After starting solids is there any reason NOT to introduce a bottle of formula? (health wise rather than hassle wise)

[serengeti]

Hello wise Mnetters

Am about to wean my 5 and half month old dd, and am planning on doing a mixture of purees and then lots and lots of finger foods.

Have fully breastfed until now but really really cannot be bothered to express BM (I have a toddler as well)

Are there any disadvantages to giving a bottle of formula a day once food has been introduced? Not in terms of hassle of bottles etc but re health benefits. I have read all about virgin gut theory etc but surely when eating solids its just another food type?

Am planning to breastfeed as well for at least another year.

Thanks

If you're planning to breastfeed for another year then why bother giving formula?
If you introduce cheese, yoghurt etc as you wean then your baby only needs breast and water to drink.

Healthwise it is better for the development of the jaw and mouth to introduce a sippy cup than a bottle. It is also healthier to keep bfing rather than formula, not because formula is bad, but because BF affords more health benefits.

Why bother? Because I'd like to go out occasionly for more than an hour or two without my dd. Also I'd like to use some to mix with cereal/baby rice.

My question really is not why should i bother? But why should I NOT bother?

healthwise yes better to keep bfing. and introduce a cup soon as you like, no need for bottles.

You can mix cows' milk with cereal from 6 months - even easier than mucking about with formula!

Yes but is there any evidence that it is a dose related effect of breastmilk? And that bottle of formula can be harmful?

I would be doing one bottle of formula (if she takes it) and then the rest breastfeeds. Currently she has about 7 BF in 24 hours (no routine whatsoever)

in fact we may give it in a sippy cup so the issue is not the mode of delivery but the contents!

ruddynorah intend to keep bf'ing for as long as poss.

Bf my son 'till he was 2.

I don't think the person who said 'why bother' was saying it as you took it.

I wouldn't bother either. If you want a night out then go for it. From 6 months they can manage on food plus any breastfeeds that you CAN be bothered with iyswim. I think I cut down to 3 a day at that age and never replaced them with formula, but with cheese, yoghurt, cows milk in cereal and water.

No, there is no reason in terms of virgin gut and what have you - as you rightly saym once they are on solids that has gone. If you are happy for her to have dairy then she can have formula. You might just find it is not necessary though; once she eats a reasonable amount of solid food then she might just be happy to be fobbed off with a biscuit or something until you get back.

My ds was bf weened at 5 months and is still being bf now. However i introduced a bottle (7 months)at about 11pm of the Hipp night time milk to help him sleep through. He was too sleepy for a bf dream feed at that time so he would wake around 3 am and again at 5.

I wondered the same as you even though he was eating food it seemed daft to not give formula. However, I only introduced the bottle for this specific reason. If it's for during the day then I think it's more of a hassle making up a bottle if they can just be bf and you'll have more hassle possibly when you try to go to a cup.

ah sorry angrywasp - that came across badly in my response to shitemum. i was just trying to clarify my question.

Oh my god give her a bottle if it will make your life easier!

Do not worry about it at all!

(or a cup! what I meant was give her formula once a day if it gives you a break)

thats kind of what i think drivingmecrazy (whos drivinyou crazy BTW??)

am very very pro BF, aand extended BF but the odd bottle/cup of formula is not so bad? (realise on a political level/marketing etc its a whole different point)

No idea but I am doing the same as you.
I am too tired to express much, DD2 takes loads of feeds and sometimes I just want to go out.
DD2 is nearly 6 months and we are doing BLW - she has started picking up food and gumming it a few days ago. I really can't see in that context that there is much reason not to give a bottle. It is to make things more convenient for me, DD2 doesn't mind the taste, she was having a bottle (of EBM) before, she is having things other than BM anyway...

Don't see the point tbh. Baby rice wise - all you need to do is hand express a tiny amount, it only takes a minute or so. As for going out, I have been away for two separate nights and have just expressed and frozen over the course of a week. To me it would just be extra hassle that isn't necessary, especially if you're dealing with a toddler as well!

sorry just off to feed dd so won't be replying for a while...

I don't see why the odd bottle is seen as extra hassle.

Take clean bottle, snip off top of carton, pour formula, feed baby. Not much faff really.

serengeti have you considered oatmilk? If you get Oatly - the one with calcium (not the organic one), it is very nutritious and babies love it (tastes much more like breastmilk than formula or cow's milk, I'm told). I didn't like the idea of ds having cow's milk early or formula, so we mixed cereal with this and when I stopped bf at 13 months, we gave him oatmilk, too. I did express until 13 months, though (for while I was at work) and it is not fun to express, so I hear you on that.

because its 6 or 8oz less breast milk your LO will be getting each day

and BM will continue to be the main source of calories for another year or so - the food stuff is just playing

so is there evidence for a dose related effect that you know of??
totally aware of food fun till one etc, milk being main source of calories.

a small amount of formula is it in any way harmful?

just to point out again the question is not about hassle/ease of expressing etc etc but about detrimental effect of small amount formula per se in a baby eating solids

Yes, there is evidence of dose related effects of breastmilk, certainly at younger ages. Although that might be 'dose' as in number of months of breastfeeding = longer duration of protective effects in relation to infections after breastfeeding cessation. I can't remember offhand if the research covers older babies, or the volume of breastmilk consumed per day (tricky to measure!). It wouldn't be a huge stretch to think that an effect is likely even if there's been no actual research. Having said that, I would guess the biggest difference is some breastmilk versus none. There is also evidence that the dose per day of immune components remains relatively constant even as volume consumed per day decreases. So, with toddlers who are weaning off breastmilk, the immune components become more concentrated in the smaller volume of milk they're consuming. It's late now so can't look up links tonight. Will try to remember to come back to this though.

Tbh, if you just want a break then once they're having some solids lots of babies will manage fine for a few hours with snacks and a drink of water and make up the breastmilk when you return.

There are valid points above about dental effects of bottles too, but then at 6 months plus, a cup is an option as pointed out.

Brollyflower thats really interesting thanks
would love to see links of you have a minute.

it would be a cup rather than bottle - my son took a doidy cup from about 7 months