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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Part weaning onto formula at 10 months

11 replies

88soph88 · 16/06/2021 14:05

Hi

I'm hoping someone can offer me some advice.

My baby girl is 10 months old, she is a lovely baby who luckily I've had no problems breastfeeding exclusively since birth.
When she was tiny I did pump and store some milk but later found out it had an enzyme in it that meant I'd have had to boil it before storing it and she wouldn't drink it.. therefore I've just fed her directly from me since then. When I've recently tried to pump, I've hardly been able to get anything out and I think it's because my baby is just much more efficient at getting milk out.

Anyway it's left me with not many options to be away from her as I've been the only one who could feed her, and since around 9 months she Is feeding only 2/3 times a day anyway (morning, occasionally afternoon feed and then bedtime).

I now have a couple of nights out coming up where it would be really useful to let someone else do her bedtime and feed. I've got a box of Kendamil 2 milk and wanted to replace her bedtime feed with this, until 12 months when she would go onto cows milk for that feed. I'd still like to give her the morning feed and then the bedtime feed would be replaced with a bottle.

Aside from feeling pretty guilty about this, I don't want to breastfeed her forever although if this goes well I'd give her her morning feed for another 6 months to a year.

Has anyone done similar? Can anyone talk me through replacing the bedtime feed with formula and how to go about this and what the potential issues will be? My baby is pretty chilled and happy and eats a lot of solids and has regularly cow milk in her food so I'm hoping she won't have any issues but any advice would be really appreciated?

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pjani · 16/06/2021 14:09

Do you know she definitely still takes a bottle? If so, you’re free! If not (like me) I wouldn’t miss an evening feed and would just hold on till 13 months when you can swap entirely to cow’s milk.

88soph88 · 16/06/2021 14:12

Hi, Thanks for responding. She will drink water from a bottle as I've kept them as part of her water beaker selection but I don't know if she will until we try to be honest..

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pjani · 16/06/2021 14:14

12 months that is.

pjani · 16/06/2021 14:15

Saw your update… try and give her a bottle of formulae tonight then, and fingers crossed! I shifted my older DC to formula at 8 months, he took the bottle, no problems at all.

DarcyLewis · 16/06/2021 14:17

Why would you feel guilty Confused formula isn’t dirty, she’s not exclusively breastfed anymore anyway so it’s no different to any other food or drink.

88soph88 · 16/06/2021 14:23

@pjani OK I guess we have to try and see what happens. Do you think I need to pump tonight if she takes the formula?

@DarcyLewis I don't think there's anything wrong with formula, I actually think it's amazing there is an alternative to breast milk. I guess I feel guilty as I'm doing this without my babys knowledge? I know that sounds stupid! I do love breastfeeding her I just know I can't do it forever and I feel bad because it's all she's ever known.. even though it's my choice I still feel guilty about it

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pjani · 16/06/2021 15:36

No need to pump if your DC takes the formula! Just go for it and give it a try. Let us know how it goes.

88soph88 · 16/06/2021 19:01

@pjani so I tried... she drank a bit but hardly anything and then just kept pushing the bottle away, don't blame her to be honest 10 months of doing it one way and now it's all changed! I think I'll keep trying every evening but I'll change my plans Saturday so I can be here to do bedtime as usual

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pjani · 16/06/2021 20:34

Something is better than nothing, all you can do is try. Sounds like a plan to still be around if you need to be. You can drop that feed in 8 weeks’ time if you don’t have any luck, you’ve got this! Hope you enjoy your nights out anyway.

FTEngineerM · 16/06/2021 20:39

There’ll be loads of things you do that will ultimately be best for your family as a whole without her knowledge ❤️

Only tincy things I found: paced bottle feeding if you want to have breast and bottle together, so she doesn’t get aggy at your (likely) slower flow more effort boobs. And for the first one or two warm the milk to 37 degrees C and take top and bra off and squish her face against your boob whilst giving the bottle. Worked wonders for us 😂 then as he get used to the new milk he was fine.

88soph88 · 17/06/2021 20:39

@pjani thank you! I'll keep trying and drop the feed when she's a year old hopefully.. appreciate your advice :)

@FTEngineerM thank you, I will try heating the milk and see if that makes a difference! I've always ended up feeling throughout this journey that breastfeeding her was so much easier than every other option so maybe that's just what we will end up doing lol

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