Need BFing help:

jensma · #1 March 16th, 2011, 02:10 PM

i need advice! I have a couple of weddings that are out of town coming up that I am in. I am still fully breastfeeding Tyler and have not supplemented him at all. I was planning on starting to slow wean him at 6 months (4/19) and the first wedding is 4/30. Do you guys have any advice for me on how to keep up...it's just not always going to be convenient to breast feed with the bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, bridesmaid bunch and of course the wedding and reception! I'm not wanting to give up, just wondering if anyone has any suggestions!

fromustobaby · #2 March 16th, 2011, 04:21 PM

can you pump enough and does he drink from bottles?
also, at 6 months, I started K on formula mixed with oatmeal...pretty handy, he loved it (even though he would not eat formula alone ever) and it allowed me to get out and about for a bit without worrying about him starving

MarinaAndCharlie'sMommy · #3 March 16th, 2011, 04:24 PM

I would pump as much as you can now and slowly transition him to formula. Maybe start out at 1/2 BM 1/2 formula and see how he handles it. That's how I had to transition Marina to formula once I started to run out of frozen. Then, when I was with her I would BF and she would have formula while I was at work. As for all the events, I would pump before and after so that you're not completely miserable. HTH!

Celry · #4 March 16th, 2011, 06:15 PM

I didn't use formula, but I made sure I had a freezer stash of BM. Most women have way more milk in the morning, so that would be the time to pump. A&E would not take a bottle, so we did BM in a sippy cup and they would take it that way. I think we started that around 5 months on the rare occasion that I was gone.

karenwalter · #5 March 18th, 2011, 09:00 AM

Do you plan on completely weaning after 6 months? I ask that because otherwise I think pumping would be the way to go.

I was in a wedding (the maid of honor) when Connor was 7 weeks old. I just pumped quite a bit for a few weeks before the wedding so I had a stash of milk. It wasn't too hard though. DH brought Connor by for me to feed him once during the bachelorette party and once when we were getting ready for the wedding. Right before the wedding he gave him a bottle of pumped milk. Then during the reception, I was able to easily go back into the bridal room to BF (which I only needed to do once). The girls totally understood and it wasn't a problem at all.

I would have a couple of pumped milk bottles ahead of time and then just try to feed him when you can. That way you keep up your supply, but he can also have a bottle if you're busy or not available to nurse him.

LoLo'sMama · #6 March 19th, 2011, 08:15 PM

WOW. Sorry to get off track but I can't believe it's already coming on 6 months for you. I want to BF for 6 months too, and it's crazy that I am already half way there. How in the world is time flying by so fast?

I don't know how to wean either, it is a puzzling subject to me as well since you can not do cows milk until 1 year. How do you introduce formula and still maintain a supply you can depend on for some of the day without painful engorgement at another point in the day?

I will be watching this thread!

jensma · #7 March 20th, 2011, 05:45 PM

idk jessica...i drread it b/c engorgement is horrid and i have already had mastitis once...so i dread that again too!

I'm not sure what to do. The complication is that we will be out of town for both weddings, so we'll have to arrange for a fridge for the hotel if we decide to do pumping and then what do I do about pumping/feeding while at events. I appreciate the advice ladies. I'm still mulling this one over. If i do wean him we'll pretty much be done, not gonna mess with pumping during the day after. 6 months is really all the longer I care to go, if we go farther its just because I can, but honestly i'd rather get him off the boob. He is a HUGE comfort nurser and as a result we have sleep issues and can rarely get him to soothe himself any other way. It is very stressful for me, and while I don't really want to stop I think it is the best decision all around for us. We'll see though.

MommyPoky · #8 March 20th, 2011, 06:05 PM

I'd imagine that the easiest way would be to simply replace one feeding at a time with formula. That is, if he'll take it that way. I don't see a point in pumping really, if you're going to wean him completely. If he won't take the formula, you may need to pump for a while to mix it until he will take it. If he has no problem drinking the formula, then just do it one feeding at a time. That seems like it'll avoid mastisis and any other ickies, and he will still get the boob so going cold turkey won't be a super shock to him.

