hello mamas!

grant has been exclusively breastefed for 4months 3 weeks........however mama is getting TIRED and worn down...and his biting/teething on my poor nips isnt helping anything. I am seriously considering supplementing with formula...just for convenience. That way I wont have the stress of pumping enough each day (i work full time) and can get a little more of a break from him. However....there is guilt and concern. So my question is...what has been your experience? which formula should i try first (definitely dont want milk based)? and any other advice would be appreciated. Of course...the formula bottles wont help the fact that he is using me as a pacifier at night ....and wont let dad put him to sleep. This JUST started within the last couple weeks....dad is getting annoyed....and so am i ...but who can say no to a "sick" baby...he has had bronchiolitis...plus gerd of course. sorry to ramble

Im also interested in giving him a few bites of rice cereal a day.

Thanks.

It is exhausting to b'feed exclusively--I b'fed for 19 months and thought my boobs would never be my own again...and I swore they'd never forgive me for the torture I put them through (being B's pacifier, teething ring, bottle, etc.). However, I didn't have to work and I can't imagine how much harder things would have been if I did. :hug:

I will be honest--I know very little about infant formula. I have heard that Carnation Good Start (available in both milk and soy based) is supposed to have broken-down proteins that are easier for little tummies to digest. If that doesn't agree with him, there are other options, like other soy-based formulas (Isomil, ProSoBee, etc.); however, I *think* these are tougher to digest than the Carnation. (Again, I'm flying blind here and repeating info. I've read from other moms). If soy doesn't work, you can try something even more broken down, like Nutramigen.

Talk with your ped and see what s/he thinks about this--s/he might have a strong opinion about one formula vs. another with regard to your dd's history. Also, when you go to introduce formula, you might consider doing so gradually. After drinking b'milk for 4 months, your ds is likely to reject the different taste of the formula. In order to make the transition easier, you might want to try giving a few oz. formula mixed with several oz. of b'milk to get him used to this.

Nothing is ever easy, is it? :-( I hope the transition goes smoothly and that you're able to find a formula that works for him! :-)

I don't know what to tell ya on the formula thing. It's a hard one.
If your worried about allergies/sensitivities though
I would try alimentum RTF (ready to feed)
it's the only hypo formula available without a RX that doesn't contain corn (another large harder to digest protein).
Alimentum powder, nutramigen RTF and powder all contain corn products. I never checked the concentrates because my stores didn't carry them.

Also if you do decide to try formula give it a good 2 weeks before trying solids.
I know with Eric I tried lot's of things all at once and made it much more confusing to figure out what worked, what didn't, and what went wrong. So trying only one change at a time would be my advise to you.

Good luck with whatever you decide

What about pumping when you are home at night and leaving that for the sitter to give while you slowing try to wean?

:smt046
Keep in mind this suggestion is coming from a women whose youngest child is 31!!!!!

For being such a "natural" thing to do, breastfeeding is absolutely exhausting! :haha: I actually managed to do both bottle and breast with my middle son, not with the other two. I was always a failure with the pump and with Curran I had enough milk to feed a small country. My experience was completely contrary to what I had read as it was made clear the concerns about nipple confusion, etc. and I do agree in retrospect Curran who was already puking up a storm began to puke even worse. It is so different for each baby and for each situation.

You might want to try stepping up pumping a bit as I *think* (it has been a long while since I was bf, though) you may be heading for an increase in production due to your baby's age, but I could be wrong. If you want to supplement, bear in mind your milk production will go down in theory. It may make it more difficult to keep up with him as he grows unless you pump more to keep up.

And I agree about asking your ped what formula to go with. Mary is right about the Carnation one, if I recall correctly.

Bottom line, you do what you feel is best. Whatever you decide will be the right decision for you and your baby at the time. ;-)

I understand, it's exhausting to bf a refluxer. I have given Ilana a few ozs of formula just to give myself a break as well. She doesn't usually take more than an ounce though (but she's only 4wks old). We use Elecare b/c that's what Evan is on and I'm terrified of any other formula! Evan was on Nutramigen (for supplement) for 10 mos before the GI we saw figured out he was reacting to the milk in it (it's a hypo formula). IMO it's not a bad idea to find a formula your baby tolerates in case something ever happens and someone needs to give it to him. If he does o.k. w/ soy, you could start there I suppose and move up. I wouldn't start cereal any time soon though, it can be pretty hard to digest for a baby who doesn't tolerate dairy and soy and is on reflux meds. We're skipping it this time all together I think.