Breast milk and formula

[Anonymous09877]

Hi my baby is breast fed and formula fed but this as serverly affected her bowls she went from 5 explosions a day to litrealy nothing for 5 days so took her to the doctors he sed he wasn't overly concerned and prescribed her nothing 3 days later she became very uncomfortable so took her back and demanded lactlose witch worked staraight away but she then wouldn't poop on her own with out lactlose so had to give her 2.5 every 2 days witch was working but now even the lactlose isn't working she's had 2.5 evryday for 3 days now and still not pood do you think this is down to the formula bcoz B4 I introduced formul her poos was normal for a breast fed baby I have been prescribed supposertries but the though of putting these up tiny baby's bottom is giving me a feeling of abuse it just doesn't feel right 😔 iv tried warm baths bicyclein her legs Timmy and bottom massage warm boiled water nothing is working and she must be so punged up by now her wind smells so bad I just feel so sad for her but I can't stop the formula as my milk supply as dropped to 150mils every 5/6 hours I'm only getting 50mils every 3 hours and that's not enuff for her my freezer stash as gone I try breast feed her on every feed but she's still starvin afterwards so I have to give her top ups of formula

Your post is a bit hard to follow but if you've been given suppositories and medical advice to use them then I think you should use them.

Expressing is not a good way to know how much milk you are making. I could never express more than a few drops but breastfed all of my DC until they were toddlers. Feeding directly from the breast will be far more effective and efficient!

Can you speak to, or even better see in person, a lactation consultant?

How old is your baby? Can you get to a breastfeeding support group or a referral to the infant feeding team in your area?

Her bowels are not used to working as she’s so little she needs time to get used to digesting food and point etc . Look up infant dyschezia - it’s often just a case of time makes things better

*pooing not point

Can you feed baby directly from the breast? Like previous poster said - expressing is not an indication of supply. Try and visit the health visitors to get some support with feeding if you can.

For heavens sake, suppositories are not abuse, they will make your baby feel better.

Was there a reason you started giving formula? If you need to re-establish breastfeeding then speak to your HV and get in touch with your local La Leche League.

Pumping is no indication of supply, a baby is far more effective at removing milk but you need to feed, feed, feed to increase your supply if that’s what you want to do. Otherwise do some research on alternative brands of formula, some might suit your baby better than others.

What formula are you giving, baby? It could be the formula making her constipated. However, your breast feeding and formula feeding so her body is having to digest quicker. Try to stick with the breast for now and see how baby goes

I do feed her from the breast on every feed but afterwards she is still really hungry so was advised to may be top up with formula and pump in-between feeds or supplement feed I have spoken with the infant feeding team and lactation specialist and we have tried lots of things to try build my supply..I never wanted her to have formula but it seemed the only way with top ups for now untill I built supply up I have lactation teas all that stuff I have her on the breast at every feed I normaly have a freezer stash but that's gone now she's topped up with sma only topped up by like 2 Oz nothing more and to supposertries situation if I can help by not giving her them then I'm all for that as my baby is only tiny she was premature so these supposertries look way to big and bulky for her little bottom

As PPs have said pumping is not an indication of your supply. Your supply naturally increases as baby needs (barring any medical issues or physical reasons for low supply) so giving formula is more likely to have a negative impact on increasing supply because baby isn't feeding as much as they need from you.
Are you still seeing a lactation consultant or attending any breastfeeding support if you plan to continue?

Re the suppositories, if a doctor has prescribed them then they're safe. If you're concerns about the size could you ask for an alternative? It's difficult to see your baby in pain. my DD had terrible constipation as a newborn- combi fed as her reflux made bf a nightmare for us both- HIPP formula was the gentlest on her.

Are her poos actually hard and rabbitlike when she goes? Because if they're soft, she isn't constipated. Breastfed babies often switch from going all the time to not going for a week or more once they're about six weeks old.

My 4 month old is completely formula fed and has stopped pooing on her own too for the past couple of months at least. She goes every 5/6 days and we have to help her a lot to go! Doctor and health visitor say it's just an immature bowel but it's still so worrying! So it's likely it is the formula ☹️