quick breastfeeding/formula survey?

Question

Did you supplement with formula because you thought your baby was starving and not getting enough from the breast (during growth spurts) and if so did a doctor tell you to? or did you have a doctor who told you to let the baby nurse whenever and however often and explained that baby is increasing your supply?

this is because it seems like everyone i talk to says ohh i couldn't breastfeed because I didn't have enough milk..???

I don't think many moms are informed of just how often a breastfed baby eats in the first few weeks..and that it is normal

Answer 1

I have 2 little boys. My oldest is going to be 2 next week, and he was bf and ff. EBF for 4 weeks, then his first big growth spurt hit and I was lost. I didn't have a good support system and though I was starving him, so I gave him formula. Because of that my supply quickly dropped, and by 8 weeks he was only on formula. My littlest guy is 10 weeks today and has never had anything other than breastmilk. I educated myself more during my last pregnancy, and also had the help of my friend who is a doula/lactation consultant/and mommy who has done extended breastfeeding. I nurse on demand, and yes, it can be trying, but with persistence it pays off. I too believe that woman need to be educated more on BFing and have the support required to EBF.

Answer 2

I nursed on demand. My midwife helped my alot, as well as my mother and aunt. I never worried about her "starving" or anything, as i knew that she should be eating very very often and i expected it. I knew that the more I nursed, the more I'd make. I have never had to supplement, nor would I have even considered it. My baby is 8 1/2 months old, and formula has never touched her lips.

I have a friend, though, that was told by her doctor to supplement with formula "until her milk came in". Her supply diminished quickly, and she ended up bottlefeeding. It's sad, but many doctors are very misinformed.

Answer 3

Most people will produce enough milk if they nurse on demand. A few do not. There was a time when formula was not an option and all women breast fed. It is healthier for babies to be breast fed if even for the first couple of months.

Answer 4

In Ontario we have the option of having midwives. They were absolutely terrific, they came to visit every day for several days after my home birth.

If anyone told me to supplement with formula I didn't listen. We had two challenges: thrush, and supply (I wasn't getting enough to drink or eat), but I didn't want to disappoint myself or my baby and struggled through them both. It was sometimes painful, but worth it.

I didn't wean my daughter until she was more than 18 months, when I found myself pregnant again and my body would not have been able to handle the demands. I have some supportive people in my life but a few who are very unsupportive.

A couple of very helpful things to me have been Susun Weed's Herbal for the Childbearing Year, and my aunt Susan's advice to consume high fat (high calorie) foods and "pep-up". Pep-up is a smoothie made with a tablespoon of NOT-BAD TASTING nutritional yeast, a tablespoon of frozen orange juice concentrate, (frozen) fruit (~1/4 cup) and enough WHOLE milk (a cup or two) to make it your desired thickness. Blend until the fruit is smooth. It might make you gassy for the first day or so until your system gets used to it, but it's great stuff. Toddlers like it too!

Drink tons of water too, if you don't have a good source, insist on getting one.

Answer 5

It doesn"t matter how educated you are because I"m a firm believer that problems and complications DO occur to prevent sucessful brestfeeding>> People just ASSUME that we are supposed to be super human and encounter no problems or complications whatever they may be>>I do agree that breast milk is best but sometimes you have to do what you have to do and a lot of people out there just need to take that into consideration>>>It does not make anyone less of a parent or their baby any less of a person just because they are formula fed PERIOD!

Answer 6

i have a 9 month old who is only breastfed. I have never supplemented with formula. She is now eating solids. She is an ondemand feeder and I have had more than enough milk.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

I tried to BF my first one, but my milk never came in so she was losing weight and noone could figure out what my problem was. So we ended up switching to formula, same with the 2nd one.

Answer 9

I have a 6 mo. old baby who I ONLY BF I have never supplemented with anything. I've been told by my ped. to feed him on cue and justlook for cues thats he's ready to eat before he even starts to cry.

Answer 10

My doctor and my mother encouraged me to start formula when my babies still weren't back at birthweight at six weeks old. I'm SO GLAD I DID. Praise God I was born in the century in which formula was invented.