Continue to EBF or Supplement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He is almost 14lbs but the pediatrician said most boys that age are 15-16lbs. He does eat very often during the day and sleeps well at night. I’m still nervous he will fall off his growth curve or that my milk isn’t fatty enough for him. I think I’m going to start giving him 1 bottle of formula a day for some extra calories.

I still don't really get why you don't think it's "fatty" enough for him. Also, only be nervous when it's actually a problem. From what you explained, you don't have a problem.

OP here. My LC said based on the fat in my pumped milk ( I pumped once a day) it’s likely that I don’t have fatty milk. He is getting enough milk but still eats every 2 hours and every 2-3 hours at night. My LC said he shouldn’t need to eat so frequently at night. He still eats 10-12 times a day like a newborn. I’m wondering if giving him 1-2 bottles of formula a day will help get him more calories. I would like for him to gain a little more weight and sleep longer stretches at night.

That is just not true. Breastmilk is digested quickly. I breastfed 3 kids and they all ate at least every 2-2.5 hrs, until 6 months. But they would go through spurts where they would want to nurse what felt like non-stop all day and sometimes at night. This is normal. I had one that woke in the night frequently to eat, 1 that sometimes did, 1 not at all. The frequency of how often they want to nurse is not an indicator they are not getting enough milk. Plus breastfed babies sometimes just want to be latched on an sucking, out of comfort rather than hunger. Losing weight and dropping weight percentile for age/height is the best indicator they are not getting enough milk. And since that isn't what is happening, you are making enough milk!

No. That is untrue. Most 4 months old can go 5-6 hour stretches without needing to eat. There is also a thing as not having fatty milk. Some make a lot of fat, some don’t make much at all. I made water thin breast milk no matter what I did. My baby ate every 2 hours round the clock because my milk wasn’t fatty enough to hold him off any longer than that. I had a friend who made super fatty milk - all of her bottles were thick with 2 inches of fat on top, and her baby never needed more than 3-4 ounces of milk and slept 12 hours by 2 months old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He is almost 14lbs but the pediatrician said most boys that age are 15-16lbs. He does eat very often during the day and sleeps well at night. I’m still nervous he will fall off his growth curve or that my milk isn’t fatty enough for him. I think I’m going to start giving him 1 bottle of formula a day for some extra calories.

I still don't really get why you don't think it's "fatty" enough for him. Also, only be nervous when it's actually a problem. From what you explained, you don't have a problem.

OP here. My LC said based on the fat in my pumped milk ( I pumped once a day) it’s likely that I don’t have fatty milk. He is getting enough milk but still eats every 2 hours and every 2-3 hours at night. My LC said he shouldn’t need to eat so frequently at night. He still eats 10-12 times a day like a newborn. I’m wondering if giving him 1-2 bottles of formula a day will help get him more calories. I would like for him to gain a little more weight and sleep longer stretches at night.

That is just not true. Breastmilk is digested quickly. I breastfed 3 kids and they all ate at least every 2-2.5 hrs, until 6 months. But they would go through spurts where they would want to nurse what felt like non-stop all day and sometimes at night. This is normal. I had one that woke in the night frequently to eat, 1 that sometimes did, 1 not at all. The frequency of how often they want to nurse is not an indicator they are not getting enough milk. Plus breastfed babies sometimes just want to be latched on an sucking, out of comfort rather than hunger. Losing weight and dropping weight percentile for age/height is the best indicator they are not getting enough milk. And since that isn't what is happening, you are making enough milk!

No. That is untrue. Most 4 months old can go 5-6 hour stretches without needing to eat. There is also a thing as not having fatty milk. Some make a lot of fat, some don’t make much at all. I made water thin breast milk no matter what I did. My baby ate every 2 hours round the clock because my milk wasn’t fatty enough to hold him off any longer than that. I had a friend who made super fatty milk - all of her bottles were thick with 2 inches of fat on top, and her baby never needed more than 3-4 ounces of milk and slept 12 hours by 2 months old.

I’m sorry, you are misinformed.
Frequent breastfeeding is not a sign your baby is not getting enough milk. Most EBF babies are eating more frequently than every 4-5 hrs.

According to CDC:
-breastfed babies eat every 2-4 hrs up in the first 6 months
-sometimes eating at frequently as every hour, called cluster feeding
-8-12 nursing sessions in 24 hrs is the average
-some sessions may be long, some short
-some babies will sleep 4-5 hr stretches, some won’t

I got this right from cdc and this has been my experience too, as well as anyone I know that has breastfed. LOTS of EBF babies want to eat all the time. Totally normal. Now if you don’t feel up to that, that is fine, supplement. But don’t supplement because you think something is wrong. Also, sleep is regulated by the brain, not the stomach. Don’t think giving a bottle of formula will make your baby sleep at night. It may not change that.

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/breastfeeding/how-much-and-how-often.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He is almost 14lbs but the pediatrician said most boys that age are 15-16lbs. He does eat very often during the day and sleeps well at night. I’m still nervous he will fall off his growth curve or that my milk isn’t fatty enough for him. I think I’m going to start giving him 1 bottle of formula a day for some extra calories.

