will my baby take formula

[lilkenny5/27]

My baby is two weeks old  and something really came up and I can't pump out all the milk he needs in short notice can i give him formula and will he take it???

[Cheekyteddy]

Speak to your health visitor. I don't think that in a crisis that it will do any harm however you probably need guidance on the type of formula. I do have a tip on expressing though. I could not express at all and I found the only way I could do it was to feed on side and express the other at the same time. The let down then happens at identical times and you will probably find that the milk flows although you have to be an octopus. No seriously you need to have a wide shallow bowl on the table in front of you, make sure you have sterilised it and prop baby up on your knee as he/she feeds. Hope this helps and well done on the feeding for the last 2 weeks.

[Cheekyteddy]

sorry just noticed the He!

[OBonio]

When expressing, I've been led to believe that babies need feeding more often than when on Formula. I'm not sure if this is due to the amount one can express in one sitting, or whether the baby digests it quicker. Our plan is, in 6 weeks when our first is due, to breast feed during the day and give formula at night. Best laid plans and all that, I doubt it'll happen. Congrats on the little one!

[Otrere]

I b/f'd my daughter for the first 5 months but have to say that I found expressing really hard work - it was taking me about an hour to express a tiny bit for a start!! Make sure you have the pump positioned correctly with no air gaps all the way round. It does take a lot of practice but in the end I was doing nearly a full bottle in 15 minutes.

One thing I did find though was because she was having expressed milk from a bottle (when I went back to work in the evenings) she got used to the bottle teat and started refusing the breast. And, as the more you feed, the more milk you produce to keep up with demand, my milk started drying up cause she didn't want the breast and I couldn't express enough. So she ended up on formula from about 5 months onwards and I had wanted to b/f for longer. She is fine, fit and healthy and no worse off for it but I do encourage you to keep up with the breastfeeding for as long as you can as there are so many benefits.

You can express and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours as well you know. I used to sit expressing a bottle or two whilst she was asleep and I sat watching TV (felt like a milking machine some days!!).

But if you do make the decision to switch full time to formula please don't feel like you are letting anyone down, you have to do what is best for you and your baby and stuff what anyone else thinks OK?

[Cheekyteddy]

Express by hand it is more gentle than the pump. I could not express by pump at all.

Nice to have a plan but be flexible Obonio and you may find that baby prefers the laziness of the teat than the hard work of the nipple. Also to get your milk to come in you will need to breast feed exclusively for at least the first 2 weeks.

[kick3m0n]

Ooooh, not long now OBonio , hope the missus is keepign better this week.  I'm sure you've thought about this, but be careful what bottles and teats you chose if you intend to mix breast and bottle.  A friend tried this and unfortunately, baby preferred bottle, as the teats  she used required much less effort from her wee one.  It's actually quite hard work for baby to suck milk form the breast, and sometimes baby will (understandably) take the easier option.  My pal switched to Haberman Feeders which don't supply a constant stream of milk (as most bottles do), but rely on baby's sucking.  Anyway, worked a treat and her wee one eventually went back to breast and bottle. xx

[Solarjunkie]

Obonio - life will be much easier if you get feeding well established, past the first 6 weeks, before you start experimenting with bottles. My first son totally rejected the breast having had his first taste of a bottle, I did not make the same mistake twice!

So second son was totally breast fed, night times were the easiest, I just pulled him into bed with me and popped him back in his crib when he'd finished, much better than letting him get really awake and hungry while waiting for the bottle to be ready (or feeding cold, much more likely to get colic).

lilkenny, if your circumstances force you to add some bottle feeds to his routine, you may find it easiest to feed him at night when he is only partly awake and less likely to notice the easy bottle has been replaced by the healthier but harder breast!