Hellobee Boards

First just try BFing! I heard so many horror stories and I didn't have any of those problems. Tell yourself you can do it (if you WANT to BF that is!)

I didn't do it myself, but most people I know who supplement started to do so after a period of EBFing, and stuck to certain times of day (a bottle at night when dad comes home, for example).

I would be very careful about intentionally supplementing from the beginning because that can affect your supply. (Of course if you don't want to EBF or BF at all that is not going to be a problem.)

I had to supplement from day one because 1) my colostrum didn't come in until day 2 and my milk didn't come in until day 4, and 2) LO's was tongue tied and had a terrible latch.

It took a few weeks for me to get the hang of breastfeeding and then I got mastitis. After the second month, breastfeeding was soooo easy and convenient.

So yeah, try it and just do what is best for you.

We supplemented from day 1 to 6 weeks because I didnt plan to BF at first (then this momma instinct kicked in and I NEEDED to do it) and she did just fine going back and forth. At 6 weeks, she was EBF.

You could pump to give someone the chance to feed as well.

Also-I know you only hear horror stories, but Ive been BFing Liv for almost 11 months now, and Ive never had a single isntance of cracking, bleeding, bruising, mastitis, or a clogged duct. Its not all bad, promise =o)

Bf is scary but you can do it if you want. Get a cheap electric single pump. When one side hurts you can pump while baby eats the other side. If baby doesn't sleep through the night after bf you can follow with formula. If you want to bf, giving formula instead will confuse your breasts and they won't make as much. Like pp said, you can pump and use that when you need a break.

If you don't want to bf you can do formula.

I supplemented with formula from the beginning until my milk came in. Now, if we are out and it's not convenient to BF, we will give LO formula. She has no problems going back and forth. She doesn't care if it's formula, breastmilk, breast or bottle...as long as she gets fed, she's happy. She also sleeps through the night even when she's only on breastmilk.

my baby was born with low blod sugar so we gave her formular right away, but then while I was in the hospital they nurses advised me to breastfeed her for 15 minutes each meal time before giving her the bottle even though my milk hadnt come in yet. In the first few weeks we gave her both formula and breastmilk because I still hadnt gotten the hang of breastfeeding but then we eventually started doing breastmilk only. Just last week I tried giving her formula but now she wont drink it!!! So now we are trying to transition her back to drinking from a bottle because she seems to have forgotten how to drink from a bottle and she doesnt seem to like the taste of formula anymore

I leaked early too so I also thought I wouldn't have an issue. And then I learner just because my colostrum comes in doesn't mean my milk will. I had to suppliment with formula and then ended up switching to formula full time.because I had too many problems.

I feel like it never hurts to try breastfeeding, and if it doesn't work you don't have to stay with it.

Don't psych yourself out before you give it a try- just know if you have difficulties, that many of us have had success supplementing with formula along with breastfeeding.

However, good for you doing research now, because your brain will not be nearly as functional once your baby is born! I recommend finding contact numbers for a lactation consultant and maybe going to a breastfeeding class if your hospital offers one.

Remember that there are plenty of moms who don't have difficulties, those are usually the ones that you don't hear about!

We supplemented from 36 hours old due to jaundice and a weak latch. We weaned off of formula after a few weeks and I continued to pump and give a bottle or two a day to get a break. I also used a nipple shield for several weeks, eventually we weaned off of that and hope to breastfeed for approximately a year. Good luck!