Starting formula at 9 months

lounakin

I am going to start my 9 months old on formula as I suspect I am not producing enough milk for her (no let-downs and baby not swallowing much). I seem to only have milk at night, and so she still wakes up for feeds through the night.
I would like to introduce one bottle a day but I've no idea how much, what brand to get! I don't know anything about formula, how to heat it up etc...
Has anyone done formula and breast milk in tandem?
I have to add that she has not gained weight in 2 months so this is the reason why I want to do this.

pwurple

You don't need to justify yourself or give a reason. Whatever suits your family is best for you.

It is possible to combination feed. Lots of working mothers do it. As for how much, take the lead from the baby... Put 150 ml in the bottle and see if she drinks it.

There are 3 main brands here. Aptimel, Cow and Gate and SMA. Babies react differently to them all. When I stopped bf, I used aptimel first, but the baby got some blisters around her mouth. I switched to SMA then, and she was better on that. You can buy small made-up cartons of it in the supermarket to see which suits rather than buying the big tins. Maybe do this at the start to see how she goes. Pay attention to the instructions on the pack about heating it.

Making the bottles up with powder is a different set of heating instructions. See the pack. Various people will tell you various things about mixing it cold etc... ignore them. Follow instructions on the pack. There is a reason for every bit of it.

There are other specialist brands for babies who react badly to those btw.

Will she take a bottle of expressed milk though?

lounakin

She takes expressed milk three times a week when I'm at work, but can only ever express 80 ml at a time. My partner says she definitely wants more than that.
I'll have a look at the ready made milk cartons. But blisters!! omg!! What could cause that?
Thanks for all that, I guess I'll have a try!

pwurple

Oh it was nothing major. I think the formula consistancy was a bit watery for her, the SMA was a thicker texture... Maybe being wet around the mouth so much just made some small blisters.

I was expressing maybe 40 ml per feed at the time... I put that in the bottle and topped up with formula I made up earlier in batches. No idea if that was a good idea, so don't copy me! I was trying to get some breastmilk in... and my MIL had me convinced that stopping and changing bottles was giving her wind.

Julo12

I started with Aptamil as heard it was most like breast milk. No idea if true but never had any problems combination feeding after 3 months.
I'd second using the cartons until you're on more than 2 bottles a day as the powder is more awkward to make up and if ur not using loads I think it only keeps for 4 wks once open.
A lot of ppl say don't heat the cartons if baby will take them at room temp but my lady always liked them warm as that was what she was used to from bfeeding I suppose. Also I think it gives less wind warm. I have a Tommie tippee flask thing which is great for bringing out. It has an outer cover which u can pour hot water into and the btl sits in it. Few mins later the milk is nice and warm. Just putting hot water into saucepan, cup, bowl etc is fine either.
As regards how much, my 7 mth old drinks 200 to 250 mls at a time so I'd try a whole carton (200mls) the first few times to see how she goes and then you might find she only wants say 150. You can keep milk in the carton in the fridge for 24 hrs.

lynski

lounakin wrote: »

I am going to start my 9 months old on formula as I suspect I am not producing enough milk for her (no let-downs and baby not swallowing much). I seem to only have milk at night, and so she still wakes up for feeds through the night.
I would like to introduce one bottle a day but I've no idea how much, what brand to get! I don't know anything about formula, how to heat it up etc...
Has anyone done formula and breast milk in tandem?
I have to add that she has not gained weight in 2 months so this is the reason why I want to do this.

Firstly, you are doing great. I am not sure which challenge is more strong for you so I'll give you my thought on each one. HTH.
Nursing: Couple of things to remember; your let-down disappears after awhile, you just produce on demand as such. Your baby gets much more efficient at latching and getting milk so you will be less aware of it in terms of sounds and feelings.
Weight: At 9mhts if her feeding pattern has not changed greatly in 2 months then I would look elsewhere to the weight gain - has she gotten longer, is she more active? go to you PHN if you can and have a chat.
Waking: Lastly instead of a bottle would you consider changes to your diet that are simple and can increase your supply: more water/fluid intake, have porridge for breakfast - you would be amazed, drink some mothers tea or eat some foods that can help.
There is every chance that you introducing a bottle will not solve the challenge of your daughters night wakies; it might make them worse if she has a problem with the formula. My son has and we only discovered it at 9/10 mths when I was away for a few days.
You might find that she can go all day with just water in a cup and solids - many babies in creches do if their mom is working - and just bf at night and that will ease again very quickly, these phases rarely last longer then a few weeks and by Easter she could be over it again.
You are over the hump, and well on the downward slope - never give up on a bad day and my last words on bf always: there is a bf solution to a bf problem.
HTH

lounakin

lynski wrote: »

