Giving formula to your baby along with breastfeeding is referred to as supplementing. There are several justifications due to which women prefer to give formula to their kids along with breastfeeding. The preference to supplement may be easy or hard; it may be something one would like to do or it may be an immense source of nervous tension. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises breastfeeding solely for the initial four to six months and then keeping breastfeeding for up to one year along with introducing solid food. Nonetheless, to give supplement or not is up to the mum, and the primary objective isthat the babies obtain the adequate nutrition they need.
Is It OK to Introduce Formula to a Breastfed Baby?
Yes, it is enormously safe to provide supplement to a breastfed baby with formula. A number of mums choose to supplement their baby’s feeding with formula when they return to their jobs; though such mums may face difficulty siphoning their milk recurrently, yet they don’t want to give up nurturing totally.
Many other mums do so due to the fact that their baby is not getting adequate breast milk to develop properly. Countless mums just wish to let her family members or a babysitter to provide a bottle to their kid occasionally. No matter what the reasons may be,breast milk is always healthier than any other supplement.
How to Introduce Formula to a Breastfed Baby
When a baby has been solely breastfed, it can be tough for the mum and her baby to make a changeover to formula. One has to make a physical as well as emotional amendment. Though babies are fond of their everyday habits, they are incredibly compliant; hence, they could accept new things in a shorter period that you can imagine.
However, babies still frequently reject the formula at first; so one has to be very patient to try more than once to coddle the baby to drink formula from a bottle. A number of babies merely set out to seize whatever is given to them, while several others may initially decline a bottle especially if their mums are the ones to offer them. This is because the babies have an inclination to recognize the odor of their mums and hence, desire the original lovable breast milk. This changeover could be made downy by requesting baby’s dad or other family members to give the first few bottles.
Besides, according to the lactation experts, it is better to feed the baby with the sucked out breast milk instead of the one mixed with formula because you don’t know whether your baby can drink the whole bottle up or not which would be a total waste of your precious breast milk. But if your baby still appears hungry even after fed with the breast milk, a bottle of formula could be offered.
Here’s a video to provide you some tips in supplementing with formula to your baby. Check it out:
What to Consider Before Introducing Formula to a Breastfed Baby?
At this age, the majority of babies aren’t completely hesitant to seek a bottle or a new food source. Therefore, to begin with, one requires considering the following:
1. Planning
It implies establishment of the response of the baby and determination of the responsibility of the person who is believed to do the feeding. It is finest to have somebody other than the mum do it for the first few days so that the baby does not have to search around for its mum’s breast milk.
2. Schedule
Most professionals suggest avoidance of initiation of bottle to a breastfed baby until the babyturns to one month and the breast feeding is established well enough. When you introduce the formula, your baby may not accept it right away. Be patient and continue offering it, especially when he is hungry.
3. Quantity
The formula needs to be instituted little by little so that the baby is able to convert himself to its flavor and his belly gets time to adapt to it. You should just mix a small amount of formula to the breastmilk for the first time. Then keep adding it little by little, and you will soon find that your baby may drinka whole bottle of formula.
How Could Formula Supplementing Affect Your Baby?
If you begin supplementing repeatedly, your baby is expected to decline the breast. Since a bottle conveys milk more rapidly than the breast; hence, if your baby is keen on something to eat and drink, then it is likely to wish for the speedy release arrangement of the bottle. Moreover, the babies are anticipated to experience satiety for a longer period of time after the intake of formula due to the fact that they don’t absorb formula as quickly as they do with the breast milk.
Another noteworthy aspect is that once the baby starts the intake of formula, its bowelmovements will be noticeably different and its stool will be auburn or brunette with a burly smell. Their bowel movements will be more recurrent than during the phase when he was solely fed on breast milk (and was passing fecal matter with peanut butter uniformity). Mums need to be careful about the presence of blood in the fecal matter or the spit up because it is an indication of non-acceptance of milk on the part of the baby. In this case, mums must seek advice from apediatrician.