I still don't really get why you don't think it's "fatty" enough for him. Also, only be nervous when it's actually a problem. From what you explained, you don't have a problem.

OP here. My LC said based on the fat in my pumped milk ( I pumped once a day) it’s likely that I don’t have fatty milk. He is getting enough milk but still eats every 2 hours and every 2-3 hours at night. My LC said he shouldn’t need to eat so frequently at night. He still eats 10-12 times a day like a newborn. I’m wondering if giving him 1-2 bottles of formula a day will help get him more calories. I would like for him to gain a little more weight and sleep longer stretches at night.

That is just not true. Breastmilk is digested quickly. I breastfed 3 kids and they all ate at least every 2-2.5 hrs, until 6 months. But they would go through spurts where they would want to nurse what felt like non-stop all day and sometimes at night. This is normal. I had one that woke in the night frequently to eat, 1 that sometimes did, 1 not at all. The frequency of how often they want to nurse is not an indicator they are not getting enough milk. Plus breastfed babies sometimes just want to be latched on an sucking, out of comfort rather than hunger. Losing weight and dropping weight percentile for age/height is the best indicator they are not getting enough milk. And since that isn't what is happening, you are making enough milk!

No. That is untrue. Most 4 months old can go 5-6 hour stretches without needing to eat. There is also a thing as not having fatty milk. Some make a lot of fat, some don’t make much at all. I made water thin breast milk no matter what I did. My baby ate every 2 hours round the clock because my milk wasn’t fatty enough to hold him off any longer than that. I had a friend who made super fatty milk - all of her bottles were thick with 2 inches of fat on top, and her baby never needed more than 3-4 ounces of milk and slept 12 hours by 2 months old.

I’m sorry, you are misinformed.
Frequent breastfeeding is not a sign your baby is not getting enough milk. Most EBF babies are eating more frequently than every 4-5 hrs.

According to CDC:
-breastfed babies eat every 2-4 hrs up in the first 6 months
-sometimes eating at frequently as every hour, called cluster feeding
-8-12 nursing sessions in 24 hrs is the average
-some sessions may be long, some short
-some babies will sleep 4-5 hr stretches, some won’t

I got this right from cdc and this has been my experience too, as well as anyone I know that has breastfed. LOTS of EBF babies want to eat all the time. Totally normal. Now if you don’t feel up to that, that is fine, supplement. But don’t supplement because you think something is wrong. Also, sleep is regulated by the brain, not the stomach. Don’t think giving a bottle of formula will make your baby sleep at night. It may not change that.

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/breastfeeding/how-much-and-how-often.html

PP here. I meant that most babies that age can sleep 5-6 hours at night. Most babies ( even formula fed) eat every 2-3 hours during the day with longer stretch at night. There is no need for the baby to wake up if they’re getting most fo their calories in during the day. They are waking up out of habit, not because they’re hungry.

There is such a thing as milk not being fatty enough. It happened to me. My baby was never satisfied until I started to supplement. There is nothing wrong with supplanting with formula.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would keep ebf. He isn’t losing weight and is staying in the Same percentile range,I don’t see a problem.

Agree if that is what you want.

If it was truly a problem, your pediatrician would have told you to make a change.

[Anonymous]

Just to clarify one thing, feeding often many times doesn’t have to do with whether your milk is fatty enough - it’s usually more to do with how many milk ducts you have so how much milk you store in your breasts at a time. This is different for every woman and has nothing to do with your breast size (small breasted women can have more ducts than larger breasted and vice versa it’s not related). If you have less room to store milk, just by your genetics etc baby will often feed more often doing smaller feeds more often. If you are lucky to have more ducts sometimes baby can go longer. The good news is you get new ducts every pregnancy so second baby might not feed quite as often.

As others have said you definitely don’t need to supplement to change your babies weight or because your breastmilk is imperfect (it probably is just fine but I guess who knows!) BUT you should absolutely feel free to use some formula to help you get some rest and a break. There are absolutely no awards for martyrdom and no awards for EBF. Do what you want mama and don’t hesitate. It’s ok to prioritize your needs too.

[Anonymous]

A friend supplemented by adding formula to her breastmilk, but it was for needing to make major weight gains. I wouldn’t do it without checking with a doctor, but throwing it out as an option that may be sort of best of both worlds—get the breastmilk AND formula fats.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I contacted the pediatrician and she said I can supplement if I want to. She said he isn’t in any danger because he is gaining weight, but she would have liked to see him with a larger weight gain from his 2 month appointment. I’m going to starting supplementing with two bottles and hope I can get more sleep.

[Anonymous]

Good luck, OP! Let us know if it helps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I contacted the pediatrician and she said I can supplement if I want to. She said he isn’t in any danger because he is gaining weight, but she would have liked to see him with a larger weight gain from his 2 month appointment. I’m going to starting supplementing with two bottles and hope I can get more sleep.

Do what works for you and baby. Try to give the supplement closer to evening, and see if it makes a difference not just in weight gain but also in nocturnal feeding.