Although, if you do want to continue, I do need to say that around six months, Josie started nursing for 5-10 mins at a time, then going off to play. It was way less frustrating as far as the time it took, and now I miss being able to just put her on my boob and relax in front of the tv! She can go 5+ hours without nursing too, because she's so interested in exploring stuff. So if the reason you kind of want to stop is because of the comfort nursing, I'm just pointing out that around six months, that'll likely stop or at least, lessen a lot. Not pressuring you to continue or anything

You just sounded unsure.

jensma · #9 March 20th, 2011, 06:47 PM

Wendy thanks for that! I am unsure. It is just a big stress to me right now but I also don't want to just cut him off either. I guess we'll just play it by ear. If we stop, we stop, if we keep going then okay.

mlyster · #10 March 20th, 2011, 08:14 PM

You know my breastfeeding situation I think but I will recap for you. We are now completely done BUT we did successfully BF and FF together for 3 months before Connor was done. We replaced the mid afternoon feeding first then the morning one and without too much trouble my supply followed suit. Eventually we were down to only BFing morning and just before bed (and did so for a few weeks) which would probably be ideal if you want to keep bfing but want to have some freedom for the weddings and such. If you want more specifics or just to talk out the options let me know.

fromustobaby · #11 March 20th, 2011, 08:57 PM

does he drink from bottles at all and has he ever had formula? Kaiden doesnt like bottles (he might take BM but only decently fresh/etc.), and he would not take formula ever, from a bottle so thats why I never could...I'm just saying switching just to switch might be a bit more difficult than you might think...

Wendy is right though, after 6 month, it REALLY gets easier, being able to do things with them, you can also get them started on real food so they dont always need BM...

Kaiden is still nursing, but at most, it is 2 sessions a day for about 5 minutes each right before bed...and I just love that snuggle time with him at this point...

PS-Almost every hotel nowadays has a fridge in the room so that really shouldnt be a problem...

MommyPoky · #12 March 20th, 2011, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fromustobaby

you can also get them started on real food so they dont always need BM...

That's true, when Josie hit the solids, we would just bring a jar, spoon, and bib with us when we went out to eat, so that is something you could do at the weddings. It'd probably hold him over until mealtime again anyway.

karenwalter · #13 March 21st, 2011, 08:19 AM

So, if you want to stop completely then I would replace 1 feeding at a time with formula. I had major problems with mastitis and gradually cutting down on the BFing pretty much prevented me from getting engorged but also prevented the mastitis. I would think you need to start earlier though if you're going to have him weaned before the wedding. I would cut down one nursing session and then wait a week before cutting down again. That gave my body plenty of time to adjust and Connor time too.

I'm still BFing once before he goes to bed now. I still have plenty of milk but only for that one session. So, if you're interested in still being able to BF some, it might be possible for you. Is Tyler going with you to the weddings? You could wean him for during the daytime before leaving and just nurse him in the morning and night when you're in the hotel if you still want to continue with BFing. That would keep you from having to pump. But, if he's not going with you, I don't see you keeping a supply unless you pump. You could always pump and dump if you don't want to mess with storage, since the goal is just to maintain a supply. Or you can just be done and wean completely before leaving. 6 months is HUGE accomplishment!

We never switched to formula but Connor didn't like to switch to cow's milk at first. I did have some pumped milk so I did 3/4 BM and 1/4 Cow';s and gradually switched him over until he was loving the cow's milk.

The biggest question is does he take a bottle. If he doesn't, then you should probably start trying to get him to take one now because it can take quite a while for some kids.

Sorry this is so long.....we just switched Connor to cow's milk from only breastmilk so this is all very fresh in my mind.

jensma · #14 March 21st, 2011, 08:50 AM

BFing first thing in the morning and at night would be ideal, especially b/c at this point I am 95% sure I am going to go back to working pretty soon. He does take bottles but is really weird about it. He was great in the beginning but has been kind of pissy about it the past couple of months. If he needs to take one though, he will. No he has not ever had formula and we have already started solids so those are all helpful things. My supply is finally regulating some at night so that I'm not waking up engorged if he STTN, which he does do sometimes! lol

He is going to be with us at the weddings, so maybe FF during the day would be the easiest route. I am definitely NOT going to have a him weaned before the April wedding, but I should by the June wedding.

I do have quite a bit of milk pumped, so maybe i could do 1/2 1/2 bottles when i'm BFing him during the day for a while. He refuses defrosted milk usually but maybe if it is mixed?? IDK...

This whole thing is a a challenge, and part of me wishes he would self wean, but knowing this kid he'd be one that wants to stay on until he's 5! lol

LindsLuvsSi · #15 March 21st, 2011, 01:34 PM

this may be of some help?

kellymom.com :: Partial Weaning & Combination Feeding

LoLo'sMama · #16 March 21st, 2011, 02:34 PM

Well you got some good info to work on. I would just work on feeding him a bottle right now so he is comfortable with that. My doc suggested DH give a bottle instead of me so they don't get confused or pissy that the boob lady isn't giving them the boob.

KDD · #17 March 22nd, 2011, 05:50 PM

Just wanted to say to ask the hotel for a mini fridge. Some will charge extra for it, but most won't. I sometimes bring a bottle of BM if we're going out someplace that I don't want to breastfeed. Nathan takes longer to drink from a bottle but he will do it if hungry.