Help with formula feeding!

[Sophster05]

Hello! My little one is 7 weeks old in couple days, I have breast fed him with nipple shields as too painful but there not the easiest to use when out, I'm wanting to express and also use formula, I don't have enough milk to express all his feeds
We have tried to introduce formula before but it doesn't seem to get on with him, we've used altamil, cow and gate anti colic/constipation and just about to try the Aldi version Mammia, every time we give him formula he seems to be in pain very soon after the feed
If I persevere will his tummy get used to the formula?
I hate to see him in pain

Any help much appreciated!!

Hey, congratulations! I breast fed only for a week or so then went onto formula, so I cant really relate on the breastfeeding front unfortunately. But, my son looked like he was uncomfortable but because they're so little they just need regular winding. I used the cow and gate anti colic, obviously your choice of what milk you think is best. We used gripe water every now and then, cycle his legs to help pass wind, hold him up for a while after a bottle and he was fine. Perhaps you could slowly introduce the formula, upping the amount of bottles as the days go by and see how he gets on. The only thing I would suggest is not to chop and change the formula as this will give them a bad tummy. If you're worried still then just seek some advise from your health visitor or doctor. Best of luck x x

I would say to just ensure that you do a good amount of winding after each ounce or two of the bottle. They take in a lot more air from a bottle than from the breast.

I breastfed my DS for a couple of weeks then I went to formula because breastfeeding was agony for me and my nipples were bleeding all the time. Even with help from the midwife, this didn't improve at all. I found that I had to wind my DS after every ounce when he was weeks old. Once he got to 2-3 months, he was able to take the whole bottle and just be winded half way through and at the end. Sometimes you need to rub and pat their back for a good 3 minutes or so until they burp and then that's the wind out. You probably know this of course and do it but it maybe needs done more?

Hi there, that's definitely not a normal reaction.
Have you considered he may have cows milk protein allergy? I also breastfed my son but at 7 months I was ready to move to formula but when trying to introduce formula and during weaning we got the exact same symptoms. Ended up seeing a Dietitican drop-in at local weigh in centre and they suggested it could be CMPA and gave us a tin of prescription only formula to trial which is for babies with an intolerance to the protein found in cows milk, and avoid dairy when weaning and his symptoms immediately went away. We ended up at the allergy clinic as he presented symptoms of other allergies when weaning and It turns out he has delayed CMPA. It's HUGELY common in young babies but the vast majority grow out of it by the time they're a year old. It often isn't discovered in breastfed babies until weaning / trying to move to formula as most babies with CMPA can tolerate a small amount of dairy through breastmilk.
I would recommend not trying any other formula for now as clearly something isn't sitting right with him. Find out when your local dietician drop-in clinic is, and talk to them about your baby's symptoms. I suspect they will also give you a tin of formula to trial and see how you get on with it.

On a separate note - if you choose to continue breastfeeding, it will get easier and less painful I promise you. I had sore, cracked bleeding nipples for 2 straight months and visited the feeding clinic many times begging for help. We had no latch issues etc, I just had sensitive nipples
If you really want to breastfeed just persevere, it's worth the pain and discomfort (it was for me anyway) because once it gets better you'll forget it ever felt painful in the first place. Nipple shields help, and also I would recommend not wearing a bra at night (or anytime you're at home and don't mind walking around topless!!!) and let your nipples breathe. Keep up the nipple cream and try to power through.
Best of luck xx

Hey, first of congratulations 🥰.

Well I had a similar experience where my son was colicky and screamed in pain. To the point where we panicked and kept switching formula from each brand to comfort etc.., like yourself.

Eventually my son got used to the cow and gate BUT I found the mistake I was making was that, even though I was winding him, I was probably lying him back down TOO soon after his bottle and needed to wind him more.

