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LO is 3 mos old and we've been supplementing since I think week 3 or 4? We started as a way to let DH feed her while I pumped, but we stopped around 8 weeks when she started daycare and switched back to EBF. Unfortunately, my supply has tanked and now she gets one supplemented formula bottle at daycare, 2 pumped bottles, 1 from my stash, and nurses 3x.

It looks like we are going to have to switch to 2 formula bottles since my stash is running out. I'm bummed about it, but my supply doesn't appear to be going up any time soon. Feel free to ask me any questions you have!

We've given pumped milk occasionally since LO was a week old. It was just a good way for my husband to get to feed him and bond a little more. Now at 14 weeks we are supplementing after several breastfeeding sessions throughout the day due to weight gain issues. I use pumped milk when I get enough out, and if I don't have any to give, we use Enfamil infant. I went through my 100 oz stash pretty quickly.

E got formula on her second day in the hospital. She had persistent pulmonary hypertension and jaundice. I could never get enough milk for her by pumping exclusively. So her nightly bottles were formula and day bottles were all breastmilk. She was about 50% formula/breastmilk until she was 3 months old because I could never pump more. I quit when I was getting 7oz/milk a day. Not worth the hours of pumping! She still gets thawed breastmilk inconsistently

Ugh, I'm getting depressed just thinking about it again. SOOO many hugs to you!!

Up through 1 month I thought we were doing well. She was a suuuuper sleepy eater, and it took forever for her to finish eating. I couldn't tell when my boobs were full, they never felt any different, so I just didn't have any clues to judge anything by. I was confused, but she was getting plenty of wet and dirty diapers during the day.

Come DD's 1 month Dr. visit, and she'd LOST 7 ounces from birth. Ugh. Dr. had me feed her then weigh her to see how much her weight went up. I don't even think it went up a full ounce.

From there on I would nurse both sides, then give her a bottle, then pump both sides. With a newborn, this process was taking an hour, and then it time to do it all over again in another hour or two! I ended up EPing and got 15 ounces when I pumped for 6 HOURS! So DD was getting half and half. That number slowly went down to 5 oz after 6 hours of pumping, and at 5 months I had to give up for my sanity. 6 hours was not worth 5 ounces in my opinion.

1 - 4 weeks insufficient food
4 - 5 weeks nursing + bottle of freezer stash
5 - 10 weeks 1/2 milk 1/2 formula (all from bottle)
10 - 20 weeks 1/3 milk 2/3 formula (all from bottle)

We started supplementing at night at around maybe 2-3m. DS would always cluster feed like crazy at night so when it came time for his last feed before bed, there wouldn't be much left. There was only so long I could listen to him scream before we ended up giving him 2ozs of formula. So for the longest time, I would feed him on both sides and then give him the 2oz bottle. The bottle really became his sleepy cue and he would look for it. As he got older, we upped it to 4 oz before bed (still bf'ing first). Whatever he ate was fine. This has worked out well for us.

I used to really hate talking about our feeding journey, as it went against everything I had planned, initially. Now that I see that DD is a happy, healthy, thriving baby with an emotionally present mama, I know I made the right decision.

I had a botched epidural during labor, which caused horrific spinal headaches for the first week and half after delivery. They did not improve on their own, and sitting up to nurse was incredibly painful. I grinned through it, despite never really *feeling* that my milk had come in, as the anatomy was there, our positioning was great, and DD had a terrific latch. However, while I was in outpatient for my second repairative epidural, DH took DD to the ped for her one week appointment to find out she had lost almost 12% of her birth weight, and was developing moderate jaundice. It was concluded that since we were nursing around the clock, DD wasn't getting enough milk, so we were instructed to supplement with formula. That was a hard night.

I began seeing my LC often and aggressively, and started myself on a very strict schedule of nursing (with a supplemental nursing system), supplementing (by bottle), and then pumping. This was occurring every two hours, and the entire process took upwards of 45 minutes. I barely had time to interact with DD outside of feeding, and once DH returned to work, juggling the SNS (which DD absolutely hated) and trying to rock her to sleep while hooked up to the pump was damn near impossible. I was also taking every supplement known to man - fenugreek, blessed thistle, goat's rue, more milk plus, mother's milk, etc. Domperidone wasn't a realistic option, as zero pharmacies in our area would carry it, and few doctors would prescribe it. I saw mild improvement in my supply for about a week, but then it began plummeting again. Noticing the low amount of milk while pumping, and seeing how HANGRY my daughter was after nursing, I started to get so depressed. I dreaded feeding time, resented my body, and all but hated DH for not having to go through the pain and frustration I was experiencing. I was not in a good place, and wanted so badly to just *love* on my daughter.

