How long should a baby be given breast milk before switching to formula? ?

Question

When I had my son at 33 weeks, I was unable to give him my breast milk, because of medication I was taking for depression. He's 5 years old now. Were planning to become pregnant again early next year. I saw a report that infants should be given breast milk for at least the first 4 weeks after birth to help ensure their immune systems are stronger. I know alot of pro-breast feeding moms would say to at least 6 months or beyond this is not something I'm comfortable with. I've decided IF I do go this route I will be pumping and feeding through a bottle. I am EXTREMELY large breasted and it terrifies me to think I could suffocate a tiny baby. I commend those ladies that I see and speak to about their breast feeding experiences. For me it would be a nightmare. I know I sound extremely self-fish, but I am honestly trying to do what will be best for my next child/children. After breast milk, I will be switching the baby to a goats milk based formula, because my husband and I both have severe allergens to cows milk and soy. I was wondering if there are any other moms out there who are like me? I would like to hear about your experiences.

Answer 1

Breast feed for as long as you're able to.  Please keep this in mind: the first few weeks of BF are awful!  It's such an adjustment period for you and the baby, your body is trying to figure out a good supply, the baby's trying to latch.  BUT, if you make it through this period, things will be much easier and you might consider continuing longer.

BF sessions in the early days lasted upwards of an hour.  Now we're an efficient team and the baby can get enough milk after 10-20min.

With your history of allergies, I'd encourage you to BF for as long as possible.

And I guarantee, if you make past those first few weeks, it will become easier and more manageable.

In the end, it is your decision and you don't owe anyone an explanation.

Answer 2

Basically in the end, you are going to do what is comfortable for you. But if you are asking what is best for your baby, then breastfeeding for as long as you can is best.

At the absolute minimum, i think 6 weeks, but if you can get to 6 months, that would be great.

See how you go, you may find once you start, it's not as bad as you are anticipating. And i can honestly say i have never heard of anyone suffocating their baby from having large b*****s.

I breastfed my daughter till 22 months and plan to breastfeed my son till at least 2 years...i know that is not what you are planning to do...that's just my experience.

good luck.

Answer 3

Ideally, you shouldn't switch to formula.  The AAP recommends breast feeding for a minimum of 1 year, while the WHO recommends a minimum of two years.  Any breast milk is better than none, but if you want to give your baby the best nutrition, keep at it for at least a year.  You can switch right to cow's or goat's milk after that if you want.  Good luck.

*ETA*  I'm sorry you had such a poor experience with LLL.  I would try to find a more supportive chapter.  There are also other breast feeding support groups that you may find beneficial.  You can also find a lactation consultant through your doctor.  If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, forget about her.  Breast feeding is supposed to be a natural, gentle process, and having someone make you feel uncomfortable will not help.  Good luck.

Answer 4

don't worry, you won't suffocate your baby! it is not a nightmare, it is the best thing you can do for your bub. anyway, i am breastfeeding my baby who is almost two yrs old! for allergies the best is to breastfeed as long as you can, one year at least. do not introduce food before 6 months then start very slowly.  

Answer 5

"I am EXTREMELY large breasted and it terrifies me to think I could suffocate a tiny baby."

Loads of mothers have very large b*****s. No mother in history has ever suffocated a baby with her breast, I promise you.

As for your question, the benefits of breast milk do not end at any given point, and the risks of formula do not diminish. Given that "I am honestly trying to do what will be best for my next child/children," I suggest attending a few La Leche League meetings (http://llli.org/ ) and seeing if you can't get more comfortable with nursing.

You can safely breastfeed on many antidepressants. From Canadian breastfeeding authority Dr Jack Newman:

"Over the years, far too many women have been wrongly told they had to stop breastfeeding. The decision about continuing breastfeeding when the mother takes a drug, for example, is far more involved than whether the baby will get any in the milk. It also involves taking into consideration the risks of not breastfeeding, for the mother, the baby and the family, as well as society. And there are plenty of risks in not breastfeeding, so the question essentially boils down to: Does the addition of a small amount of medication to the mother’s milk make breastfeeding more hazardous than formula feeding? The answer is almost never. Breastfeeding with a little drug in the milk is almost always safer. In other words, being careful means continuing breastfeeding, not stopping.

Remember that stopping breastfeeding for a week may result in permanent weaning since the baby may then not take the breast again. On the other hand, it should be taken into consideration that some babies may refuse to take the bottle completely, so that the advice to stop is not only wrong, but often impractical as well. On top of that it is easy to advise the mother to pump her milk while the baby is not breastfeeding, but this is not always easy in practice and the mother may end up painfully engorged.

