DS 21 weeks old..about to introduce formula to gradually reduce bfeeding....any advice?

[dal21]

Exactly that really.

DS is used to a bottle, has had EBM for his dreamfeed since he was 6 weeks old. I am planning to stop bfeeding when DS is 6 months old and dont want to stop abruptly otherwise my norks will explode.

Questions

1. when is the best time to introduce a bottle of formula? I was thinking for the dreamfeed, or is that the worst time incase he has issues with it?
2. should i have a bottle of ebm on standby? wondering what the likelihood is of him rejecting it (although he is a guzzler so think this is unlikely)
3. what symptoms should I watch out for that would point to him having any sort of reaction to it?
4. Finally - he is being weaned (yes I know 26 weeks is guideline - have consulted GP etc. so am fine on the weaning early front) - but would introduction of formula on top of weaning be too much or have people weaned on Baby rice mixed with formula without any issue?

Sorry for all questions - have arrived at this decision after much consideration and just want to make sure I am not missing something out...

anyone? if not, guess am good to give bottle tonight and see what happens!

tiktok will be able to help you on this one I think

In my very limited experience, most babies make the transition from EBM to formula with no trouble at all.

If he's used to having a bottle at the dreamfeed, I would replace this with formula one night, or you oculd do half and half, I tihnk that's what I did. If there's no cows milk allergy in the family, it's unlikely to cause a problem.

I think I replaced a breast feed with formula every 3/4 days to avoid engorgment, and had phased breast feeding out completely within 2-3 weeks. Had a couple of leaky days but no pain.

But I'm no expert, just telling you what I did with my DS

da121, there are no rules Most babies transition just fine, especially the ones who are ok with the bottle. As you say, it's best to do it gradually, and with full bf, one feed every few days is easily fast enough. Intro whichever time you feel is convenient for you.

I am sure people do wean onto formula at the same time as baby rice, but I can't see why you would feel this was somehow better than just waiting a little longer...common sense suggests that a few babies are going to react to the double whammy change in diet, or at least appear to do so, and why be on pins in case your baby's gonna be the one?!

Is there a rush to get him onto solid food? Or a strong preference for baby rice?

And is partial breastfeeding deffo not an option for you?

hi everyone

thanks jojay for your advice. thanks tiktok also. you have both reassured me.

Tiktok - re. the partial breastfeeding - tbh, am slightly to admit it - am 99.9% ruling it out due to selfish reasons. am leaving my mind open and will see how (a) DS gets on with formula and (b) how i feel about dropping feeds, but am pretty sure would like to stop completely.
would like my body back for a while before embarking on ttc for DC2....terrible i know..

(not terrible, dal )

thanks kink.

Hi Dal21, my DD is 20 weeks old and I have just moved her onto formula. At first I bought SMA gold which she totally refused, her face screwed up and she would dribble it out of her mouth. I changed to Aptamil (when I tasted both the formulas the Aptamil tasted a lot sweeter than the SMA). I began to offer her it by mixing the formula with a little bit of breast milk then gradually reducing the amount of ebm I added in. I replaced her lunchtime feed with the formula for about 4 days then replaced the teatime feed with the formula, then I replaced all daytime feeds with formula but kept feeding her myself at night, we have just completley gone over to the other side now! and all her feeds are formula. She seems to adapted really well, gets excitied when she sees the bottle and doesn't nuzzle me looking for food (little traitor!!) the only difference Ihave noticed is that she has fewer dirty nappies but this doesn't seem to be causing her any discomfort. I have also had no problems with my boobs either i think this is because weaned her off gradually. Good luck - I know how you are feeling.

thanks midget. can i ask. do you miss bfeeding?

DAL21 - my LO really struggled with poos when weaning. Based on that, I would be more inclined to keep up as much Bmilk to ease the transition and avoid the shock of two heavier to digest things.

If you are replacing the dream feed, I think you will know pretty quickly if there is an issue with the formula. My DS2 has had the odd bottle of formula at this time (2-3 times) when I was out and he woke up screaming about an hour afterwards and was very windy. I am assuming it was just the wrong brand and will experiment when we go to formula properly.

