Moving to formula feeding

[Mummysarah12]

Looking for advice from other mums as fed up with HVs trying to tell me what to do!

My little one is 12 weeks & due to latch issues, I have exclusively expressed breast milk & fed through a bottle. It has been ok but she has been feeding more & more now & I’m not able to keep up with what she needs. Plus I’m exhausted from all the expressing! So I want to move to combination feeding. I’m unsure how to go about this as I’m worried what changes this will make to my baby & how she will react having only had breast milk until now.
Also, there are so many different brands on formula I have no idea which one to choose.
Can anyone help me with some advice?
My HV just told me to increase my expressing to keep up with her demands but that is just impossible!!!
TIA x

You could introduce formula slowly maybe one feed a day to start with.
As for which to choose watch the channel 4 documentary on formula. Basically nutritionally they legally have to be the same but some brands add in extras.

Did it much later with first but I mixed formula and breast milk and changed ratio gradually from10/90 to 90/10. I figured helped acclimatise to taste.

On brands, you can really only try one and see how buns responds unless you already know of an underlying allergy. I used aptimil as that was what boots had most of. My mum gave me SMA because that’s what 80s mums used!

Hi I had to post on this as I feel for you. Expressing is so hard and once I got to 12 weeks I stopped expressing and packed breast pump away a few weeks later. They are so much more alert at that age it seems a shame to miss it all sat on a pump!
I would agree with pp introduce one new bottle every few days. Keep expressing as well if you can face it but feel zero guilt if you can’t.

All r cognised brands are good I use aptimel and hipp organic but I know friends who love cow and gate.

Good luck and with remember - your baby won’t care at all how she/he is fed. Instead they will care about how much you play with them, take them out and about, love them etc. I wish somebody had said this to me 12 weeks in. Xx

Thank you so much blue2309. I am going to have to start on formula this week & will eventually quit. It has been so hard so feel for you too that you went through it.

I’m worried about switching as my little one is so content & happy & has been doing good stretches at night. I’m worried changing her feeding will change that. Did you notice any change in your little ones behaviour when you switched? Xx

I never breast fed so didn’t switch. However, I tried different formulas. DS didn’t really mind but I know some babies agree with certain formulas and not others so it’s a case of trial and error. I used SMA mostly (it does have more nutrients than others if you look at the table on the back).

In your position, I’d probably try a bottle of formula and see if your LO takes it. If no, then I’d mix with breast milk until they get used to it. If the LO drinks it happily, it probably won’t take too long to switch or mix a lot of formula with only a bit of breast milk.

Hi @mummysarah12 - I didn’t notice any change at all. I remember an anxious moment when he paused when I first gave it to him - and then he guzzled the bottle!
I personally would avoid ‘hungry’ milk as that gave him bad wind - normal 0-6 month is fine.
A GP friend gave me some great advice - giving formula is not like giving chocolate milkshakes every day - it’s highly scientific nutritious stuff.
Whilst i’m glad I expressed for 12 weeks I am equally glad I then stopped. Well done - you are doing an amazing job 😀

Thank you so much for your help @blue2309 I really appreciate it.
I will take the plunge tmw with formula. I keep putting it off but she seems to be drinking more & more that I just can’t keep up :-(
I really want to quit expressing sooner rather than later so fingers crossed she takes to the formula as well as yours xxx

Good luck @Mummysarah12!
Honestly, exclusively expressing for 12 weeks is a monumental effort and achievement - well done! I only every managed it combined with formula and a little bit of breastfeeding (my ds's problem wasn't that he didn't latch on - it was that when he did I didn't know what a good latch was and he caused so much damage I kept on having to go on antibiotics!)
I found when he got to 12 weeks that his little personality started coming out and I just hated being sat on the pump. I ended up really resenting it so it was the right time to pack it away.
Formula is such a useful tool, and as I said above he had no problem at all making the switch. Good luck!