@apa Please give formula! I was discouraged to supplement and feeding would take over an hour. Baby’s weight was dropping and then one day I gave her 2 ounces of formula and she guzzled into down within 10 minutes ! I felt awful I had waited weeks to give my child food because I had some fantasy that being a good mom meant EBF. No, being a good mom means putting your child’s needs first
Remember that the formula industry invests billions dollars into research trying to make it as close to human breast milk as possible. And while it’s not the same, there is a whole generation ( me, my siblings, my husband and his siblings) who are completely formula fed and we all turned out fine.
@apa I was in the same position as you. I personally felt like I had not exhausted all options before formula. I started a strict pumping schedule for a week of 15 mins every 2 hours and only bottlefed the baby. This gave me the exact number of oz the baby was actually getting in a day. It also helped me narrow between supply issue or latching issue. In my case it was a latching issue so I only BF for 1-2 feedings now and rest is all bottle fed. For a supply issue, continue pumping until you reach your desired supply rate for a day. Since you are only 5 weeks, your supply should ramp up pretty quickly. Monitor for a few days and see if you can spot an increasing trend in your supply. If not, then at that stage you can seriously consider formula while you figure out why your supply isn't increasing.
@apa If you want to check how she is feeding off your supply maybe you can arrange to do a weighted feed with a lactation consultant? I've not done one myself but I've seen them talked about in the forum.
No matter what, ruling out/making sure baby is fed is top tier important so make sure you are doing whatever you need to get the nutrients into her. Also, using formula, donated milk, or pumped/expressed milk may not mean the end of your journey. Babies can still bf while combo feeding to get the bf benefits and if things improve you may be able to switch from combo back to ebf.
@apa I had a terrible postpartum recovery at first (excruciating headaches due to CSF Leak and then preeclampsia) so I got readmitted to the hospital. My son’s first pediatrician appt they said he was still losing weight after the initial post birth drop. They suggested formula and I was in so much pain I stopped breast milk altogether. He started gaining weight and eventually I started pumping. Now he eats exclusively breast milk. You don’t hav to give up breast milk if you start supplementing. But having a full baby also made it so much easier to attempt breastfeeding because my baby was happier.
@apa It is ok to feed formula if needed. I struggled with supplementing myself. I decided to do research and select the best formula based on ingredients. My biggest deal breaker was corn syrup.
My baby is gaining weight like crazy combo feeding now. I switched formulas to happybaby organic sensitive and his belly is doing so well.
I don’t know when I’ll stop combo feeding but I feel so much less stress doing two.
Listen to your doc because this is a situation of fed is best.
@apa Don’t worry, it’s not black and white when it comes to deciding food choices for baby. I also had to supplement during the early weeks because of slow weight gain. I pumped to replace the supplement, within a few weeks I could go back to ebf. My baby is now almost 5 months and thriving on ebf. We supplemented till 7/8 weeks and then we ebf. It’s okay, you can do it!
@apa I didn’t thoroughly read through all of the other comments but I’m sure everyone has great advice. I had a similar thing happen and was advised to top up after every feed with my own breast milk. I watched my husband give him a bottle of one oz as I pumped the same amount in that time and thought, this is crazy.
My son wasn’t fussy though, so I felt more comfortable abandoning this advice and trying something different.
I essentially took to my bed for a few days with my son and nursed him as often as I could and it seemed to have triggered him to cue me more often for hunger and he’s now back on track with his weight gaining.
Working with a lactation consultant as well really helped, so I highly recommend that if you can.
@apa Supplement and work on your supply. This doesn't mean you have to stop breastfeeding but it does mean you have to feed your baby and she's hungry. You can nurse and then give a bottle after and pump to stimulate supply. You still have time to establish your supply.
Feeding your baby is morally neutral. The best for your baby right now is to be fed.
I would also see if an LC can meet with you and maybe talk about oral motor eval.
@apa You’re a good mom OP in a tough situation. I would breastfeed then offer a formula bottle (using paced feeding) and then pump.
I triple fed (nurses directly, pumped and fed the pumped milk) for about 10 days to increase my supply around 2 months. But at this early case I would start supplementing asap while you work on your supply and get into your pediatrician
@apa There can be other reasons why the baby isn't gaining like an iron deficiency but supplementing isn't the end of your breastfeeding journey. It's a journey not an all or nothing.
@apa I supplemented with formula during the first few weeks to help with weight gain, and I pumped often and still put my son to my breast to keep my milk supply! We are now almost 4 months out and he is exclusively breastfed!
@apa This for me would be a moment to put aside my ideal plans and focus on what baby needs at this time. Supplementing does not need to be forever, and even if it is, at least baby is fed, healthy and content. Try to look from another perspective.
To ask for extensive tests (which likely would involve painful blood draws, awful to go through w a newbie) seems like putting the cart before the horse- formula supplement would be a quick answer whether there is even a NEED for testing or if that solves the problem.
Whenever I felt down about having had to supplement with my LOs (low dupply due to later found medical condition), I try to put it in the perspective that formula is a wonderful tool that back in the day could've saved countless lives- to me, it's no different than pregnancy or delivery complications requiring medical intervention, in comparison formula is so easy and may make all the difference for LO.
@apa Have you met with an IBCLC? has she had any blood work done to test for metabolic disorders? Do you get enough dietary fat? Does she struggle at all at the breast?
@apa Are you weighing on the same scale every visit? There can be some variance but according to what you report, baby should be gaining 150-200g weekly and it appears yours falls short, as long as it’s the same scale every time. Have you tried a weighted feed? The ibclc should be able to help you with that to determine how much babe is getting from you. While you supplement, make sure to bf first, then pump after to continue stimulating your supply to keep up.
@apa Your edit is still missing the point. Baby needs fed now, not on Tuesday. Please feed what you pump back to baby via bottle and add some formula in. She needs the milk.
@apa Hugs. My baby is almost 3 months. I just started supplementing with formula after this whole time of breastfeeding and pumping. I pump and breastfeed as much as I can but with the stress of my new job and getting sick 2 weeks ago my supply plummeted.
I remind myself that fed is best. Breastfeed and pump what you can and supplement the rest if extra nutrition is needed. We are not machines and we can’t predict the future of the supply so we have to do what is best for the LO with what we can provide ourselves.
@apa Are you or is her father thin? It can also be genetics. My son is 3 and still breastfeeding and he's small but then again my husband is 5'6 and 100 lbs then I'm 5'9 120 lbs. Also he's a picky eater the doctor didn't say switch to formula. Why because she said look at your husband we don't expect him to be a big boy just want him to gain a little more weight. Since then he gain 6lbs and they said just keep doing what your doing. Just wanted to let you know. Your doing great mama you reached out for help that shows how much you love her. Hope this helps.
