Supplementing with formula: what are legitimate reasons for it?

What a wonderful reply/explination. Thanks...

I had a very hard time with breast feeding. We couldn't get a good
latch for the first 2 weeks. (Painful, cracked and bleeding nipples.
Ouch!) Then things were going well until she 4 months old. I seemed
to be feeding constantly and she would always fall asleep. Thorughout
the whole feeding I would have to fight to keep her awake. She was
gaining weight but ALWAYS hungry!
Then I started pumping (for backup bottles and to prepare her for
daycare when I returned to work at 5 1/2 months). We'll my supply
started to decrease immediately. The Dr. said maybe my breasts aren't
fooled by the pump! I'm trying natural supplements but they didn't
seem to work. No matter how many time a day I pump get less and less.
Now I can barely get one ounce from both breasts at a time, pumping 5-6
times a day for 20-30 min (5-6 oz a day) . So, in order to fill a
bottle I have to add formula to the breast milk.
I've been back to work for a week now and pumping every two hours is
just about impossible.
I don't think I have ever felt so bad about anything I have ever done
in my life. It's terrible.
It's been a month now (since supplementing) and it still makes me cry
sometimes. And when some women out there get on their high horse about
how you should not supplement, just because they had no problems with
it, it really gets to me.

Breastfeeding in an individual thing. I know women today who simply
don't want to do it so they don't. Their babies are fine. A lot of
healthy and intelligent people I know where not breastfed (because it
simply wasn't done back then). I also know of some sickly (with asthma
and allergies) kids who were exclusively breastfed.

You try to do the best for your child. That could include giving them
formula.

ls wrote:
What a wonderful reply/explination. Thanks...

You bet.

I had a very hard time with breast feeding.

snip

Sounds like it! Wow. I still remember sobbing like it was killing me
when we gave her the first bottle. It was one of the hardest things
I've ever done. I felt like such a failure. Oh, it sucked. I just
went in the other room and sobbed and sobbed - I've cried less at
funerals. God, the guilt. Why do we do this to ourselves? I would
never call another mom a failure for using formula, so why did I think
that of myself?

Reglan worked for me. You might talk to your doctor about it, if
you're still upset about your supply/supplementing. That, and tons and
tons of fenugreek. I ended up buying it online because it was cheaper
to buy in bulk, and I kept buying out the local health food store.

You try to do the best for your child. That could include giving them
formula.

Absolutely right. I'm glad you found a solution that works for you.

Hugs,
Amy

"Amy" wrote and I snipped:

Reglan worked for me. You might talk to your doctor about it, if
you're still upset about your supply/supplementing. That, and tons and
tons of fenugreek. I ended up buying it online because it was cheaper
to buy in bulk, and I kept buying out the local health food store.

I'd like to point out that increasing supply will do no good for a mother
who can't let down for a pump. There may be some tricks that will help with
pumping, but some women never get good output with a pump, no matter whether
they've just nursed or they've been away from their baby at work. In these
cases, perhaps donated milk is available for when the child is in day care,
but it usually comes down to using formula during the work day.

And, yes, I don't think less of moms who need to resort to formula.

HTH,
-Patty, mom of 1+2

"JennP" wrote in message
...

"oregonchick" wrote in message
. ..

I don't know, but does
formula have more calories or better nutrition than breast milk? I
hardly
think so, but am not sure.

More calories? I really don't know. I know they make high calorie formulas
for special situations.

Standard formula is modelled on breastmilk, to be as close in calories as
possible, though of course it doesn't vary naturally from foremilk to
hindmilk as breastmilk does. There's a lot of blanks that would need to be
filled in to really know what is going on, but it sounds like a bottle-happy
Dr. to me. If poor supply is really the issue, supplementing is likely to be
counter-productive, especially without investigation into the source of the
supply and suggestions on how to build it. Conditions where supply is due to
a physical problem with the breasts requiring supplementation are rare.


--
Amy
Mum to Carlos born sleeping 20/11/02,
& Ana born screaming 30/06/04
http://www.freewebs.com/carlos2002/
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/ana%5Fj%5F2004/
My blog: http://spaces.msn.com/members/querer-hijo-querer-hija/