How to breastfeed colostrum only for a few days before changing to formula?

[ammmmmo]

Hi everyone,

I’m pregnant with my second - first time round I breastfed for about 4 weeks and then changed to formula, as I just simply could not carry on. Please keep this a judgement free zone before I carry on!

My second is due in June, I will have an elective C-section so will be in hospital for a few days again.

I would really like to give this baby my colostrum, and also breastfeed for the convenience for being in hospital and not needing to worry about sterilising bottles etc. However I can’t for the life of me figure out how best to do this..

Do you harvest all colostrum prior to the birth and only use that for the first few days? Or do I breastfeed on demand after birth and give colostrum that way?

If I am only in hospital let’s say 3 days, would my actual “milk” have even come in by then? Or would it be a case that when I got home and changed to formula, this would transition pretty well?

And finally do you think there is likely to be much nipple confusion / reluctance to take a bottle after just a few days?

Any light shed on this would be great, I just can’t think how to do it all. Any past experiences would be great.

If you're in the UK and on the NHS you'll likely be out of hospital in about 24 hours, maybe a bit longer but not 3 days (unless there were issues) so your milk won't have come in before you get home.

Some women don't actually produce colostrum prior to birth, but if you do then you can try to harvest it. You can also just give baby the breast and have them latch on and feed colostrum on demand.

The latter would be easier, but it might be good to harvest if you can and then you have a back up.

I plan on giving colostrum and then switching to formula as well. I'm just going to offer the breast but have ready made formula as a back up.

My advice is to feed naturally for as long as you are able then switch to formula, perhaps even consider combi feeding. With 2 kids the convenience of breastfeeding and being more confident second time around might make you want to feed for longer anyway, I found it so much easier with my second

I did this my accident. I breastfeed for 7 days before stopping as my milk didn't come in. This was my second and it was a emcs. He latched straight away so just fed him myself while at hospital. I did take a starter bottle set in (6 back of disposable bottles and milk). I did use one on the first night as I was exhausted post section and just wanted to get some sleep and it settled my son but he was happy to be on the breast. I gave him one bottle a day as my milk wasn't coming in but he had colostrum the rest of the time.

At day 7 I gave up mainly as my baby was continually feeding and my milk wasn't coming in and was struggling post cs but he happily switched to bottles at that point.

And I was out 36 hours after surgery. I encouraged the staff by asking what I needed to do to get out. It was lock down and second baby so they were happy to discharge quickly

Just breastfeed until you’re ready not to - if that’s 3 days before you switch to formula then absolutely fine and the baby won’t get nipple confusion

What to expect when you're breastfeeding... and what if you can't by clare blame cook.

Really great book above. Re colostrum, you can get some in advance and freeze. I did. You can also just bf the colostrum in hospital. Nipple confusion not an issue in first week or two.

Is there a reason you will be in hospital 3 days? I was out the next morning after my elective.

Either way, milk tends to come in around day 5, so if you feed for the first 3 days, that will be Colostrum. If you're worried about feeding difficulties immediately after birth (can happen with section), then you could harvest Colostrum before birth to give as a top up, but this would usually be alongside direct feeding. You can get small syringes and hand express in the last couple of weeks. Don't worry if you only get a few drops, it's highly concentrated and babies tummy is tiny. If you don't harvest, just feeding directly will also be fine, they'll get the benifit either way.

Why not just see how it goes, and have formula in at home so you can switch whenever you feel done with breastfeeding. Every feed you give will be a bonus but baby will also thrive on formula, so just go with what feels right at the time.

Hi! Congratulations!

I did the same with my second and will also with my third. Bfing just wasn't for us. Baby #2 I breastfed on demand in the hospital, though thanks to the circumstances of his birth (very fast accidental home birth) I was still in theatre being stitched up so his very first milk was actually formula! Once I was out I fed him on demand (he was quite happy to latch even after having had a tiny formula bottle with a teat already in it) until I felt I didn't want to/couldn't carry on any longer. My partner had sterilised some bottles and we used ready made formula while in hospital - if we'd had to stay any longer I would have sent the used lot home with him and he would have brought fresh. We were there Saturday morning to Monday afternoon. Baby was fine!

Forgot to add - my milk didn't come in until after we'd already gone home but he was on formula by then.

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful advice! I feel like I’m over complicating it!

To those asking why the 3 days in hospital - that’s how long i stayed in post c-section with my first, but he was emergency and it all went to pot, so I guess I just assumed that was normal! But I guess if the elective goes better then I can be out sooner - which is great to know also!