One bottle of formula

[radioactiveimagination]

My 4.5 month old has been EBF since birth. He's had a couple of bottles of EBM but otherwise just BF.

DH and I have an evening out planned tomorrow - our first since DS was born. My parents are coming to babysit and I've just checked the freezer and there's only about 100 ml or so of EBM. I am thinking of getting some emergency formula in as I don't really know how much he takes in a feed, but I don't feel great about it. I've read that formula could disrupt the gut flora. Just wanted some advice/perspective really. WWYD?

In a month and a half you'll be weaning, I'm sure the gut flora will cope! Just my view 😉

My baby usually takes about 120-150mls if he has bottled milk. Could you pump a bit more today to add to the bottle you already have?

On formula - yes any formula at all affects the gut flora. I cried giving my baby a small amount at 2 weeks old. But formula is not evil and can be useful to you and the baby.

It’s a decision only you can make, but I’d but a bottle of ready made formula as a back up and try and pump a couple of ounces during the day today. Then baby can have breast milk but you’ve got a safety net Incas it’s not enough.

Don't imagine it will upset her tummy as she will be getting weaned soon anyway and as she is used to expressed breast milk (I assume) she will be fine on the bottle if a little hesitant at the different taste. Perfectly healthy alternative - fed is best and all that. DD has been ff from birth and never had any issues with it but then she's never tried breast milk but we had to use an alternative formula brand one day when the shops sold out of our brand and she didn't even seem to notice the difference. Lots of people combo breast and formula without issues. Even if GPs don't use it, it is always useful to have in house as a back up in case (worst case scenario) your milk dries up before you're ready to stop breastfeeding. Also my mum (midwife) says cow and gate causes the least issues when switching from breastfeeding (I say this while our DD is on aptamil) so recommend using that.

My twins are almost exclusively breastfed, but they’ve had the occasional bottle of formula when I’ve struggled with supply.

Both have been fine, and they are premature and small for their age. I do know how you feel though. I’ve felt guilty every time I’ve given formula. Could you perhaps mix some of your ebm with the formula? I’ve sometines done that, although the main effect is just to make me feel a little better

Absolutely fine, but I would maybe try a bottle of formula first to see how it goes. Formula tastes gross compared to bm and if you’ve never tried it before, it may not go down well and your parents may be left with an unhappy, hungry baby all night.

My babies must be greedy sods @mindutopia They guzzle it down same as my milk

Thanks for your replies everyone. I am going to try to pump some more before we go and the formula will be for emergencies only. If that doesn't go down well we will just have to cut our evening short! Half an hour out of the house without kids would be a massive achievement anyway 

Success! Managed to pump another 50 mls and he took the bottle no problem. No formula needed. So the DH and I got a much-needed night out and as a bonus DS slept better than he has in ages! Thanks again for the replies. Am a happy mummy this morning