A few days later, I finally saw my doctor and was diagnosed with chronic low supply. My OB told me that while I could keep going with the schedule I had been maintaining, she couldn't assure me that it would get better. She says that sometimes, this just.....happens. Prior to getting pregnant, I had a hormonal imbalance, so that might have contributed with my inability to maintain a milk supply. I went home that day and tossed out the SNS, and started feeding my daughter by bottle. I gave her formula, and pumped milk, and comfort nursed her on demand. I did this until the sad day that I all but dried up, and now, at nearly three months, DD is fed formula, exclusively. Life is so much easier, now.

Phew, that was long. Best of luck in whatever you decide! If I can give you any advice, it is to avoid guilt, however you can. There is *so* much pressure to EBF, but it's not always possible! Toss the judgment aside. Loving your kid is what's most important.

Sadie couldn't latch due to a recessed jaw. She lost a bunch of weight, and I lost my sanity. I pumped + supplemented for about 2 weeks, but pumping was my worst nightmare. I wasn't pumping much at all, and I was missing out on snuggles with my little Booface. If I could've pumped more efficiently, I might have stuck with it. But, for me, it just wasn't worth the time and effort. To everyone's benefit, by the time she was 3.5 weeks old we were exclusively formula feeding. She's almost 8 months now, and doing awesome. She hasn't been sick, is meeting her milestones on time or early, and she is incredibly happy. We can go out and do as we please when we please, which is so nice. She can eat in the restaurant, in Target, in the car... whatever. Needless to say, we love formula.

If pumping works for you & you don't mind it, I think it's awesome if you can keep that up!

Never made enough for her...we've been doing a 40/60 combo of BM and formula her whole life. She's a little over 10 months now. I'm hoping to make it to a year but it is hard everyday, I won't lie.

@deerylou:

@char54: @deerylou: AMEN. I wholeheartedly agree with both of you ladies.

My little ones were given bottles of donated breast milk from Day 1 in the NICU. When my milk came in the did a combo of BFing and the donated milk bottles. At about Day 6, they were transitioned to supplementing with formula in preparation for discharge. I did a combination of BFing, pumping, and formula for the first three months, but I could never get my supply high enough and eventually I was pumping only and getting pretty much nothing, so we went to straight formula at 3 months. When I was pumping all the time to get just a 1/4, then an 1/8th and so on of milk and bottlefeeding, I finally had an epiphany that I was actually missing out on interacting with and loving on my boys because I was always having to pump, take supplements, get bottles ready, feed babies. So, I decided I would pump when I had an opportunity that wouldn't mean I was missing out on playing, snuggling, etc. with my boys, and if my supply completely dried up, so be it. I have had a LOT of guilt throughout the process, but now my boys are almost 7 months old. They are both more than triple their birth weights. They smile as soon as I walk in the room. We are incredibly bonded, and they are happy, healthy boys, depsite the fact that they were not EBF for a single day of their lives, and have now been exclusively formula fed longer than they had any milk from me. All this to say, be gentle on yourself and do whatever if right for both your LO AND you!

I will say that as more time passes, it matters less and less how my son received his nourishment that first year. It will matter even less when he is in kindergarten.

I agree about the "breast is best" disclaimer, it is everywhere, and it is annoying.

Just wanted to chime in and add that I also loved FFF when I first made the decision to FF. I felt a lot of unnecessary guilt, and it helped a lot. Thanks @char54:!

@MrsStormy: Absolutely no nipple confusion. My kid will drink formula or breastmilk from a bottle without any issue (he also doesn't care if it's warm or cold - he just likes to eat!) and switches back to breastfeeding without confusion. We have some latch issues, so I use a nipple shield... the latch issues were there before I bottle fed, however.