We are at 7 months and I am having similar thoughts about gradually reducing. My LO feeds like a demon during the night and hardly at all during the day and so I express a lot during the day which is creating so much extra work.

So am now switching to letting it go with the flow (pardon the pun!) and if he feeds during the day ... fine... if not.. then I won't express as he is taking more solids now and I am hoping he will find his own equilbrium. (And I will finally stop being paranoid about supply!)

I AM worried though that I will miss it. It is a really lovely experience and I feel really privileged to have been able to feed him (DS1 was a complete disaster). I feel very torn .

thanks tiddler.

well i can report back that he guzzled the formula for his dreamfeed, didnt bat an eyelid (felt a little hurt at that one) and was zonked for the rest of the night per normal. So think we are ok - aside from my boobs already being swollen simply from dropping the expressing i do for said dreamfeed!

tiddler - so far, he hasnt been constipated, the food seems to be going through just fine - so far has had baby rice, apple, pear and carrot. Today is sweet potato! Will keep an eye on things and see how we get on - but once boobs settle down, plan is to replace a feed at least once a week with formula.

can i just say. how much of a pain is making formula? does everyone go through that palava every time they have to make a bottle. start to finish needs 40 mins.

Hi Dal

My dd is 16 weeks and I am going back to work mid March. She has been bf exclusively, but I am going to mixed feeding to wean her off the breast and I am planning to drop a feed a week for the next 6 weeks. I have thought long and hard but have decided that mixed now until 6 months is the best thing to keep my sanity...

I gave her a first bottle last night like you at dreamfeed... yep, walloped it back and conked out. Although I was slightly gutted to be awoken at 3.30am for another feed... thought they were supposed to go longer! She normally wakes between 4-5am... She has had no reaction, so will continue tonight.

Agree about making up feeds- it is a faff! Although best method is to do the lot in the morning for the day ahead, everything except adding the formula powder, then it should only take 2 mins when you are ready to feed.

Dal21

I would definitely recommend cutting back on b'feeding slowly. Alot of the books recommend dropping a feed every couple of days but I ignored that and dropped a feed very week to 10 days. I had no engorgement or problems of any kind and dd didn't seem to notice. She was about 8 or 9 months at the time.

Good luck!

Hi again dal21, sorry didn't get back on again last night. Do i miss bf? I did mourn the breastfeeding, it was sad to stop i tried to look at it from a differefnt angle; excited to start a new chapter. It blew me away how wonderful feeding my DD was and I am so proud of what I achieved, it was the right time for us to switch to formula and it is working for us. I think the hardest bit is making the decision, once that is done it is half the battle. Anyhow, it sounds like you have had success with your LO you have a adaptable little boy!

Hi sorry to gatecrash, my dd is 14 weeks and has been mix fed mostly BF on demand and topped up formula. I now feel my milk is dropping and I too am going back to work in April so am taking this as a sign to start introducing more formula. Eventually I would still like to BF in the morning and night. But could anyone give advise on gaps between bottles, since I BF on demand I have no idea how often she should have a bottle, and I would like to get her in a routine. So how mnay bottles a day in what intervals?

clu, am no expert on mixed feeding but if you want to carry on breastfeeding twice a day I would probably wait a little before giving too much formula now.
I know a few people who wanted to mix feed but their supply dropped when they dropped breast feeds and they had to give up breastfeeding.
Not saying it cant be done, but perhaps take it slowly.
Perhaps if you start by swapping one feed a day with formula and do that for 2-3 weeks before dropping another feed it should mean the impact on your supply is not too great.
Your supply won't just drop of its own accord, it will drop if you give more formula, so if you want to keep it up then keep offering your baby the breast too

clu - i would look into supply etc if you want to to continue with some bfeeds, especially if supply is tailing off already. i dont have a concern with supply as i intend to stop completely.

but to answer your question - DS at 21 weeks is bfeeding feeding every 3 1/2 to 4 hours; he feeds at 7, 11, 2.30, 6 and 10. intend to replace those feeds with ff and when he is fully weaned, drop the 10pm feed. hth.

thanks - dal that gives me a rough idea for times between feeds, i think pan I will still offer breast at every whilst am on mat leave and do it as slow as poss .