Breastfeeding and Maternal Medication

Most drugs appear in the milk, but usually only in tiny amounts. Although a very few drugs may still cause problems for infants even in tiny doses, this is not the case for the vast majority. Nursing mothers who are told they must stop breastfeeding because of a certain drug should ask the physician to make sure of this by checking with reliable sources. Note that the CPS (in Canada) and the PDR (in the USA) are not reliable sources of information about drugs and breastfeeding. Or the mother should ask the physician to prescribe an alternate medication that is acceptable during breastfeeding. In this day and age, it should not be a problem to find a safe alternative. If the prescribing physician is not flexible, the mother should seek another opinion, but not stop breastfeeding.

Why do most drugs appear in the milk in only small amounts? Because what gets into the milk depends on the concentration in the mother’s blood and the concentration in the mother’s blood is often measured in micro- or even nano-grams per millilitre (millionths or billionths of a gram), whereas the mother takes the drug in milligrams (thousandths of grams) or even grams. Furthermore, not all the drug in the mother’s blood can get into the milk. Only the drug that is not attached to protein in the mother’s blood can get into the milk. Many drugs are almost completely attached to protein in the mother’s blood. Thus, the baby is not getting amounts of drug similar to the mother’s intake, but almost always, much less on a weight basis. For example, in one study with the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil), the mother got over 300 micrograms per kg per day, whereas the baby got about 1 microgram per kg per day)."

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/09a-drugs...

Answer 6

The length of time one breastfeeds is up to the mother.

Answer 7

hi i breastfed for the first 5 weeks until my daughter drank me dry lol and my daughters immune system is pretty good. midwives say its the first amount of milk produced which is the most important,so the first few weeks are the most important.i then put my little one onto formula and she seemed alot happier as she could have more :)

i am very shy and didnt like the thought of breastfeeding but thought it was best to for the first few weeks but then i ran out anyway. but im glad i did breastfeed a little. give it a go. and gd luck with concieveing :) xx

Answer 8

You wouldn't suffocate your baby - you would be able to hear the baby if there was a problem and baby can turn head if they can't breathe --- ridiculous to imagine! You don't know if it would be a nightmare or not unless you try. If you lived hundreds of yrs ago, you wouldn't have a choice. Your baby would starve if you didn't breastfeed - how do you think people got along back then? Most women didn't have access to wet nurses!

You need to know that pumped breastmilk is not the same, baby needs your hind milk and it's much harder to get enough of that without baby nursing.

I think you're just imagining what it will be like and decided it will go badly - I would recommend talking to a lactation consultant who can work with you in person.

Goat's milk formula is going to be hard to find. I think I would try a hypoallergenic one. My daughter too, was allergic to soy and dairy. She was breastfed for 12 mos, but after 8 mos, I did supplement some with formula. Nutramigen worked great - no problems.

I would try nursing for 6 weeks - 6 mos if possible. If you can't do it, that's one thing. But you're short changing yourself to decide it won't work before you try. Did you know that breastfeeding will protect you too? It's a fact that moms who nurse (longer the better) are better protected from breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Research it! I don't know if you would get the same result from pumping.  

Answer 9

I exclusively pump and I belong to message board of women that aslo just exclusively pump.  And i none of us have had issues with hindmilk/foremilk.  If he wasn't getting the hindmilk my baby would not be gaining as much weight as he is or his poops would be off and they aren't...so exclusively pumping CAN WORK and not be an issue. You might just need to invest in a GOOD pump.  i have the medela pump in style advance.  Set small goals for yourself.  I first said 6 weeks and now i'm going towards 3 months and then will reevaluate.  Don't over pressure yourself or make up your mind too soon

Answer 10

I say give it a shot...my goal was 6 weeks...after six weeks I thought this isn't bad and aimed at 6 months..at 6 months I thought..'okay just until he gets teeth'..He's 11 months old now with 2 )almost 3) teeth and we're still nursing..My goal now is a year, but I bet once he turns a year I'll still nurse...just give it a shot and see where it leads you. And....try a million different positions.. I've found that laying on my side next to baby is easiest for us and has been for 11 months. Also remember....it's no one else's place to judge you...you're the  mommy...you're the own that will know your baby best...do what's best for you and your baby! A stressed out, umcomfortable mommy creates a stressed out uncomfortable baby. I know lots of mom's that have only pumped and it's worked for them. I thought after my first 6 weeks I'd simply pump, but I found I couldn't give up that unique bonding time that only I had with my son:) Good luck with whatever you do.