Have formula on hand before labor?

[Anonymous]

Knowing my hands would be full, I had formula ready for #2.
#1 was a great eater and never picky between BM and various brands of formula.
#2 utterly refused to go with my plan. It was BM only for that little punk. He even refused to take it from a bottle. At about the 6 months mark, I put juice in the bottle just to get some relief. He refused that too. And would purse his lips shut against the bottle.

That was 13 years ago. Both kids eat well. #2 likes salt and vinegar chips and hot sauce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But it’s possible that I’ll make enough colostrum to thoroughly hydrate/feed the baby while waiting for the milk to come in, right?

Possible but unlikely for a first baby. Most do need supplementation

Can you cite this? The posts here seem to all lean one way. Of all my friends, I don’t know a single one who needed to supplement in the beginning. Some breastfed for a month, some for years. Several went on to use formula, but it was later on, not at the beginning. And everyone’s baby met the weight milestones pediatricians look for.

If your baby has enough wet/ dirty diapers, they are getting enough. That’s what you go by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But it’s possible that I’ll make enough colostrum to thoroughly hydrate/feed the baby while waiting for the milk to come in, right?

Possible but unlikely for a first baby. Most do need supplementation

Can you cite this? The posts here seem to all lean one way. Of all my friends, I don’t know a single one who needed to supplement in the beginning. Some breastfed for a month, some for years. Several went on to use formula, but it was later on, not at the beginning. And everyone’s baby met the weight milestones pediatricians look for.

If your baby has enough wet/ dirty diapers, they are getting enough. That’s what you go by.

My baby had enough wet diapers and still needed to be hospitalized for jaundice. You have no idea what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. If you plan to BF, you don't need any bottles or formula. Having it around just makes it easier to doubt yourself and give up. Unless you had issues previously, I wouldn't even worry about it.

This. Also, early supplementation is especially bad for babies’ virgin gut. Just colostrum & your BM unless hosp tells you otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But it’s possible that I’ll make enough colostrum to thoroughly hydrate/feed the baby while waiting for the milk to come in, right?

Possible but unlikely for a first baby. Most do need supplementation

Can you cite this? The posts here seem to all lean one way. Of all my friends, I don’t know a single one who needed to supplement in the beginning. Some breastfed for a month, some for years. Several went on to use formula, but it was later on, not at the beginning. And everyone’s baby met the weight milestones pediatricians look for.

If your baby has enough wet/ dirty diapers, they are getting enough. That’s what you go by.

This is statistically so unlikely that I have to assume your friends are lying to you.


in many Native cultures, they would give honey and water to a baby for the first few days while waiting for milk to come in. variations of this custom exist in many cultures. the reason is that botulism etc is less likely than a baby just dying before the milk comes in.

[Anonymous]

I don't know that you need to have it on hand, but I would know where you could get the RTF option quickly. I was pretty hardcore breastmilk only. But DC1 spent a few days in the NICU right after birth to rule out some problems and ended up getting a mix of formula, pumped milk and the occasional "at the tap" feeding. Zero issues breastfeeding and never used formula once baby was discharged. DC2 and I were sischarged together 36 hours after birth and things seemed fine in the hospital but I got concerned at home because diapers weren't really wet. Pediatrician wasn't concerned initially but gave the go ahead for formula supplementation a day later. Long story short, feeding was a major challenge with this baby but things got sorted out and we only needed to supplement with formula for a couple of weeks until I xould pump enough to use that to supplement for a few weeks until I didn't have to supplement with anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always do. My milk doesn't come in for a few days and no need for baby to starve. I nursed until 20 months and 2 years.

I wish I did. I had an early precipitous labor for my first baby and it took around a week for my milk to come in. Baby was hungry and miserable and I didn't know anything about supplementing.

We had a first visit to the pediatrician's office when baby was 4 days and a second visit when baby was 5-6 days. Milk had not come in on either occasion. We saw two different peds on those days. On the second visit, we lucked into getting our current awesome ped who recommended supplementing with some enfamil RTF nursettes.

I'm confused. So you didn't feed the baby for 5-6 days until someone else told you to use bottled formula?

[Anonymous]

I have type 2 diabetes, which (sometimes? usually? I don't know) means that baby comes out with low blood sugar and needs calories stat. For both of my babies, Inova Fairfax gave me a choice of similac or enfamil in the recovery room, then helped me put the baby to breast. Like a lot of women with PCOS, I had low supply and couldn't fully breastfeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have type 2 diabetes, which (sometimes? usually? I don't know) means that baby comes out with low blood sugar and needs calories stat. For both of my babies, Inova Fairfax gave me a choice of similac or enfamil in the recovery room, then helped me put the baby to breast. Like a lot of women with PCOS, I had low supply and couldn't fully breastfeed.

Forgot to add, they offered the 2 oz ready to feeds. So if you want some on hand, I think it's the easiest option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always do. My milk doesn't come in for a few days and no need for baby to starve. I nursed until 20 months and 2 years.

I wish I did. I had an early precipitous labor for my first baby and it took around a week for my milk to come in. Baby was hungry and miserable and I didn't know anything about supplementing.

We had a first visit to the pediatrician's office when baby was 4 days and a second visit when baby was 5-6 days. Milk had not come in on either occasion. We saw two different peds on those days. On the second visit, we lucked into getting our current awesome ped who recommended supplementing with some enfamil RTF nursettes.

I'm confused. So you didn't feed the baby for 5-6 days until someone else told you to use bottled formula?

