Is formula more filling than breastmilk?

[togg_mama]

Hey y'all, Liam's mama DOES leave enough BM most of the time. She's asking about the rare occasion when it's not possible.

Lisa-Eileen, I'd have A go with similac when needed. It's easier on EBF's babies' stomachs. And kudos to A for doing this! Hope to see you on RGT sometime soon. I miss you over there! --adrienne

[juliemcn]

Babys stomachs are reeeallly small and the baby will fill up much faste rwith formula! Just take it slooow and only use in emergency and i wouldnt use soy unless there is an allergy present- My personal opinion is with a baby this young i would still feed on demand.

[newmommy13]

my baby was born in march also. she had/has feeding issues so it might not be the same for Liam, but when i first was able to feed her and i would stop in the middle to burp her, she would never start back up again. i tried just going the whole bottle through and it didn't bother her at all to just burp at the end, sometimes she doesn't even burp until we are playing later. i don't know why but she has a hard time re-initiating latching on. also, when we were at the hospital she was put on similac while i was still able to pump. her neonatologist said that it was the best for supplementing BM, but also good for a stand alone formula...hth!

[philomene]

He probably isn't real thrilled with the taste of the formula vs breastmilk and is just taking the bare minimum to ease the hunger, and that's why he's getting hungry more often.

I agree with this 100%, it's what my baby does. He is *almost* exclusively BF, but has the occasional bottle sometimes at grandparents', and he will just drink pretty much the bare minimum he has to, in the hopes that breastmilk might be coming soon, heh. He's just not real fond of the formula, so always drinks less than he would if it were a bottle of breastmilk, and then of course gets hungry again sooner.

Edited to add: he does drink much more if the bottle is part breastmilk and part formula.

[LuMo]

I think the issue is that at 3 months, he may only be taking 2 oz during some of his nursing sessions anyway, especially if he's having a growth spurt. So whether he's hungry 2 hours after nursing or drinking breast milk or 2 hours after drinking formula, it's the same.

All 3 of my kids have been breast and formula fed and I don't believe formula is any more filling than breast milk, and it certainly doesn't keep them full any longer than breast milk (old wives' tale perpetuated by the formula industry, I say! ).