Firstly, you are doing great. I am not sure which challenge is more strong for you so I'll give you my thought on each one. HTH.
Nursing: Couple of things to remember; your let-down disappears after awhile, you just produce on demand as such. Your baby gets much more efficient at latching and getting milk so you will be less aware of it in terms of sounds and feelings.
Weight: At 9mhts if her feeding pattern has not changed greatly in 2 months then I would look elsewhere to the weight gain - has she gotten longer, is she more active? go to you PHN if you can and have a chat.
Waking: Lastly instead of a bottle would you consider changes to your diet that are simple and can increase your supply: more water/fluid intake, have porridge for breakfast - you would be amazed, drink some mothers tea or eat some foods that can help.
There is every chance that you introducing a bottle will not solve the challenge of your daughters night wakies; it might make them worse if she has a problem with the formula. My son has and we only discovered it at 9/10 mths when I was away for a few days.
You might find that she can go all day with just water in a cup and solids - many babies in creches do if their mom is working - and just bf at night and that will ease again very quickly, these phases rarely last longer then a few weeks and by Easter she could be over it again.
You are over the hump, and well on the downward slope - never give up on a bad day and my last words on bf always: there is a bf solution to a bf problem.
HTH

Thank you so much for all this advice! Unfortunately that's what I'm doing and as I said before I am not sure that my milk supply is low, I don't know why my daughter is not gaining weight. I did take her to the nurse and while she told me to give her cereal in the morning and increase her iron intake, she said she wasn't worried yet because she looks perfect and is very active. As for the formula, I only wanted to give her one bottle at 4 pm instead of nursing so I could express that (I work 3 evenings a week and I'm not there for her last feed of the day) but she is not drinking the formula at all. We are keeping a couple of cartons just in case.
As for the let-down I still feel it most of the time so I tend to think that when I don't feel it she's not really feeding.
So I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and see what happens in the next few weeks.

littlemissfixit

Lounakin, my boy was a big 10lb when he was born yet has only put an average of 4.5oz/week. He is very active and quite long so I just think he either burns everything as he goes along or grow in lenght with it!

But to come back to your main subject, it took him ages to get on to formula, I was giving him 1 bottle a day and started with 1oz and then was toping up with nursing, then I gradually increased that until I could stop toping up. But he still isn't a big drinker the most he will take now is 4oz at a time (and there is definately no forcing him to take more he is very strong minded!!). I dont express this time around, done it so much with my daughter I sickened myself of it, but when I did I could only express about 3oz at the very best. I just think some of us have a less abundant supply and probably is because we have babies that prefer snacking little and often. I would say given time she will increase the amount she takes from a bottle, its all a lot of changes for her.

My boy had now 2 BF, 3 bottles that I make up at 6oz and use the left over in his food and as drink at mealtime.

mary1978

Sorry if this is a hijack but I am also about to start giving my 7 month old baby some formula as have to go back to work full time and I don't think I will be able to express enough to keep him going...

I had a few questions about formula and bottles.

What is the best kind of formula to buy - the powder or the ready made milks? Just had a look online and was shocked by the price - 4.5 euro for a litre bottle of formula milk!

Should I start straight off on the "Follow on milk", or which type is best?

With the drinking bottles for the baby... He usually drinks water out of a sippy cup but isn't great at getting any volume in with these. So I thought I may use a combo of sippy cup and bottles. I have some of the tommy tippee bottles which we have never used, and they just have the regular teats on them.
Do I need to get different teats for the older babies or will I just stick with what is on them?

Thanks all!

littlemissfixit

mary1978 wrote: »

Sorry if this is a hijack but I am also about to start giving my 7 month old baby some formula as have to go back to work full time and I don't think I will be able to express enough to keep him going...

I had a few questions about formula and bottles.

What is the best kind of formula to buy - the powder or the ready made milks? Just had a look online and was shocked by the price - 4.5 euro for a litre bottle of formula milk!

