Up until know, Ali has been exclusively breastfed. We've had our ups and downs in the eating department, but lately, it has been downright miserable. The plan that we came up with in conjunction with the ped gi was to try adding Pepcid to the Prilosec (check: worked great for a week), then try pumping and adding rice cereal to a bottle (check: won't take it), and if all else fails, try 72 hours on Nutramigen. I'm so torn. On the one hand, I want her to feel better. On the other hand, I was so hopeful that we could breastfeed successfully. Breastfeeding my oldest was 14 months of hell (she wouldn't take a bottle), and I was hoping where Ali will be our last, that things would be better. Also, I know there's a chance that switching to formula won't help, and then I will have given up breastfeeding for nothing.

So my question is, if you made the switch, what drove you to do it? How did it make you feel? Do you regret it?

Thanks for any feedback. I am so torn, and so heartbroken :cry:

Kelly

I totally regret it. :( Emma only nursed for 1 week and I pumped for a few weeks. In the beginning, (the first few days), Emma wanted to nurse constantly, but would fall asleep within seconds of latching on. She was pretty much attached to my boob, but wouldn't eat much. Just sips here and there. It was odd.

I tried to pump during that week to help increase my milk production and my doctor told me to take fenugreek, (sp?). Emma was getting some milk, (I saw it in her spitup and puke), but she had lost so much weight by the first week, (I had her weighed at the ped's office), that I began supplementing with formula. Oddly, she LOVED the bottle and was draining bottles left and right. It hurt my feelings that she preferred a bottle over me. I knew breastfeeding was better for her, but it just didn't work out. :( I stil feel bad...like maybe I took the easy way out, but Emma is doing well and I have to focus on that.

So, to answer your question....Emma's health drove me to switch to formlua...she was getting jaundiced and had lost 12 oz. in a week. Plus, Emma preferred the bottle. If your daughter doesn't like the bottle it may not be a good idea b/c you'll be dealing with bottle issues.

Sorry if I wasn't much help, but that's my experience. :oops:

I have never breastfed and maybe I'm missing something here, but is there a chance that you could just pump so that she's still getting your milk, just in a bottle?

Once we have a second child, I am going to try to breast feed. When we had Lauren, I was against it b/c of the convenience (bad mommy!!), but if she catches sight of my boobs now, she goes after them. I seriously don't know why b/c she has never been associated with them... it's odd.

If I lay on the floor and she's crawling on me, she even sucks on my belly. Poor little girl. But next one will get the boob, or I'll at least try... for the sake of reflux.

I breastfed exclusively for Cady's first four weeks, then exclusively pumped for 5-6 more weeks, because she was constantly at the breast. She was attached so much that I developed numerous ductal yeast infections due to the nipple NEVER being dry. She took the the Playtex bottles right away, so I pumped. I pumped for weeks. My 5-year-old was practically forgotten by me, because of the pumping and feeding. I'd pump every two hours and feed her a bottle every two hours...stair-stepped. In any case, I became exhausted after a bout of mastitis. I couldn't do it any more. So I put her on Good Start, because it had worked so well for my older daughter. She spit up the Good Start just as much as she had on breastmilk. There was virtually no change in her reflux, because of our switch from breast to formula. I do not regret switching in any way. I think, though, if the switch had actually caused more problems I would feel a lot worse. Thank goodness she was just as bad whether on breastmilk or formula. Eventually, it ended up being that it was the thinness of both the breastmilk and Good Start that was the issue with her spit ups and consequent reflux. So, we ended up thickening and that was our lifesavor. So, my reason for switching was that it was just too much for me and my family to have to deal with constant pumping, constant feeding, and constant puking. At least when I switched, it was only constant feeding and constant puking I had to deal with, which took much less time.

Daniel couldn't nurse, but I pumped for the 12 weeks he was in the hospital and stopped when he came home. But I had another three months of milk for him in the freezer. And it wasn't til I totally switched him over to formula that the mega pukes began. So I vote for bottlefeeding pumped milk! (If you can, that is, I know it's a ton of extra work!)

