A question about breastfeeding, I could use a little feedback.?

My daughter is 7 weeks old today and exclusively breastfed. I was wondering if it was ok to give her a bottle or 2 of formula a day. I only ask this is as during the day she is constantly hungry, (feeding for at least 30 minutes, and hungry again anywhere from half hour to an hour later, only to eat for another at least 30 minutes.) She is not overweight, she is where the guidelines says she should be. She is taking alot out of me and I swear my nipples are raw. She sleeps well at night though. A friend mentioned the bottle of formula so it would make her fuller, and I see my doctor next week, but I was just looking fir some answers and input on this.

She does take a pacifier, I started using a pump yesterday, also she has been eating like this for almost 3 weeks now, eats once at night and within every hour during the day. I have a good milk supply and she is correctly latched. She is growing well, so I just don't know. I do not want my milk to dry up, I love breastfeeding but I just think that she is eating too much.

feeding for 30 minutes is kind of a long time.
i wonder if you are not 'letting down' enough, if enough milk isn't coming through. you could try massaging your breasts to relax the ducts; and make sure you are comfortable and relaxed yourself. when you aren't relaxed the ducts aren't either.

i would be afraid that the baby won't want breast milk after having a bottle. that would be my only foreseen problem.

You could do that, it wouldn't hurt her. However, she is probably going through a growth spurt. During which she will nurse more to increase your supply. If you give the bottle it will decrease your supply and she will either need more formula because you are making less milk or she will need to nurse more to increase your production. I would continue nursing as you are it will get easier. Hang in there.

Is this just recent?it could be a growth spurt, and it will level off in a few days. Also, if she sleeps thru the night (yay) she'll eat more during the day.
If your nipples are raw, try lansinoh or some other lanolin if you aren't already, also might want to call a lactation consultant who could make sure she's latched on right, it should be getting less sensitive by now.
Good Luck!

If you are not producing enough milk to satisfy her, then adding formula to the mix is only going to cause you to produce less.

Make sure you are drinking plenty (lime gatoaid is supposed to be the best).

Otherwise, wait until you see your doctor and talk to him about it. At that age, they can seem to want to feed constantly. Our daughter is only 4 months old and feeds every 3 hours.

I don't think you can switch to straight formula. Do you have a pump? you may have to do half and half or something b/c the two are different and you don't know how your baby will handle the formula. You should definitly check with the doctor first. Move your appoinment up if your that sore.

Well.. if you want to breastfeed, that's all you need. Maybe your baby is going through a growth spurt or she's just eating more. Either way, it will take a day or two of her eating more for your supply to be built up. Unless your doctor tells you you aren't making enough for some reason, you will have enough and you do not need formula. If you want to make your supply of breastmilk go down(which will probably eventually lead to more and more formula and less breastmilk), then you should start on formula.

i was just wondering does she take a pacifier? i am breastfeeding as well and he acted like he was always hungry and it turned out to be he was just a sucky baby. his need to suck was so strong we bought 5 different pacifiers until he found the one he wanted. now he is fine.

I don't suggest it! All babies nurse like that, she needs to feed that often at this age. As she gets older she will feed less often, just stick it out now and it will pay off in the end!

That is my opinion, however, you CAN give her formula, it will not hurt her, just your milk supply!

Often times babies need to fulfill the sucking tendency if she is eating a lot AND spitting it back up only to eat more... you may want to think about giving her a pacifier in between feedings.

Sure, just be consistent. For example, if you start doing one bottle a day, you will have to keep it up, because your breasts will adjust and make that much less milk. Its okay to give yourself a break, but your body is still adjusting and it will get better. So, its up to you. You could supplement some or just wait it out. My son was the same way, he ate about every hour to an hour and a half for the longest time, then it finally started getting more spaced out. He grew really well though, and I'm glad I did it. I did supplement some here and there, and he went back and forth between bottle and breast just fine. I ended up breastfeeding a lot longer than I thought I would, and weaned him at 15 months! It was soooo hard at first, but the longer I did it the better it got, and it became very relaxing for both of us.

I would wait. I know its hard and you are tired but I would still wait even one more week. Formula makes them fuller because it is hard for them to digest. My daughter nursed like that and her ped. smiled and said it was wonderful and she was gaining weight etc. I started giving her 4 oz of formula at 12 weeks as she was still eating every 2 hours even at nite. She gets nursed then 4oz and then nurses again and then sleeps for 7 hours. FYI if your baby is overweight and breast fed there is no need to worry. That usually slows down by 6 months.

I would really not do it if I were you.

Try giving her a pacifier instead to see if she really is hungry and not wanting to comfort suck.

I only say to avoid formula because if she really is hungry and having a growth spurt then if you give her formula then your body will not be able to keep up with her feeding demands. She's nursing frequently to build up a supply. Maybe your milk isn't coming out really fast so she needs to nurse more frequently to get what she needs.

As for soreness, try some lanolin, I find that helps. The more she nurses the more she'll toughen those puppies up. :-)

But yeah-I wouldn't give her any formula. You don't want to potentially mess up your supply. I would only say yes if you just had a total overabundance of milk as it is.

Maybe she is comforting herself- using the breast as a soother. My oldest did that! She may not be taking milk the entire 30 minutes and therefore not filling up. You will make what she needs-she will not starve. Babies have growth spurts and I beleive around 7-8 weeks is the first one- so she could be eating a lot right now because of that. If thats the case your production will pick up and her eating times will settle back down. Do you have a gp or a lactation consultant at the hospital near you or a leleche league- they are excellent and could give you some advice. Just be warned that some babies will prefer the bottle and not want to breastfeed so please consult an expert first. Good luck and congrats:-)

I've heard starting on formula is a slippy downhill path if you want to continue to breastfeed. However, she is 7 weeks, so it may be okay.

I will let you know, my son breast feed every 1.5 to 2 hours for 45 minutes at a time till he was nearly 3 months old! It wore me out, but it did eventually get better at 3 months. She probably just has a fast metabolism. Even if you give her the extra formula, that does not mean she will stop wanting to nurse so often. It just takes time for them to stop needing to eat so frequently.

By 3 months my son was going 2.5 hours and eating more like 20 to 30 minutes. Now at 5 months he eats every 3 to 4 hours for 20 minutes.

You COULD give formula before bed to see if she sleeps longer without getting you up. We did this just so dad could feed him once in a while but it didn't really help with cutting down on how often he needed to nurse.

if you want to breastfeed exclusively then don't give her formula because once you do you will always have to do it because your milk supply will go down because you are replacing it with formula...plus breast milk is better for your baby...have you tried pumping and then giving it to her in a bottle? i am not sure if she can still get nipple contusion...my daughter never took a bottle i pumped and tried to give her a bottle but she wouldn't have it...ask her doctor first you can always call and talk to a nurse at any time...also are you using lanolin oil on your nipples that will help and try to let them air our....i have also heard if you put a cabbage leaf in your bra for a while it can help with the pain but i never tried that one myself...don't worry the pain will end soon don't give up the hard part (breaking your nipples in) is almost over...good luck!

She's probably going through a growth spurt... she's at that age now =)

BUT if you want to give her a bottle of formula or two, it wont hurt at all.