It's sooo stressful my heart goes out to you, it's awful seeing them in pain. Can your L.O. Take infacol at this early stage? I can't remember myself when you can give it. X

Thanks for all the advice!
He's always suffered from constipation and trapped wind and it's hard to know if he's crying about that or the formula, he had 2 bottles of formula yesterday and didn't seem too bad, he's had 1 today and he's really bad tonight! We cannot comfort him! We do give him infacol but unsure if it's doing anything
How do you know if it's a lactose intolerance or just getting used to the formula?
Also with us introducing formula, how long would his system take to get used to it?
I would love to breast feed without the nipple shields but he can't latch on properly and I don't have enough milk

@Sophster05
You will make enough milk, but to do that the baby needs to stimulate your supply. So you have days of feeling like there’s not much there, but having baby on the boob all the time tells your body to make more. Every time you formula feed you will make less. What you can express bears no relation to what you produce (I express bugger all but BF successfully).
Nothing wrong with formula feeding if bf not working for you but if you want to continue to BF then you need the latch sorting. Who have you asked for support? That’s your issue with supply. Is there a local breastfeeding support group? Your HV should know? Outs is excellent but I know it varies by area.

Lactose intolerance is rare and CMPA isn’t all that common, it often has other symptoms too like nappy contents etc and poor weight gain.

@Megan2018
We do have a local breast feeding group but it's only once or twice a month, I'll try and get to the next one, when I have previously bf the pain was too much and I blistered which was horrible
I just can't seem to get him out of pain which is the worst thing
When it comes to breastfeeding he just always seems hungry after he's fed which makes me think there isn't enough there
I've spoken to my HV and explained everything and she suggested I express and formula but I'm like you I can't express enough and definitely won't be enough in the bottle to fill him!

If he can’t latch on then you can use expressing to stimulate your supply but you will need to do it every 2-3 hours (with a proper electric pump) like clockwork to ensure your milk comes in sufficient quantities. If he’s able to breastfeed using nipple shields then keep that going - but try a variety of brands to ensure you get the best fit to avoid infection.

@Sophster05 the hungry after feeding is normal at 7 weeks in bf babies. You pretty much have them on the boob constantly as they are growing, there’s little break - awake time is almost all feeding. That is what keeps your supply up. It is very different to FF.
I’d try the group, there must be a reason for the latch issues. Probably tongue tie? Your HV sounds a bit rubbish though.
Obviously don’t push yourself to BF if the latch can’t be resolved, but it does sound like you just need proper help with BF to see if you can.
Does your BF group have a Facebook group or similar? Mine has a weekly meeting but is always online for help day and night.

I did mixed feeding and had to use shields for the first 3 months. Was impossible to get a good latch without them.

Then, one day we had a breakthrough and the shields were gone. Slowly upped my supply, dropped pumping because I hated it and only had 1 bottle of formula each evening.

I would just try maybe once a week to see if they will latch without the shields and you might be very pleasantly surprised one day!

Also, I stopped bf entirely at 8 months because of going back to work and it did take a little while for DS tummy to get used to the formula. He especially didn't get on with the aldi one unfortunately, but has been fine on cow and gate since. I don't think chopping and changing the formula will be helping. Maybe stick to one and try and introduce a little more every couple of days.

I also became a pro at using shields out the house, noone would have noticed what I was doing! Have you tried using them out and about?

@Megan2018
I can't find a Facebook group for them so I'm not sure if they have one
I don't think he has a tongue tie because he sticks his tongue out a lot but I'm going to ask the doctor when I see him on Wednesday for my 6 week check although I'll be over 7 weeks then! Yea the HV isn't great, I ask her questions and she doesn't really know
@GrumpyHoonMain
I have an electric pump because I thought I'd try expressing all my feeds, that didn't work for me because I couldn't express enough and I
Even tried expressing every hour and again I don't get much and it didn't increase my production either, the nipple shields are fine but I can't really use them when I'm out and about
He really hasn't got on with formula at all so far so I'm pretty much at a loss
Do either of you know how to help with constipation or wind? I can't lay him on his back

Also because I'm not keen on my HV can I contact the midwives again even though iv. Even discharged from them?
Sorry for all the questions I just have no idea what to do!!

