How much formula and how do I wean from the BB's?

Hi gals,

Am probably going to start weaning DD in the next week or two and need some advice.
I have struggled with Breastfeeding for 6 months as DD has reflux and has now associated pain with the BB's. We went to tresillian and the feeding did get a bit better but now its bad again. She is extremely fussy and comes on and off crying. She isn't in pain anymore but is still behaving like she did when she was in Pain. (is now on losec)
To make a long story short I am at the end of the road for how much I can cope with as am crying before most feeds and have been diagnosed with PND.

So I am at the point where I am going to put her on formula and I have no idea how to start.

How do I wean (without getting mastitis as have already got it twice in the last month as she was not draing me properly).

What formula do you recommend?

How long does a tin of formula last for? My DD is 6 months old and 6.5kg's and is having 5 feeds a day currently (do formula fed babies have less?)

Any other tips?

Thanks in advance as I am quite emotional at the moment...

Erybery I can completely relate. You did such a fantastic job to get her to 6 months.

DD was also a reflux bub and she'd snack feed, was slow weight gain and such.

Nan worked for us, S26 constipated her something horrid. Heard people rave about Heinz but there is also an S26 for refux bubs. maybe someone will elaborate. DD has never been a huge eater so I used the tin as a guide, thay have sugested mls on them. If she doesn't finish the amount don't stress too much just get your DD's weight checked at the health nurse place. Most do once a week I think. My DD would drink a good 30ml less then recommended but was excellent in her weight gain and I was told not to worry.

HTH!

it was about a tin a week for DS then

Start off with a Step 1 formula, not Step 2. And if bub is happy on Step 1, you don't need to worry about Step 2 at all.

Step 1 is whey based, Step 2 is casein based. Step 2 is good for hungrier babies because it is harder to digest but that same factor means it does cause constipation in a lot of babies. The nutritional differences between Step 1 and Step 2 are miniscule.

The first trick will be getting her to accept the bottle of formula so pick one feed of the day and try to get her to have the bottle then. In my experience Nan and Bellamy's Organic have the sweetest flavour and smell. Breastmilk is quite sweet...my exclusively bfed DS would only have Bellamy's. I started DD off on Bellamy's and changed her to Nan, only because the shops had run out of Bellamy's, and the flavour and smell was fortunately almost identical. She started sleeping through once she was on Nan so I never changed her back (don't know if it was related but I wasn't game to mess around with what seemed to be a winning formula, pardon the pun!)

My MCHN always recommended Nan or Heinz. I personally think Karicare smells and tastes awful and DS wouldn't go near it. S-26 has a bad reputation for causing constipation but most FF babies I know are on S-26 with no problems...but thought it was worth mentioning.

So replace a feed a day with the bottle and when that's been going well for a few days and your breasts have adjusted, introduce another bottle...and so on and so forth.

Once you are on formula full time you'd be going through nearly a tin a week in my experience, but you will also be introducing solids soon so that will slow down around 9 months or so.

ETA: I'd also start her straight on a fast flow teat of whichever brand of bottle you choose.

ETA2: Start by making up the recommended amount for her age on the back of the tin. You'll soon get to know how much she needs to feel full. DS never drank the recommended amount for his age but DD did.

ETA3: You have to chuck any leftovers in the tin out after 4 weeks, if I remember rightly.

Are you able to give her expressed breastmilk every second feed or so, and then decrease that amount as you wean her onto the formula?

I don't have any advice but read your post and my heart goes out to you. :hug:

You've done a great job getting to 6 months so good on you for perservering. Wishing you lots of luck for a smooth transition :)

Hi,

It sounds like you have had a difficult start to motherhood. You've done a great job feeding your baby so well for so long.
Are you getting treatment for your pnd? It is probably important that you get appropriate treatment ASAP - you don't need to wean to start on medication for pnd (if that is thought by your health care providers to be the best course of action for you) Being adequately treated might make the changeover easier to deal with.