Pumping or formula introduction at 7 months.

[mumma2girlies]

My daughter is 7 months and exclusively breastfed. I pumped with my first daughter for the occasional bottle, but this time around I just haven't had the time/patience/willpower to do it, as it didn't come very easily to me last time.

As a result, she's with me 24/7 which is lovely but I've got to be honest I'm starting to feel a bit trapped....we tried formula in a bottle a few weeks ago and she wasn't interested, so would like to pump and see if she'd take that instead occasionally.

Is 7 months too late to pump? Or to introduce a bottle? Would it mess with my supply etc?

Are there any formulas that are most like breastmilk?

Any tips would be gratefully received, thankyou

Pumping would be fine if you could be bothered. I EBF DS and he never had formula. Add in a pumping session once a day at the same time and your supply will adjust. You can freeze breast milk too.

My twins couldn’t suck properly when they were born (prem) and never breast fed; I pumped for them until they were four months old and it nearly killed me. We mix fed with formula too — no “special” formula just regular stuff.

Baby will be fine with mixed feeding and your supply will adjust whatever you do. Your baby might never take to a bottle (could easily be fine with it but might not) but at that age she might be able to work with a cup.

I’d try a cup at that age, a straw cup or sippy cup. Mine never liked formula so ended up just Bf until she was about 11 months then we gave some cows milk in a cup. Pumping never got much for me and seemed a hassle but could be worth a try.

I had to pump as I went back to work around 7.5 months.

Very important tips that will make or break pumping:

• flange sizes - the standard ones are too big! They purposely make them too big so you have to buy the accessories. Most pumps come with 21-24mm flanges. Most women need 15-19mm flanges. You can buy a cheap measurement tool off amazon. Wrong flange size will mean much less milk output and hurting your nipples.
• nipple cream. Absolutely crucial so that your nipples don't get raw when pumping. I found it slightly increased the output as well.
• best to pump in the morning. Even as an experienced pumper, I honestly got much less after midday, and barely anything after 5pm.

You don't need to build a stash, that's Instagram. You only need one or 2 feeds and then you pump to replace them.

I stopped pumping altogether at 10 months when baby was on 3 meals and a snack. I breastfed morning and evening and a lot more at the weekends or when I was WFH. At this age, your supply is very adaptable. You don't get too engorged and you also don't lose supply by feeding less for a few days.

I'm still breastfeeding at almost 2 and I'm so so happy I persevered as it's incredibly useful (especially as we like traveling!).

I would also work on her taking solids well, it will make you feel a lot less trapped once she's on 3 meals a day. Mine was on 2-3 meals around 8.5 months and it was a game changer.

One more thing, I understand goat milk formula has a closer taste to breastmilk so maybe you want to try that and then ease into normal formula (goats milk is more expensive).

Thanks so much for your replies @Omhaf and @Peonies12, she takes sips of water quite well from her cup, I didn't even think about using a cup for milk!

@LoveToddle4s999thnkyou for your reply. I breastfed my first until 16 months but it was only her I had to think about, it's a different story now having a baby and a feral toddler in the mix which is another reason I'm finding it a bit more stressful 🙈🤣 she eats quite well already, and I'm trying to do 2-3 meals a day where I can (obviously she doesn't always eat much). But all these tips are great thanks. That's good to know about goat milk. Perhaps I'll try pumping during her morning nap, and if I don't get very far I'll see how she takes to goat milk ☺️