Should I start straight off on the "Follow on milk", or which type is best?

With the drinking bottles for the baby... He usually drinks water out of a sippy cup but isn't great at getting any volume in with these. So I thought I may use a combo of sippy cup and bottles. I have some of the tommy tippee bottles which we have never used, and they just have the regular teats on them.
Do I need to get different teats for the older babies or will I just stick with what is on them?

Thanks all!

The best value will be with powder, a big tin is around €10, I do combination BF and formula and I need about one tin every 2 wks.
I always have one or two cartons ready-made, they can come handy on the go.
You should go with age of your baby to choose which formula (newborn-6mths, then 6-12mths...)
As for bottle or sippy I would say depends how gradually you will introduce formula, if you need your baby to get his required volume fairly quickly I would go with what he is used to, but if he has never taken a bottle he may not be any better at it than with the sippy (I started my daughter on sippy at 4mths and she was taking the same as with bottle so I didnt bother with bottles then)
Tommy tippee have teats 0 to 3 I think, again depending on the age but around 9mths I would defo say the biggest flow.

liliq

Lounakin unless there are issues other than not gaining weight there is no need to introduce formula. There is often a stage where babies start growing in length without growing out, especially after the 6/7 month stage when they start becoming more active. It's perfectly normal.
The night waking is normal too, Up until 2 years anyway.

Introducing formula- first formula should always be used first. Follow on is far heavier and babies are more likely to react badly to it.
If you want to combine breast and formula feeding, feed formula from a cup rather than a bottle, or if using a bottle use paved bottle feeding.

lounakin

Well, she really won't take the formula at all, not even a sip so I gave up that idea. I'll just make sure she gets balanced meals and enough nursing and bless the fact that I haven't had to buy clothes since she still fits in 6 months ones!
As for the night waking, I really wonder how mothers who work full time are able to function. I only work part time but 9 months of no sleep is turning me into a zombie!

lounakin

I am kicking myself! I got a pump from a friend and realised today I have never been able to express well because the pump is daft... It's one of the worst apparently and I can vouch for it! Tommee tippe... don't get it! It would take me over and hour of solid pumping (noisy and painful) to get 50 ml (2 ounces). I went and got a medela one and in 15 minutes I got 2 ounces of one side!! This particular side is where I have had a blockage for months that wouldn't clear up and I thought I had barely any milk left as I was ever only able to express 15/20 ml from it. Now that I'm getting all the milk out I realise I've got more than enough and surprise surprise, the blockage is going away!
I would never have thought a pump would cause me so many escalating issues!

implausible

mary1978 wrote: »

Should I start straight off on the "Follow on milk", or which type is best?

With the drinking bottles for the baby... He usually drinks water out of a sippy cup but isn't great at getting any volume in with these. So I thought I may use a combo of sippy cup and bottles. I have some of the tommy tippee bottles which we have never used, and they just have the regular teats on them.

If he has never used a bottle, there's not much point in getting him 'hooked' on one now. Try and persevere with the sippy cup, you'd be surprised how quickly they get good at it and they're adaptable at this young age. My wee man went from boob to cup and I only realised how handy this was when I got lots of comments from other mothers who were struggling to get the bottle off 2+ year olds! (The dodie was a different story though:rolleyes:) My little girl was more efficient at getting formula from the bottle and I had less time to be standing over her, so she had the bottle for a few months, but now at 10 months is on the sippy cup only. It's great not to have to be faffing about with bottles!

Mine have only ever had the first formula. Anything else is a gimmick I reckon, unless maybe if you have a very hungry baby.

implausible

lounakin wrote: »

Now that I'm getting all the milk out I realise I've got more than enough and surprise surprise, the blockage is going away!
I would never have thought a pump would cause me so many escalating issues!

That's brilliant Lounakin, much be such a relief - literally!

lynski

implausible wrote: »

Mine have only ever had the first formula. Anything else is a gimmick I reckon, unless maybe if you have a very hungry baby.

hungry baby formula is a gimmick, it does not exist in other countries, only ireland and uk.

Xdancer

lynski wrote: »

hungry baby formula is a gimmick, it does not exist in other countries, only ireland and uk.

It's available here in Spain too

December2012

Well done - medela pumps rock!