milk or formula.....wwyd?

[vickieboggs]

I am a bf mom and want to continue for a long time......however at night before bed since the beginning my ds gets one bottle of expressed milk from daddy.....my problem....It's getting harder and harder for me to get that one bottle pumped. I have to pump 3-4 times (1/2 hour each breast) to get 1 8oz bottle so like up to 4 hours. I am on herbs but don't want to take them anymore since I've spent a ton of money on them and in the 3 months of taking them there has been no improvement. I've been on Kellymom and ate oatmeal till I wanted to vomit and I've tried upping water and nothing is working.....so my last idea is to put either homo milk or similac in only that one bottle.

I will continue to pump and give that expressed milk to ds every 2 or 3 days....however long it takes me to get but at least I have another option and I won't be so stressed staying up and pumping every 2 hours till I have the following nights bottle. I get less than 5 hours of sleep a night due to pumping and I'm not happy.....I want more rest.

My question is though.....my son is 8 1/2 months old and I don't know if I should switch to milk for that one bottle only (canada health says 9 months is fine) or formula in that night bottle and then eventually have to switch him to milk someday anyway.......Thanks.

Please no flaming me.....trust me I am in a pissy mood as it is.....I am sick of pumping, sick of worrying and being stressed about my supply, I am just trying to do my best with the cards I've been dealt. Thanks.

[ThatLinGirl]

You can give milk before a year according to some sources, but it would be as a taste and not as a nutritional replacement exactly -- it just isn't the same nutritionally. If you need to replace a bottom of bm, you should use formula.

[La Mere D'Anna]

Just a quick question... do you pump before you nurse or after? In the few times I've pumped, I found that it was easier to pump large amounts AFTER my daughter has nursed. I'm not sure why... perhaps it gets the milk flowing better, but you ought to try that if you haven't.

[La Mere D'Anna]

Oh as far as cow's milk before a year, it really isn't a good idea. Most resources say to avoid that. If you honestly don't want to pump, I think it's a better idea to use formula than cow's milk... until he is 12 months at least.

[vickieboggs]

I tried pumping after but my son drains me dry .....then I pump at 930pm, 1130pm, 130am and go to bed.....my son is up at 7ish and feeds every 2 hours......I don't have time to do any more pumping.

[La Mere D'Anna]

Then use formula. I don't think anybody would blame you for that.

[vickieboggs]

Originally Posted by ThatLinGirl You can give milk before a year according to some sources, but it would be as a taste and not as a nutritional replacement exactly -- it just isn't the same nutritionally. If you need to replace a bottom of bm, you should use formula.

I thought that formula was more nutritious.......just thought I'd ask thanks.

[wear_your_baby]

I'd probably use goats milk if I had to give something other than breastmilk.

[vickieboggs]

Originally Posted by wear_your_baby I'd probably use goats milk if I had to give something other than breastmilk.

can you buy that in regular stores?

[spacecat1974]

Why 8oz? Most bf babies don't need to take in more than 4oz at a time even at 8.5 mos. See kellymom.com for more info.

Pumping in the a.m. is your best bet (you can hook up one boob and feed with the other, this has the added bene of extra bb stimulation for milk production). You can always combine bm with formula. I wouldn't give milk just yet. Honestly, I'd give him smaller amounts of bm and see how he does.