Supplementing Formula

[ajacot924]

Hey everyone,
I've been EP for 2 weeks. LO is 3 weeks old. She is gaining weight well and my supply has been enough to feed her plus freeze 12 ounces or so per day. The pediatrician says we may want to give her one bottle of formula per day so she can get used to the taste. He says my supply may not be able to keep up with her appetite once she gets older and she may reject the formula at that point if she is unfamiliar with the taste. Has anyone done this? Opinions on this? Thanks!

[Widget123]

While supplementing with a bottle of formula every day wouldn't hurt, it sounds completely unnecessary to me in your situation. Many people transition from breastfeeding for a few months to bottle feeding with formula, and the most common problem I've heard from them is finding a bottle / bottle nipple LO will like, but EPer's already have that part down. If your supply is going strong, I wouldn't bother with it, at least not now.

[madalynw]

I am all for formula when needed or chosen by mom - my first was a formula baby (supplemented, then 100%, in my mind formula is as good as breast milk) but the reason your doc gave is the dumbest thing I've ever heard on the planet!
If you are freezing 12oz in addition to full feeding then you should be totally fine to provide what baby needs and more for as long as you choose to keep pumping! I am EPing for this baby and I am lucky if I have an extra 3oz at the end of the day. When I started out I didn't even have that...
Sure your supply may diminish over time if not stimulated or what not, but not without reason. If you are telling your body to make that much it WILL make that much.
And even if your supply were to drop by 12oz per day, which is HUGE, you will still have what you need for baby.

Later, if you need to supplement, then think about giving formula. Not now, especially not if you have more than enough breast milk. Baby will learn to take whatever you offer them if they have no choice.

[happyin14]

I think it's crazy to give formula "just in case". Most babies will get used to the taste of formula if and when needed. Stressing out about it now seems like overkill.

I would leave it alone, personally.

[ajacot924]

Thanks everyone. I agree that formula at this point doesn't make sense. I will cross that bridge if/when I get to it. Thanks for the advice.

[raechay]

I think there are a lot of doctors that feel like a woman can't EP for long term. My LC was super against it and said it's not possible to keep up for long. Lucky for me I've known 2 women who had EP'd for 1+ years, so I wasn't deterred. I agree that your doc's reasoning is ridiculous.

[missk0411]

I EP'd for 9-10 months, and only quit because we wanted to start on #2, which meant hormones for ART. At my peak, I pumped 32-36 ounces a day, which was about as much as DD was taking. I never had a big stash, but I was able to keep up with her pretty well, though it did include a MOTN pump even after DD slept through the night. I think we used a bottle or 2 of formula between 0 and 10 months, and that was usually a travel-related decision. I wouldn't worry about introducing formula if you don't feel like you have to.

[WittyLittle]

I agree with the others, this sounds a bit strange to me too! I'm having to switch to formula at the moment because my job doesn't enable me to pump enough to maintain my supply, and the whole process has caused a lot of stress in my home life. We started giving a bottle of formula at night at 6 weeks and I immediately noticed it became a bit harder to maintain my supply because it's tempting to drop that pumping session, or slip in another formula bottle in the day every once in a while because you were out shopping, at work, etc.

If your LO doesn't like the taste of formula if/when the time comes, you could always start by mixing it with breast milk (1 scoop formula+water in a bottle of breastmilk, then 2 scoops, etc.) until your LO gets used to it. At least that's what I was told, I assume that's correct...