Plenty of lactivists would tell a mother with insufficient milk to just keep trying, regardless of what happens to the baby. So it does not surprise me at all, in the current extreme breastfeeding culture pushed at women of a certain class, that a mother would think she should just keep putting the baby to breast until specifically told to use formula by a doctor. Women's natural instincts to nurture their babies are being warped by extreme crunchy natural mothering, plus the culture of mothering olympics which assigns a crazy value to trivial things like "exclusively breastfeeding".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always do. My milk doesn't come in for a few days and no need for baby to starve. I nursed until 20 months and 2 years.

I wish I did. I had an early precipitous labor for my first baby and it took around a week for my milk to come in. Baby was hungry and miserable and I didn't know anything about supplementing.

We had a first visit to the pediatrician's office when baby was 4 days and a second visit when baby was 5-6 days. Milk had not come in on either occasion. We saw two different peds on those days. On the second visit, we lucked into getting our current awesome ped who recommended supplementing with some enfamil RTF nursettes.

I'm confused. So you didn't feed the baby for 5-6 days until someone else told you to use bottled formula?

Plenty of lactivists would tell a mother with insufficient milk to just keep trying, regardless of what happens to the baby. So it does not surprise me at all, in the current extreme breastfeeding culture pushed at women of a certain class, that a mother would think she should just keep putting the baby to breast until specifically told to use formula by a doctor. Women's natural instincts to nurture their babies are being warped by extreme crunchy natural mothering, plus the culture of mothering olympics which assigns a crazy value to trivial things like "exclusively breastfeeding".

+1000. They say 1) your milk won't come in unless the baby is at the (empty) breast trying for it; 2) putting anything but colostrum/BM into a baby's stomach "destroys" their gut biome and will make them sickly/obese when they're older; 3) any formula is a sign you're not really committed to breastfeeding and you're not going to ever be successful, and now 4) you're a gorilla and they don't need formula!

I think breastfeeding is great and should be supported. But if you've spent more than 30 minutes on "expecting moms" parts of the internet (including right here), you cannot possibly be surprised that a mom would need a come-to-Jesus from a doctor to feel like she had "permission" to feed her kid formula.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always do. My milk doesn't come in for a few days and no need for baby to starve. I nursed until 20 months and 2 years.

I wish I did. I had an early precipitous labor for my first baby and it took around a week for my milk to come in. Baby was hungry and miserable and I didn't know anything about supplementing.

We had a first visit to the pediatrician's office when baby was 4 days and a second visit when baby was 5-6 days. Milk had not come in on either occasion. We saw two different peds on those days. On the second visit, we lucked into getting our current awesome ped who recommended supplementing with some enfamil RTF nursettes.

I'm confused. So you didn't feed the baby for 5-6 days until someone else told you to use bottled formula?

Plenty of lactivists would tell a mother with insufficient milk to just keep trying, regardless of what happens to the baby. So it does not surprise me at all, in the current extreme breastfeeding culture pushed at women of a certain class, that a mother would think she should just keep putting the baby to breast until specifically told to use formula by a doctor. Women's natural instincts to nurture their babies are being warped by extreme crunchy natural mothering, plus the culture of mothering olympics which assigns a crazy value to trivial things like "exclusively breastfeeding".

+1000. They say 1) your milk won't come in unless the baby is at the (empty) breast trying for it; 2) putting anything but colostrum/BM into a baby's stomach "destroys" their gut biome and will make them sickly/obese when they're older; 3) any formula is a sign you're not really committed to breastfeeding and you're not going to ever be successful, and now 4) you're a gorilla and they don't need formula!

I think breastfeeding is great and should be supported. But if you've spent more than 30 minutes on "expecting moms" parts of the internet (including right here), you cannot possibly be surprised that a mom would need a come-to-Jesus from a doctor to feel like she had "permission" to feed her kid formula.

SING IT SISTER. And this was just responses on this thread!

I will never, ever forget the look on my first baby's face when, after days of being starving after birth, she got three ounces of formula and immediately fell asleep for the first time. I have never felt so bad as a mother. I went on to successfully breastfeed two children and supplemented with the second immediately until my milk came in.

Mother Nature is cruel and doesn't care about your baby. You should.

[Anonymous]

For my second and third kids, I brought RTF with me. I used some with my 4 week old. He took maybe an ounce. The nurse was surprised that I felt the need to bring my own but she didn’t give me any attitude about it. And even though it was a BF Hospital, they took him for 2-3 hour stretches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always do. My milk doesn't come in for a few days and no need for baby to starve. I nursed until 20 months and 2 years.

Oh gosh, this is nature. They aren’t starving. Them going bonkers to get that milk to come in is how it’s supposed to work. They definitely won’t starve otherwise humans wouldn’t have survived this long.

Ok but WHY would you want to torture your baby for them to “go bonkers” because they are hungry for the first few days? You don’t get a special badge for never having given your baby a drop of formula.

OP, I had two early babies so it was never a question of not supplementing as both were sub 6 lbs at birth. They got those RTf bottles at the hospital and at home while also nursing. I went on to pump/nurse the bulk of my first baby’s milk and essentially exclusively with my second baby. It’s fantastic to top them off and give yourself peace of mind that they are full and satisfied, vs being panicked about whether or not they are getting enough, especially in those first few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. If you plan to BF, you don't need any bottles or formula. Having it around just makes it easier to doubt yourself and give up. Unless you had issues previously, I wouldn't even worry about it.

This bullshit advice from a lactation consultant ended with my four day old being hospitalized.

Supplementing is fine, sometimes necessary, and PP is a moron.