Should I give up bfing for formula

[Anonymous]

My baby is starting to fuss when eating but takes a bottle well. I think it has something to do with let down. Should I try pumping and giving bottles instead of nursing or switch to formula to help with the reflux? Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

oh goodness. I know there are lots of nursing moms on here that’ll chime in and give advice on letdown issues. I think nursing lying down is supposed to help. I only nursed Landen for a few weeks before switching to the bottle so I won’t be much help. I am sure you’ll get more replies! Hang in there!

[Anonymous]

Any reason you switched to the bottle, if you don’t mind me asking? I see you have dealt with reflux in the past. Is there any insight you can give me since I am only 4 weeks into the whole charade?

[Anonymous]

Landen would scream and pull off which made me think it was my supply, so I kept supplementing with formula until I really did dry up. In hindisght it was the reflux (most likely) and I could have kept nursing if I’d of known at the time he just needed meds BUT, I was also returning to work once he turned 3 mos and I probably would have had to make the switch then anyway (it was a very fast paced – no lunch break, no break at all type of job ) and lastly, I take an anti-seizure med that I cannot for the life of me get a straight answer on whether it is safe or not to nurse on. I didn’t take it while nursing even though I needed it, so all in all I probably would have abandoned nursing early even without the reflux given a) my work b) the medication.

so sorry for the long answer!

[Anonymous]

i gave up as well when shane was a couple weeks old.. due to 2 reasons: infection @ c-section site (high fever..lots of pain…really sick).. & same reason as jill.. i thought it was my supply that was the problem.. but it was shanes reflux issues that made him WANT to eat constantly..so i thought the formula would satisfy him and that i couldnt!

BUT now that i know better and know more about reflux.. i truely wish i had stuck with the breastfeeding. I know now that if i had medicated him and or cut out dairy/soy earlier on..breastfeeding would have been easier. And i know expecially for a reflux baby that has a compromised digestive track, that breastmilk is the best for them! It is easily digested..andnot to mention that it has nutrients that cant be mimicked in formula. And if your baby ends up having a dairy/soy intolerance as most of the reflux babies do.. i think its EASIER and CHEAPER to cut the foods out of your own diet. ..then to keep switching formulas and going to the ridiculously expensive formula!

SOO.. those are just my two cents ;)!! If you do end up going to formula. .i would def. go to goodstart only because its digested easier.. and be ready to go to a hypo formula if problems persist.

I hope things get better.. and you learn tricks from other moms on here that have dealt with letdown issues..

[Anonymous]

I stopped with Cooper after 3wks due to pretty much the same issues. I knew it wasn’t a supply issue as I had been pumping to let other people feed him, but he never seemed satisfied and he started spitting up curdled milk and he only gained 2 oz in 3 wks. Had he been thriving on the bm I would have stuck it out and cut our dairy/soy as well but since he wasn’t thriving at all I switched to soy which was a mistake and then 4.5 wks later we went to a hypo formula and started meds. If you can stick it would I would. If I had known what I know now I would have.

[Anonymous]

I was not able to nurse my first baby due to a poor latch and I was not able to nurse my two refluxers because they both were miserable and refused to nurse. I pumped and fed all three of babies and I can tell you that it’s a miserable existance because you are always either pumping or feeding. You have to pump alot in order to keep your supply up. Many times the baby is crying or screaming while you are pumping and you are always trying to balance what’s more important…..taking care of the baby, or pumping for the baby. If your baby is irritable like my refluxers were you will find yourself constantly being torn between pumping when you need to in order to keep your supply up, or holding and comforting your baby.

I know it sounds like I’m trying to discourage you….. Sorrry. I just have so many horrible memories about what it was like trying to pump and feed and take care of an irritable reflux baby. If I was you I’d try to keep nursing her and work on making sure she’s on an adequate PPI dose in order to stop her reflux pain so that she will nurse happily. My daughter was never on a good medication for her reflux and that’s why she refused to nurse, and my son didn’t get proper treatment until he was nearly 5 months old, so I was forced to pump and feed, or go to formula. If she’s on a good dose of a PPI medicaiton the reflux pain should stop and she should nurse contentedly.

If you think your letdown is a problem, try to do some research on OAL (there are some threads on this board about it) because there are things you can do to correct OAL. One thing I remember is nursing in a reclining position. I think http://www.kellymom.com also has some info on the topic.

Switching to formula usually begins a whole new chapter of questions and problems. Most babies will go through several formula trials before finding one that suits them, so I’d leave that as a last resort.

Good luck. I know how hard it is and I hope things improve soon.

ndrose2007-09-25 14:45:54

[Anonymous]

I would stick with it if you can, but it’s a very personal decision. I know how difficult it is, believe me. I wanted to quit with both of my refluxers, but it is truly so much better for them.

I have OAL. Is this what you think you have? If so, then your letdown most certainly is bothering her. My milk lets down so fast that is sprays out.. literally, sometimes across the room. It would shoot down and cause havoc with the reflux. What I did was to block nurse.. only one side per feed and sometimes one side for several feeds. I would also take the baby off the breast after my milk let down and let it come out into a cloth until it stopped shooting out. Some moms have also nursed lying down (that never worked for me due to the shape of my breasts/nipples) but those techniques have really helped.

Is your baby medicated? Once both of mine were properly medicated, nursing got a lot easier.

[Anonymous]

Boy am I glad I found this forum,I am learning a lot!

I am going thru a simular situation, and this thread is inspiring me to work harder to continue breastfeeding. I FF my son on soy until 5 weeks old,when I discovered I still had milk,and began nursing. After a couple weeks trying real hard to build up my supply, we were doing great,reflux wasn’t happening as often. Then he got sick,as I did,and he ended up in the hospital for 5 days w/ viral menningius. Most of that time I bottle fed him, as the body heat seemed to make his temp higher. I was sick as well, so my supply went down drastically,and I was getting only an hour or 2 of sleep . The soy formula seems to make the reflux worse,and he did have exzema,and they thought he may have an allergy to dairy. I am wondering if I can get my supply back up, (have only been nursing off & on,& pumping a few times a day so I won’t dry up) and nurse him exclusively he will improve?

[hellbennt]

here’s a similar ‘conversation’: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2942&PN=0&TPN=1

and

there’s an article called ‘misconceptions of elemental formulas’ this should help a bit- it’s linked to from the ‘main’ MSPI [age- go to the MSPI forum & look for a top post called ‘MSPI what I have learned & Allergy info’

& OAL:Gaining, Gulping, and Grimacing?
http://www.wiessinger.baka.com/bfing/trouble/gulping.html

& The La Leche League Breastfeeding Helpline – US began on June 1, 2007. Everyone in the U.S.A. has access to toll free breastfeeding help 24 hours a day. Just call 1-877-4-LALECHE (1-877-452-5324).

about oal: http://www.picosearch.com/cgi-bin/ts.pl

about OAL (overactive letdown):

http://www.users.qwest.net/~fsdebra1/refluxoal.html

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