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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Exclusively breastfeeding???

18 replies

ChocOrange05 · 25/11/2008 18:35

Hi all

I am thinking about giving my son one bottle of formula a day as an evening feed instead of expressed milk - I can express but I find it difficult to find the time in the day to do so and think I would find it easier to not worry about this as well.

However I have heard that feeding formula - even one bottle can negate the benefits of breastmilk. Is this true??

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

OP posts:
giantkatestacks · 25/11/2008 18:40

doesnt negate just badly affects the supply - you need to feed frequently to keep the supply up -am sure someone like tiktok will be along soon to explain it all - search for threads about this - there must be loads.

Original poster
ChocOrange05 · 25/11/2008 20:09

bump.... any wise ladies???

OP posts:
georgimama · 25/11/2008 20:11

I can't see how it could negate the good effects but I do tend to switch off when people start citing long reams of research on here so it may have come up in the past - do you have CAT? Try tiktok on this, she's your man, as it were.

lulumama · 25/11/2008 20:11

it does not negate the entire benefits of breastmilk

it does affect, IIRC, the virgin gut, but you;ll have to search/ google for more info

some, any breastmilk is better than none

why are you wanting to give formula?

if given too early, even one bottle can affect your supply, especially in the early days, your baby needs to go to the breast as often as he wants to get the supply and demand matched up

thisisyesterday · 25/11/2008 20:15

it depends what you mean by negates the benefits. baby will still have plenty of benefits of breastmilk despite formula. however, exclusively breastfeeding IS better for baby.

there is the whole virgin gut issue for a start

see here

and here

and as giantkatestacks says, it can affect supply. how old is your little boy? if you're in the early days then even one bottle of formula can adversely affect supply unless you pump over the missed feed, which kind of makes it pointless?

thisisyesterday · 25/11/2008 20:16

lol lulumama, seriously x-posts there!

lulumama · 25/11/2008 20:23

great minds

Original poster
ChocOrange05 · 25/11/2008 20:36

Thanks guys - I am going to read the links. He's only 2 weeks old so its early days yet but I am finding it quite tough at the moment and would like to take off a bit of pressure by having DH doing an evening feed so I can get to bed a bit earlier.

As DH is now back at work I don't have so much time in the day to express enough for an evening feed - but this might change?? I have been expressing for the past week for 20 mins a day so I have built up a little supply for a few days worth of feeds. I am not going to introduce formula yet - will wait a little while to see if expressing supply increases...

OP posts:
NotQuiteCockney · 25/11/2008 20:51

Ah, evidence shows that most women who introduce formula before 6 weeks find they stop breastfeeding earlier than they wanted to. If you can hold off until 6 weeks (by which time your supply may well be better, anyway), then things look better.

NotQuiteCockney · 25/11/2008 20:52

Oh, and expressing on one side, while your baby feeds on the other (once you get the knack) can be very productive.

dizzydixies · 25/11/2008 20:53

can you manage to express at the same time as your feeding, its a bit tricky at first but even with my horrible spaniel ear hooters I can manage with some manouvering!

that would free up a bottle for later on?

giantkatestacks · 25/11/2008 21:40

how is your letdown as well? I used to manage to collect 1-1.5 oz in shields over the course of the day feeds and then feed that in the evening - not enough for a feed of course but helps if you're a bit short in the evenings.

I dont think you should be worrying about actual expressing this early (unless its while you feed as others have said) - just continue to feed often.

I think if you introduce ff now you may find it gradually creeps up by stealth - in that cycle of ff/less supply/ not gaining weight/ more ff. That would be a shame and you might regret it in the end.

are you napping when the baby naps during the day?

Original poster
ChocOrange05 · 26/11/2008 07:03

giantkatestacks I am trying to nap when he has his lunchtime one and as he is only waking up once for a feed I get about 5/6 hours which is good.

DH gave him first bottle of expressed last night, it took him a few mins to take it but he did (clever little man ). we are using a Breastflow bottle which seems good. That means I can go to bed at 9 now and get lots more sleep!

Think I will stick to expressing for as long as poss and only use formula if things are getting really tough.

Thanks ladies!!

OP posts:
giantkatestacks · 26/11/2008 11:03

he's sleeping for 6 hours straight in the night?am not sure thats a good or a bad thing...what does everyone else think?

tiktok · 26/11/2008 11:20

Choc - no, of course formula does not negate the antibodies and other good stuff in breastmilk

I am unconvinced personally about the importance of the virgin gut, sorry - for the majority of non-sensitive babies I don't think it will make any difference and there is virtually no empirical research (as opposed to theoretical) about the outcomes for babies who have very small amounts of formula alongside breastfeeding.

However using formula/ebm definitely puts breastfeeding at risk - for a start, it impacts on supply. It can also lead to the mother being very uncomfortable in the short term - her breasts remain full and that in itself may not be fun (leaking, engorgement, blocked ducts, mastitis, abscess, just to paint the worst picture!). Leaving breasts full for hours when the baby is young can mean the 'production line' for milk is not stimulated sufficiently. You can avoid this by expressing at the time you would normally feed the baby but that seems a bit pointless to me

Also, there is a small risk the baby turns off the breast because of the bottle - I see and hear of this happening too often for me to be relaxed about this, and mothers need to know the risk.

Hope this helps!

tiktok · 26/11/2008 11:22

Two week old babies sleeping 6 hours without being fed.....well, it might be ok but for most (probably) it's not. As a one-off, no worries if the baby is thriving; as a regular routine every day

dizzydixies · 26/11/2008 11:31

my DD1 slept 5 or 6 hrs without feeding from birth but she WAS >10lbs and by about 2 or 3wks was sleeping from 10pm till 6am
now am not saying this was most of the time but it was pretty consistant

neither of my other two have done so though and DD2 was >11lbs [meep] so I don't know what was going on there

good luck

NellyTheElephant · 26/11/2008 16:32

I used to get DH to give a bottle of expressed milk at around 10pm in the early days. During the day I would use an Avent Breast Milk collection Shell (bought from Boots) on the breast I wasn't feeding from and would generally get a couple of oz from that over the course of the day and then I'd express at 9pm ish before going to bed. That meant there was easily enough for the feed.

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