Going from breast milk to formula

I moved from ebf to formula in December. LO was 5 months. I started by giving the ready made milk and dropped a breastfeed every few days (the last ones to go were the first morning feed, bedtime feed and overnight feed). Once he was having 3 bottle feeds, I changed to the powder formula. I would try and change the feeds gradually rather than going cold turkey, as you don’t want to get mastitis. Also your hormones will need to readjust, I experienced bad post weaning blues, not sure if everyone gets this, but just to warn you because I wasn’t prepared for that aspect of it

Thank you for this @Megan 😊 Can I ask why you did ready made formula first? The trouble I have is, that while I'm offering both, he just refuses Formula completely and waits until I offer breast. So he's not having anything at all unless I offer breast which is why I'm thinking if I switch completely to formula then he will be hungry enough to take it eventually. I will still pump for comfort but I won't feed the milk to him.

You could try a mix of breast milk and formula in his bottles for a few days and see if he’ll take that better and gradually move to formula only. My little boy is more likely to have a bottle if I mix a third breast milk in once it’s made. I breast feed 95% of the time so he’s a bit reluctant to take a bottle but when I do want him to have one this is how I get him to x

This is so great idea @Rosie , thank you! When you add the breast milk, do you warm it first? X

I got mine to take formula by ensuring he would take expressed milk from the bottle first. I then put half an ounce of formula in 4oz of breast milk and slowly upped the amount of formula each day. He now accepts formula no problem. X

I also make sure he has 1 bottle of formula each day so that he doesn’t lose interest in having it. He has it in the morning when his dad wakes up with him so I can have a little lie in! It’s given me so much freedom because if I need to be away for the night or day I don’t need to express enough milk !

I’m the exact same. I want to carry on feeding but the bottle she has in the evening takes me pumping at least four or five times! She’s taken to Kendamil Organic really well so far. It’s the only one we’ve tried and gave it to her when she was really hungry xx

That's exactly the same for me @Georgia ! Takes me so many pumps to get a bottle's worth and I'm just so tired of it. Perhaps I need to try some different formulas xx

I had the same exact problem, I used to be able to pump 8-9oz but then could barely even get 2oz from a pump both sides. So I switched from EBF to formula from 4/5months old, it took a few weeks for him to be completely on formula. I think if your son isn’t taking to the formula then maybe try a different one? My son luckily took straight away to kendamil, I heard it was very similar to breastmilk in taste, I did his bedtime feed with the formula for a few days first and then overtime changed a breastfeed to a bottle until he was only on formula. It can upset their tummies and cause gas when you change the milk they’re having so it’s not recommended to just go straight to formula, my son had a lot of gas even just with 1 bottle of formula but it’s just their tummies getting used to the change. Make sure you’re pumping too when your breasts feel full, I didn’t pump everytime he was due a feed I just did it when I felt full but not sore yet, and it helped my milk supply drop quickly xx

Thanks @Hannah that's really helpful too! I have been doing a couple of bottles of formula a day for a while now (he doesn't always have much of it) but that's really good to know about the kendamil 😊 xx

My little girl just won’t take a bottle no matter if it’s breast milk or formula or a mix in it, she screams the place down until she gets the breast. In the end I tried milk in a sippy cup instead and she will drink it from that, you could try that? A friend who’s a midwife told me some breastfed babies never take to a bottle but they will take to sippy cups etc