switchimg between formula & breast

edited November 2011 in Breastfeeding
Ok, I really don't know what to do... I gave up breastfeeding in the hospital cause I was terrified he wasn't getting anything... lil man was losing weight so fast that the nurses were even concerned ...

Well I started bottle feeding him n he finally started gaining weight back and at his appointment this afternoon he was back up to almost 7lbs. (He was 7lbs 6oz at birth)

I also found out today that he has jaundice and the doc suggested I feed him every 3 hours instead of every 4. (Random fact that I'm not even sure is relevant)

Anyway, my question is this... my milk came in today and I was thinking about breastfeeding him at night and bottle feeding him during the day. Will that upset his lil tummy? I don't want to risk making him sick... also, I can't pump... can't afford one... how bad is it going to be on me if I can't pump during the day?

Comments

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • you can definitely try to nurse him. do you get wic or anything? they might supply you with a pump. breastmilk is soo much better for jaundice than formula.
  • Hand pumps at Walmart are like $20 they are super cheap! You don't need some fancy pump!
  • And hand pumps are not tiring!
  • @damiens_mommy I do the exact opposite: I bf during the day and he gets a formula bottle before bed and his first wakeup, then bf at his 2nd wakeup and then all day. I sometimes supplement if he seems hungry after nursing during the day but usually he's fine. I've been doing this for 7 weeks (he's 9 weeks old now) and I don't believe I have a supply problem and I don't notice any negative effects on his tummy. I did have a slight decrease (or I thought so anyway) so I tried fenugreek + blessed thistle but I didn't notice any difference except my son was fussy and I stank like syrup...so I stopped the supplements as they weren't worth a fussy baby to me, and just put him to the breast more and he seems more satisfied. But any breastmilk he gets is beneficial :-)
  • I wanted to breastfeed/pump more than anything. My baby was not getting enough nutrition and was basically starving/getting dehydrated. Thanks to the lactation consultants, I refused formula because they made me Feel like I couldn't provide for my child physically, and I wasn't trying hard enough if I didn't Breastfeed only. My milk wasn't enough and ended up drying up and now I can only formula feed. Moral of the story: you can do both and if anything, you're doing more good than harm to your child. So don't worry, as long as your child is receiving food/nutrition, they'll be just fine :-)
  • You might find formula at night and boob through the day better as formula will fill baby up for longer so may sleep longer. You will probably end up drying up but every little bit helps and atleast breast milk is free :-)
  • I breastfeed during the day and usually give her 2-3 formula bottles a day (usually 2 at night 1 from daddy in the late afternoon) and pump maybe twice a day and she's 6 weeks today and doing great and gaining weight and my supply hasn't really changed
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