat in her mouth or is she pushing it out after a few seconds?

As for the formula, I know there are hypoallergenic ones but think they need to be prescribed. Not sure though.

I'd stick to the expressed milk until she takes the bottle though. Introducing both bottle and formula at the same time might be too much of a change and harder for your DD to accept.

were using tommee tippee closer to nature

9/10 babies I know who have initially refused a bottle have taken MAM teats. They are on the Mothercare website.

I found them to be too big and DD disnt know what to do with it but some people swear by them.

Try NUK latex teats. Bfed babies tend to prefer these. Only buy one just in case she doesn't take to it. But don't keep swapping and changing as it will get confusing. Once you choose a brand, stick with it.

She is only 2 months now and things will be very different when she is 8 months.

I wouldn't put you (and her) through all the hassle of trying to get her to take a bottle and introduce formula - which may cause her health problems - when it may turn out to be a 'non problem' in half a year's time!

Even if she doesn't take to a bottle then, she can have food and water from a cup when she's away from you.

I wish I could turn back time and not waste the last 3 months of my mat leave by getting stressed and worried about the same thing

ps in answer to your actual question .

At 6 months she can have fresh whole milk as long as it's not her main drink and she's still bf. It tastes MUCH nicer than formula. Safer too.

Try any bog standard bottle and teat - and stick to it. I did all the chopping and changing trying to find the 'perfect' teat until HV suggested I wasn't giving DS chance to learn with one.

In the end he just went to cups and was quite happy to wait for me for a bf!
I was so glad I carried on cos it made the separations much easier

Mine was one of those babies who wouldn't take a bottle, and I had to go back to work at 6 months, so of course worried and worried about it for the whole of my maternity leave.

The day came for me to return, and she still had never taken a bottle. So as you can imagine, I was more than a bit panicky about going. The childminder offered her the bottle (of EBM), she grabbed it, had a bit of an explore, eventually got it into her mouth and was very surprised to discover that dinner was served!

As a PP says, older babies are totally different - by that age they are exploring everything and can easily work out a bottle by themselves. No need to make BF harder for yourself at this early stage!