I had to use nipple shields whilst I breastfed, can I ask what is the issue with them when out and about?
I found them a faff but i found wearing baggy tops and a maternity bra helped as I could pull my top out, undo the bra and pop the shield on, then lift my top up enough to latch the baby on. It's a struggle when they're screaming and the shield won't go on but once I was successfully feeding without them I still had the issue of having to squeeze my breast into a shape that she could cope with so not much difference in terms of faff.

@Wingingitsince2018
Hi!
I haven't used the nipple shields out yet, I usually have to put a bit of breast milk round the edge to make it stick else I find the sides don't stick on whilst he's feeding which can be a right faff! We have given him a few days with each formula then if he doesn't get on with it we give him a good break before we introduce the next one to make sure it's out his system, he's having such trouble with wind and constipation

If he can't be laid down can you pop him so he's on your shoulder and do bicycle legs that way? I'd also recommend baby massage, some of them are really good for helping movements happen - we had a few babies poop during our session 😂
I tried infacol, dentinox, and gripe water. I found gripe water helped the most but my friend swears by infacol.
Have you also tried different teats if you're going to stick with combi-feeding? Tommy tippee worked best for us, with avent a close second. Poundland are the same as avent. I've used mam anti-colic with other babies which has helped them massively.
I also forgot to mention that I expressed and in the beginning I could produce loads of milk, after a few weeks I could barely produce an ounce through expressing but baby was satisfied by the breast so I was definitely producing enough.

@namechangingtime
Hi
I haven't tried them out and about before, I didn't know if he was taking in too much air using them and also the HV told me that using them can sometimes decrease milk production?

What shields are you using? I tried boots and mam ones and found mam best as I have large nipples and they also stuck without being wetted whereas boots where much thinner and barely stuck even if sopping wet!

I think they can up production sometimes as baby is drawing more out of the breast than actually taking in (a feed should be finished when there's still some milk left in the shield I was told). Definitely didn't affect mine or my friends supply

@namechangingtime
Thanks, I'll try the bicycle legs whilst I'm holding him up, I have been doing massage, iv been doing it on him everyday to keep everything moving, he's also on lactulose from the doctor to help with the constipation, I know it takes a few days but doesn't seem to be working at all,
we have the mam bottles which we get on really well with
We have tried gripe water but didn't do anything, we have been using infacol but unsure if that also not doing anything, haven't tried dentinox

On the formula front you could try Hipp Organic. Also, are you shaking the bottle too much when making up the feed? If the milk has too many bubbles in it it will give your baby painful wind.

My DD wouldn’t take aptimil, she liked Hipp though, we combi fed. Good luck.

@namechangingtime
I'm using Phillips shields, where do you get mam ones from??
I also got told by the midwife there should always be some milk left in the shields, sometimes there is and sometimes there isn't and when there isn't that's when it hurts

Hipp Organic formula and Dr Browns bottles worked great for my colicky daughter. I wish you well with BF and really hope it works out. My babies were terrible latchers, four weeks of pumping was all I could manage.

Ezpressing is easier for me in the morning. You need time to experiment with the suction settings to find something that works - for me using the lowest setting with breast compressions produces a decent amount. But you won’t get any huge amounts of milk for a whlle yet as your DC hasn’t stimulated supply. Just keep going.

Sounds tough.

You say he’s having trouble with constipation/wind anyway - what are you eating and drinking if he’s mainly bf?

Water soluble fibre in your diet could help this.

Cereals, fruit, seeds all contain water soluble fibre.

Expressing this early on when bf isn’t yet really established rarely works well and for some not at all. My sister bf 2 of hers but was never able to express much at all.

Establishing supply really requires ebf and embracing the cluster feeding. Usually once you’ve done that you can be more flexible about feeding methods if you wish.

Ff it took several trials until we found a formula that suited dd but it wasn’t just the formula it was bottles and teats too. She coped best with the curved bottles and latex teats. It’s very much trial and error.

I’d try hipp organic, it’s slightly more expansive but is great on tummies and a lot softer on their bellies.