When I am not able to nurse Liam, I always have a bottle of milk ready for him. This hasn't been something that happens often, because I have never been away from him for very long. I started thinking more about how much milk Liam should get in a bottle, when I am not able to nurse him. Recently, I have been giving him 5 ounce bottles and sometimes he spits up a lot afterwards, like his stomach is too full. I know, sometimes that he is just nursing for comfort or to help himself fall asleep. So, when he eats more than he's used to from the bottle and then spitting it up, I am thinking that he is eating to fast (since it's from a bottle) and that he's not realizing he is full.
I researched the topic and found out some interesting things. One of them being this page on kellymom. What I found interesting is that it gives you a calculation to figure out how much expressed milk you may need to bottle feed your baby. When I calculated, I found out that on average Liam should be eating about 4 ounces each feeding (he nurses 8-10 times a day at the most, sometimes 7). It also says that there is no need to increase the milk in a feeding from ages 0-6 months. I know that will not always be the case for every baby, including Liam.
I think Liam could eat about 4.5 ounces comfortably, sometimes 5. So, I am going to stick with that and see how it goes. So far, his weight gain has been perfectly fine and he is a healthy baby. He wets plenty of diapers each day (along with quite a few dirty ones too).
My worries of Liam not getting enough milk while nursing and me not pumping enough, somewhat eased up after reading this on kellymom too. It explains that most moms do not pump more than 1-2 ounces when they are strictly breastfeeding, which I had thought was a small amount every time I pumped. When I saw how much I was getting from the pump, I worried that this was all Liam was eating while he was nursing. I do know that babies are better at getting milk than a pump. The information that I read on kellymom reinforced this for me.
When I think about it, all of this makes sense. I know there is no way that Liam is getting more than 5 ounces out of me every time he nurses, especially if he is nursing so often. So, we will start with a 4.5 ounce bottle (which is a little more than what he may need) and if he needs more, he will get it. I will definitely go by his needs, not just what the "book" says, but I wanted to be a little more informed on the subject.
How much breastmilk do you bottlefeed your baby? I'd like a little more input...
In terms of giving Liam some formula as I talked about in a recent post, I started to give him one feeding of formula a day, to see how he would take it. (I am still afraid that I might not be able to leave my husband with a sufficient supply of milk for each feeding, when I go back to work.) The formula feedings did not go to well...
The first time I gave it to him, he was fussing for a bottle and would not nurse, so I decided to give it a try. He drank it fast and afterwards had no problems with it. The next couple days did not go the same. Each time he had formula he would start to taste it, but make a funny face and sometimes even gag. (I don't really blame him, I gag when I smell it to!) After a few minutes, he would go for it, but once he was finished he would spit up. He continued to spit up almost once each hour for the next couple hours afterwards. It wasn't enough spit up to be concerned about dehydration, but this was definitely more spit up than when he eats breastmilk.
Once again I googled and I started to think that maybe he had a reaction to the formula? Or maybe he is just not used to it yet? Anyway, I was concerned enough to stop feeding it to him, even for the one time a day that I was doing so. We have been strictly nursing ever since.
Has anyone else had any problems with transitioning a breastfed baby to formula? What are your suggestions?
I do both formula and breast-milk. A doctor told me when I had Ty that I could supplement formula instead of giving vitamin D supplements because he would never eat a bottle of breast-milk with the vitamin and giving it to him straight, he would spit it out. With Emery the doctors didn't seem to push the vitamin D, so I didn't supplement formula until I got closer to going back to work. Every time I gave her formula I pumped. I also pumped there for a while every two hours to stock the freezer. I would pump about two ounces each breast. Now with Emery at her home daycare, she gets formula there. She does about 2-3- 3oz bottles. This way I do not have to worry if I left enough food. I feed her before she goes and I feed her as soon as I get home around 4. I give two more feedings and one in the middle of the night. Emery seems to be the opposite with spitting up. She spits up more after breast feeding, then with formula. I guess I produce more foremilk. I have tried pumping first and then feed, so she gets more of the Hinesmilk (i don't think that is spelled right), but she would still spit up some.
ReplyDeleteEvery baby is different. Ty never spit up once, Emery is a spitting machine. I would ask the doctors if there was something wrong with her, I thought maybe acid reflux, but they said no.
Sarah you are doing an amazing job and I love your posts.
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