I pumped the whole time the boys were in NICU and for a few weeks after they came home,. I guess I'm in a slightly different situation where I didn't produce enough to feed them exclusively. Having 2 babies to feed is hard.. and they were supplemented with high calorie formula from day one. Stephen didn't gain weight and so they really pushed for the high calories formula, which I agreed to, with breast milk supplementing as well.
Anyway, when I got home, (and by this time they were both refluxing) I had to give the pumping away within a couple of weeks. I was feeding evey 3 hours around the clock (as they were only 4lbs9oz and 4lbs11oz at that stage) and it would take me 2 hours to feed them and then 45 mintues to sleep before feeding happened again. I just could no longer pump (as well as make bottles) in those precious 45 minutes when I needed sleep.
I don't regret my decision at all. Breastmilk in a bottle is a great way to go if she takes it. Good luck!

Thank you for your replies, and for sharing your experiences :)

Amanda - I'm so sorry you regret it. That's my biggest fear :( She does like the bottle, so I don't think that will be a problem.

Lauren's Mommy - I guess the theory is that I'm eating something that is bothering her and making her reflux worse. I have tried the elimination diet, and I haven't had milk or soy products for MONTHS. It doesn't seem to make much of a difference, though.

Judy - Yah, I can see that pumping and feeding would be very difficult with another little one in the house. I already feel like my two year old is seriously neglected on bad days, when Ali and I spend the majority of the day in her glider.

Becky - I think we are going to give pumped milk thickened with rice cereal a try before going with the formula.

Sarah - Kudos to you for even giving it a try! It's demanding enough with just one in the house.

Okay, I know the end of this was rushed, but she's up! Thanks again for your feedback.

A couple things...(This will be long)
I wanted to try adding rice to Zac's milk when he was 2-3 months old. The ped. did not recommend because supposedly if you pump the bottles exclusively, your milk does not "empty" as efficiently as it would if he/she were suckling from the breast. (Unless you have a "mac-daddy" pump that is designed to express sufficiently which costs over $300). If the milk does not empy fully each "session" then your body produces less. Eventually you're supply will decrease drastically. THAT is what I've been told. I did pump occassionally when I had an abundant supply with a lower end electric pump. I cannot express much anymore as my supply has pretty much evened itself out.I have no "extra" milk other than his 4 feeds a day. I desperately want to get a medela lactina (which is for this purpose of exclusively pumping) so I can give him more bottles and less breast. He loves the bottle and the breast so it doens't matter there. However, that pump is SO expensive and I'm trying to see about renting or getting my ins. co. to pay for it (which they will, but now I have to find a place that will submit it to ins. w/out me having to pay up front). Any way...what I'm getting at is this:
Breastfeeding was SOOOOO unbelievably draining for me in the begining and there were SEVERAL times I wanted to give up. Thanks to the support of DH, I continued but it was SOOOOO HARD, I cannot tell you in words. Zac was at the boob every hour at the longest stretch and nursing for half hour at least at a time, even through the night for a while. However, it is truely worth the benefits they get from it the longer you can hold out. Now Zac only nurses 4 times a day for 10 min. tops each session. My problem now is just that he is obsessed w/my boobs and that is why I want to exclusively pump now, rather than switch to formula.
The ONLY reason I am not switching to formula is that I've heard a few stories of the reflux getting way worse after switching. I would be screwed and really upset because you can't really go back to breastfeeding once you stop to my knowledge (w/out medicine or getting preggo again).
About the diet elimination...I want you to check this site out... http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mom/mom-foods.html
In the begining I tried eliminating EVERYTHING I could think of and it did NOT make a difference. UNLESS your child has a milk/soy issue...other than that, a lot of what they say "you cannot or should not eat" is pretty much a myth, in my experience. I know everyone is different but for me, I eat spicy food, milk, dairy, deep fried, tomatoes, you name it and it makes no diff. w/zac.
I hope this info has helped you.... I am not pushing you to keep BFing if you choose not to...I just want to make sure you are well informed and wether your baby is breastfed or formula fed is truely your choice and don't think of yourself any less for either decision you choose.