formula feeding - how much is too much

[booboobunny]

i have a 2 week old bb who i am having to formula feed as i can't meet his feeding needs and his constant need to feed has left me in some serious pain. i'm not happy about it at all, but attempting to bf was making us both unhappy, at least this way it's only me who's struggling. my problem is that i've no experience of ff a newborn as i bf my daughter. i am really worried as we seem to exceed the recommended intake levels on the side of the carton. when ispoke to my health visitor she said that i should feed on demand so i am treating it the same way as if i were bf, as she also says the calorific content is pretty much the same as bm. i haven't mentioned though that we are exceeding the recd levels. does anyone know whether this is totally the wrong thin to do or if it works the same way as bfing and yoou really do feed them when they are hungry - which in our case is just about all the time..

I'm no expert on ff newborns, but two thoughts come to mind - firstly, did you consider mixed feeding, i.e. some breast, some formula? To take the pressure off you a bit but to still have some of the benefits and self-regulating amounts of breast?

if that's not an option, I would just be careful to give little and often and not try to make him finish the bottle. I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along in a minute.

booboo, sorry to hear about your unhappy bf experience. I wonder if your baby's apparent need to feed all the time is because he would like the closeness and comfort, not the milk? There is nothing to stop you putting him to the breast and not expecting him to latch, but just to 'be' there for comfort and snuggles - which you might both enjoy. Of course if he appears hungry then you need to give him the formula, but it may be he needs a chance to have other ways of being soothed....breastfeeding gives this easily, as the baby just hangs out at the breast not feeding very vigorously and gets the important contact and cuddle, whereas a formula fed baby doesn't have quite so much control (he has to keep on sucking, or push the bottle out, and then the usual thing is to think he is 'finished').

Just a thought!

If you want to return to full bf, then we can also help you here

i would really like to bf him but i think it may be too late already. i think the last time i tried was monday and it still caused me lots of pain and left him really unhappy. and i stil had to top him up afterwards. when i spoke to the midwife who came round later she said i should probably make a choice about whether to bf or ff as i said i just wasn't able to sit tryin to get enough milk down him for 2 hours only to ff in the end anyway, as my daughter is only 16 months old and simply won't understand why she's suddenly getting no attention (i had wanted to bf at night and bottle feed - formula or ebm - in the day). that said if there is a way to still do it i'd like to try as i feel terribly guilty for not sticking with bf. but is it too late? my sil told me today that there was no way of getting the milk to come back one it's gone which as made me feel awful.

Aggghhh....your SIL is so wrong!

You can 'relactate' - and many women have done so, though not always fully, and not always easily, and some of them are here on mumsnet.

There is one who did it after a much longer gap than yours but I can't remember her name, sorry.

If you put 'relactation' into the messages search you'll come up with some info.

You also might find it useful to call one of the bf helplines and actually speak to someone.

Basically, relacatation involves stimulating the breastmilk supply massively, by lots of expressing and/or feeding.

But read more and then think....and in any case, you can always put your baby to the breast/offer skin to skin without trying to latch, just for the comfort for both of you. Lovely

thanks i'll do that. i have no problem with expressing in the day time to build up the supply but just can't be sitting with an increasingly frustrated and cross baby for hours, ignoring my daughter and eventually topping up with an almost full formula feed anyway. i'll search and see what comes up. feeling much better now as i also feel i can control things more, re: excessive feeding if we're giving him bm either directly or from a bottle. thanks

I have ff since 2 weeks. Ds is now 12 weeks old and I still feed on demand. I make up more than I think he will need and he tells me when he's had enough by spitting the bottle out. If you intend to continue with ff then use the formula tub as a guide.

Good luck with trying to go back to bf if that's what you choose. I had the same problems with constant feeding and pain and unhappy dc1. I really wanted to go back to bf but dh wasn't very supportive of it. I hope it works out for you.