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I waited a week b4 introducing any formula. The Leleche lady yelled at me when she called to check up on me. His doctor said it was fine and I was having trouble keeping up with his demands. Also, he wasn't gaining enough weight. I tried a few different kinds of formula and he did the best on Good Start. I didn't give him a lot of formula at first, basically I'd pack a bottle when we were leaving the house because I hate BF in public. I went back to work full time at 6 weeks so when that started my babysitter now gives him between 5-10 oz. of formula a day. I usually BF him whenever I have him unless we run to the store or something and he starts screaming. For me it has been a huge help. If you couldn't supplement, I probably would have quit after 6 weeks. My son started sleeping through the night once I went back to work and I don't notice a difference of him sleeping longer if I give him formula at night. Play it by ear and see what works for you. I found the things you plan on doing and how change a lot once the baby arrives. I also have a tip that has helped me with bottle feeding. When I'd leave the house I'd make a bottle and it would go bad after an hour or so, or I wouldn't have anywhere to warm it up if I had it on ice. I started taking the water I needed and warming it in one bottle. Then I'd measure the formula I'd need in another bottle. Once the baby started crying I'd open the water, pour it in and I'd always have a fresh bottle. As long as the water is room temp. my son will drink it. This way I can leave for hours and not worry about it. You also waste a lot less formula this way. I'm sure this is common sense but it took me a couple of weeks to figure it out

i do it all. I pump and give it to him by bottle and I also bf...at night he gets formula and during the day if i dont have enough b___st milk pumped I give him formula. Formula actually makes him feel better because something that I am eating is giving him gas but I dont know what it is. i guess all babies are different and mine does not seem to have nipple confusion. when you are ready to only give him formula just wean him off slowly and start giving him more formula.

i pump and store the bottles in the fridge, then mix 2-4 ounces with 2-4 ounces of similac at a time depending on what she is able to take in. as for the gas - its normal for watery stools and a lotttt of gas with b___st milk, so don't worry. we actually took her to the doctor because she was so ga__sy and her stools were like water, but it turned out its normal. if we only gave her formula, her ga__siness would be less and her stools more seedy/solid. we feel stupid for racing her to the doc, but we are glad we did because now we know not to worry about it.

I tried to do both. It didnt work for me and was very upsetting. Amaya's doctor told us that b___stmilk is very sweet and formula isnt. It is just that plain and simple. I was so sad when I had to stop b___stfeeding. After her first bottle of formula she would not latch on at all. She wouldnt even try. I tried pumping, and she just wouldnt take b___stmilk anymore. I am not telling you this to scare you, but just to let you know that everything will be fine no matter how it turns out. We are using Enfamil Lipil with Iron and she is gaining weight great. She is very healthy and we can already tell that she is very smart. She is only 3 1/2 months old but is the brightest little bulb there is! lol Anyway, I would definantly talk to your/his doctor about which formula is right to do this with. good luck!

LP...I think it's really great that you want to b___stfeed. My advise is to visit with a certified lactation consultant (someone with the letters IBCLC after their name) while you are still pregnant...it can be tricky if you introduce the bottle too often and too soon. Besides the possibility of what is called 'nipple confusion' it can affect your milk supply too. Your body knows how much milk to produce, based on the demand, so if your baby is feeding at the bottle, you will make that much less milk...it is a true 'supply and demand' system. After about 3 or 4 weeks, things regulate a bit and often introducing one bottle a day is not a problem. You can run in to quite a few 'hurdles' with b___stfeeding in the early days/weeks....but most of these things can be easily overcome with the right support and information from someone really knowlegable about BF. Your little baby is very lucky that you have made such an important decision. I totally echo the comment about how much things can change once your baby is born though...LOL...Good luck with everything.

Thank you so much for all your advice. A lot of it has really cleared things up for me and I am a little more confident about feeding my baby. I sure hope we don't have problems with b___stfeeding and have a smooth transition. Thanks again!

wait until he or she is about 4 weeks old and than introduce the bottle / formula to him. if you do it any earlier you will confuse the baby and he might have problems laching on to your nipple and the bottle. but it you do it any later than you struggle with giving him a bottle b/c he is now use to your nipple. so introduce at about 4 weeks maybe a bottle a day and he or she should do fine. you should b___st feed at least up until 4 mnths. but it you cant dont worry about it. so at 4 weeks start to introduce to bottle so that when you want to stop nursing it wont be such a huge change for baby. but remember it's going to be painful a little bit, your b___st willl get engorged by every feeding you miss, so buy a good tight sports bra. email me if you have any more questions, ryanne8454@bellsouth.net