I'm ready to stop....

[klynnw]

pumping. My little one is almost 7 months (on Thursday!) and I have been eping (it's a long story, but suffice it to say that it is not for lack of effort) since he was born and I'm ready, oh so ready to be done. I have maybe a month's worth of freezer stash, but he won't take formula. At all. He takes two or three sucks from the bottle and cries. Then, he starts to refuse the bottle. How do I get him to take it? Any ideas? Any one have a lo who won't drink formula?

[trylyn5]

Have you tried mixing bm and formula? If you start with just a little formula mixed with the bm and gradually increase, that might work.

ETA: Yes you can mix bm and formula. That's how I did supplementing when dd was new per the doctor's instructions.

[klynnw]

I haven't tried mixing, do you just mix up two ounces of formula like it says and then add the breastmilk? You don't use breastmilk in place of water, right?

[Shaunsmom]

pumping. My little one is almost 7 months (on Thursday!) and I have been eping (it's a long story, but suffice it to say that it is not for lack of effort) since he was born and I'm ready, oh so ready to be done. I have maybe a month's worth of freezer stash, but he won't take formula. At all. He takes two or three sucks from the bottle and cries. Then, he starts to refuse the bottle. How do I get him to take it? Any ideas? Any one have a lo who won't drink formula?

Good for you for making it this far! If you are wanting to be done pumping and he doesn't take formula, what will you feed him?

My niece also refuses to take formula (mom is not able to produce enough milk for reasons unknown to me). I've donated some of my milk to my niece.

Would you consider using donated breast milk? If so, there is a yahoo group called Milkshare. It's private and moms donate excess breast milk to other moms.

I'm no help, I'm sorry. I am sure this is tough for you. Please let us know how things work out.

[klynnw]

Thank you! I don't feel comfortable taking donated breast milk, not when there's mothers out there who actually need it b/c they aren't able to produce enough. And I think of the preemies and other babies with health problems that require it and that's just not us (thank God). I can produce enough, I'm just tired of doing it. That's probably selfish to quit just b/c I want to, but after 7 months of this, I'm so tired of it. But, before I can dry up, I need to know that he will drink formula. I cut out a pumping per day and my supply has dipped, so I thought I would give him formula just to be sure he'd take it, and imagine my suprise when he didn't :(. So, today, I added the pumping back in just in case, figuring my supply will rebound and I'll probably add my middle of the night pumping back in tonight to help up the supply again until I know for sure that he will drink and can drink formula and be ok.

[trylyn5]

You would follow the directions on the formula and make it with water and then add that to bm. I would suggest only starting with an ounce or less of formula along with x oz of bm and work up from there since he won't take it.

[whitnessforhim]

I'm sorry I don't have any advice. I just wanted to say WTG for making it 7mo. I know how grueling EP can be!! It is not easy! Your LO is so lucky to have such a dedicated mommy!

[Mocosita]

I think you should give yourself a big pat in the back. EP is very hard..... and keeping it up for this long is amazing.

Ds was nearing one and I was having major supply issues, so I started mixing some soy milk to my bm and it worked. I see your LO is 7 months, so a few more months and you don't have to resort to formula.

What I did was mix 1 oz of soy milk with 3 or 4 of bm, and he didn't notice it. As he accepted it, then I increased the ratio of soy milk ( you can use formula) by one ounce and thus dimishing the amount of bm being used.

Good luck! And once again..... Great job for pumping this long!

[Nipple_nectar]

I think cutting the breastmilk a small bit at a time with formula will work for you, just be patient and go slow.

How many ounces does your LO drink in one session?

[klynnw]

The amount he drinks varies. If he had any solids, then its only an ounce or two, if he's just getting the bottle, then it's between 4 and 5 ounces.