BF baby having formula feed to help weight gain - does it work?

[ferfer]

I have a nearly nine month baby who has been exclusively bf. However, due to recurrent full blown mastitis in my right breast I am having to wean off that side and just feed from the left. My baby has always been small and is slightly underweight (has been checked out by dr and all is ok). He hasn't taken to solids very well and since the right breast has gone into retirement he has actually started losing weight despite me giving him extra feeds. Yesterday I started giving him 100ml of forumla a day (as advised by dr) on top of bf and solids. Just wondering, for those who have given forumla to bf babies to help weight gain has it actually helped? And when is the best time to give the baby the extra milk?
Am feeling a bit about the whole thing.
Thanks.

IME, yes it did help but my baby was a lot younger than yours (she was BF & having weight probs at 3 weeks old) so not sure if this would make a difference. I didn't really have a set time for giving her the top up but soon discovered that giving it at about 10pm meant a much more peaceful night's sleep for all concerned!

A feeding expert will probably be along soon to give you more of a low down re your own situation.

HTH

Sorry about the mastitis.

Feeding one sided should be sufficient, especially after these many months of bf. This would mean putting your baby on the 'good' side freq. to build up supply there....I am surprised you have been doing this and still seen a loss in weight in your baby. Are you sure the weight was correctly done? You might expect a 9 mth old baby to plateau a bit in weight and a small loss could just be a wobble on the scales. In any case, one weight reading - if it was just one - is not something to judge from, not with a baby who is this 'old' and who appears healthy.

I don't see formula as the only option in your case. Calorie dense solids would also be useful - banana, avocado, buttered bread. Maybe ask your doc again or see a paed. dietitian for more discussion?

Hope this helps.

Just wanted to say thanks for the responses. DS2 has started to put on a little bit of weight since giving him the extra formula and is eating lots of solids (which I have made as calorific as possible) but is still way below the lowest percentile so my paed has advised me to give him another 100ml of formula a day. I am feeding him a lot on the good breast but it doesn't seem to make much difference. Apparently he is a "nipple feeder" (only just been told this - bit late!)) hence why I kept getting the recurrent mastitis and this may be why the frequent feeding is not building up supply.

ferfer - can you get a second opinion about the 'nipple feeding'?

I don't think breastfeeding would be sustained as long as it is with you if the baby had been nipple feeding for this long...and you would have been sore. It is, however, possible that a better, deeper latch would help him get more milk and help you make more.

ferfer
I have had to combine feed due to a hormonal problem and underperforming boobs. the ff did help with weight gain in both my babies from a young age. I used to give FF after a BF in the morning and mid afternoon and night time

hope things start to get better.