Mom's who are BIG on breastfeeding I need some advice!?

Question

My daughter is 4 1/2 months and I've just started her on solid foods. She eats cereal once a day and I have been pumping and mixing the cereal in with the breastmilk. The trouble is my baby nurses every 2 hours, so it is hard for me to get much milk out through pumping in between feedings - what ends up happening is I pump, and then she is hungry soon after and there is not much milk in my breasts...she pulls off quickly and is frustrated. So, today for the first time, I mixed 1 and 1/2 oz of formula in with her cereal. Is it bad to do this? I feel really crappy about it. I dont know if I am just being stupid about it. I just dont want to give her formula. I thought about mixing with juice, but I read that you should wait till 6 mos for juice. Should I just suck it up and pump or should I go with the formula? Or should I mix it with water? Let me know what you think! THANKS!!!

Answer 1

A baby who is 4 1/2 months old is *not* ready for solids. She can't digest it. It increases her chance of dying of SIDS, it also increases her *lifetime* risk of allergies, asthma, diabetes, cancer (including breast cancer, Hodgkin's Disease, and leukemia), Crohn's Disease, and many other health problems. It makes it more likely that she will be anemic at ages 1 and 2 (see sources section below).

This is reason that every health organization worldwide (including the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Health Canada) have stated that babies should be *exclusively* breastfed until 6 months old. If your doctor told you it was okay to give your daughter any foods other than nursing, she/he was going against the recommendations of her/his own professional organization.

If you stop giving the cereal, you can probably undo any damage (although it takes 2 weeks for the baby's digestive system to get back to normal after a single exposure).

Answer 2

I wouldn't worry about this at all. I sort of had the same problem. I was returning to work and I was pumping every chance I got, so that she would have breast milk at day care. It never failed....right after I pumped she would get hungry, and I had just pumped everything out. So, I ended up giving her breast milk out of the bottle.

Here is what I would say....just put water or formula in the cereal (my child actually liked it with just water.) Besides, your body is giving her the amount that she needs. I ended up not being able to continue to breast feed because I couldn't make enough to send to day care and still be able to feed her after I pumped. As a result, she began to reject the breast and only want the bottle. Then, I wasn't able to produce enough anymore. I would do what you can to keep up the breastfeeding. If she is getting breastmilk, she won't suffer by not having it in her cereal. She is getting all she needs. The cereal has many good nutrients by itself. The formula today is great.

I commend you for your efforts! Good Luck.

Answer 3

I had the same problem and instead of mixing my baby's cereal with breast milk or formula, I mixed it with baby bananas and a little bit of water. I'm not big on the theory of starting veggies first. All my kids ate fruits first and eat their veggies just fine now. The bananas were the only one I started that young though. It was just for the cereal. The rest of the food I started around 6 months.

Answer 4

Since she is still under 6 months, breastmilk is the best thing for her. She should be nursing as her main source of nutrition, and supplementing with cereal at this point. So mainly worry about what she gets when she nurses. If you put formula in the cereal, it's totally okay, and she's still getting the nutrients she needs. But if you nurse her, and use formula in the cereal, if she doesn't finish the cereal, at least she got everything she needed from nursing.

Answer 5

No, supplementing with formula is nesecary sometimes! Just remember that your breast work on supply and demand, so the more you let your baby nurse, the more milk your breast will make. Pumps, even the top of the line ones cant duplicate the baby. It sounds like you are doing alot of work at 4 1/2 months. Anyways, dont feel bad about the formula.. just be thankful she drinks it! =)

Answer 6

Your baby is too young for juice, but there is nothing wrong with switching to formula. Formulas today are very close to breast milk. If she is still nursing every two hours, there is a good chance that she is not full from the breast milk and could use more cereal. You need your sleep, Mom. Don't sweat it, she'll be just fine.

Answer 7

have you started solids yet?? How about mixing a little bananas or applesauce?? you can even use a little water to thin it. I don't think it will hurt her if you are giving her a little formula mixed in. If you are giving her breast milk exclusively other than that, you are doing terrific!! If you can keep her at the breast after you say you are kind of low on milk, your supply will increase naturally to provide for the pumping and for feeding her afterwards. But if she is frustrated, it might be difficult to keep her latched long enough.

Answer 8

my son is doing this also but i use breast milk or water to mix his food his Dr told me that i could give him juice but no more than 4 oz a day it also helps so he doesn't get constipated the cereal has so much iron in it that it can happen so easily but you should still pump to keep up your milk supply the baby should not nurse as much because the food keeps them fuller longer is your baby eating other baby foods? hope this help and good luck

Answer 9

Just go ahead and breastfeed her when she's hungry. Only worry about pumping if you feel uncomfortable or if you are going to be away from her for a while. If you pump and then she wants to eat shortly afterwards, offer her the breast first and if there's not enough milk left then give her what you had pumped earlier. Personally, I think that she is old enough for juice. Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Don't feel guilty at all for giving her formula, you are a great mom!!! If you totally insist on only breatmilk then the first thing I would suggest is that you just relax;). It normally takes about 3 days for your body to adjust to the change (frequency) in the need. In other words the supply meets the need not the need meeting the supply. Your body and your baby will once again harmonize. If you supplement that is fine too, you are really doing a great job just by nursing your baby:). good luck:)

Riley