Breastfeeding but started to supplement?

My son is 4 months old and was exclusively breastfeeding until he started pulling away during nursing and just playing and not eating. He use to eat for 20-30 minutes each side and then he started only eating for about 5-10 minutes and the start pulling away. I would burp him but he would just keep pulling away until I switched sides and then he would repeat the same thing. I started supplementing formula 1 week ago. I only give him 1 4oz. bottle in the afternoon and another at night. I am nervous that he is going to get use to the bottle and not want to breastfeed anymore. He normally would fall asleep at the breast but now he only falls asleep on the bottle. I will be continuing my college education in Sept. so I know I will have to supplement then also because when I pump I only get about 2 oz. in a 30 minute period, can I assume that he is only getting 2 oz. also??? I am just looking for opinions or experience on mothers who breastfed and then started supplementing. Thank you

What your little one is doing is common enough to have a name: "The distractible baby." At this age they're kind of waking up to the world and want to look around and experience stuff rather than boring ol' nursing. :) Try just letting the little man nurse when he wants to and don't let it get to you when he's popping on and off. Some things that work for some nursing dyads:

- Go to a quiet, dim area and rock while nursing
- Use a nursing necklace or some interesting thing around your neck to keep baby's attention
- Read to or sing to baby while nursing to keep his attention

Like Lady Trinity said, pumping is NOT a good indication of what baby's getting. Baby is MUCH more efficient and gets much more than you pump. If you're crazy good at pumping then you might get what your baby's getting, but don't let that be your indicator.

When you go back to school you can hopefully use breast milk for at least some of his bottles if you start pumping and freezing now. Lady Trinity gave some good advice, I'll just add that you can check kellymom.com for some good pumping advice.

Hope that helps and keep up the awesome work!

First off - do not take the amount you are able to pump to be the same as what your child is able to get. A baby is MUCH more effective at getting milk than a machine is.

Second - every bottle of formula you offer your child is going to make a dent in your supply, because breast milk is created by the body on a supply and demand process.

Around 4 months old, your son is going to be a more efficient nurser than he was at 1 month old - he will be able to fill up faster if he wants to. He is also likely starting to get distracted by everything going on around him.

So - my suggestions :

- ditch the formula, you need to keep your supply up, especially if you're going to be going back to school and pumping.
- start pumping now between feedings to increase your supply, and to start a freezer stash of milk.
- try nursing in a quiet location if possible, or with him in a sling, so he's kind of hugged up against you.

Children go through growth spurts where they will nurse as you described, and as the spurt ends the will pull away and play, also as you described. I wouldn't supplement with formula right now, let him continue to breastfeed as long as you are able. It will help keep up your milk supply. Unless he's showing signs of weight loss, he's getting the exact amount of nutrients that he needs.

You can pump now and freeze breastmilk for later (this won't interfere with your supply). It's a good idea to pump after a feeding, when your son decides he doesn't want to nurse any longer.

As, for what you're pumping, that's not what your baby is getting. Babies are much more efficient at getting milk from the breast than any pump.

Relax honey. I went through the same problem. My son is 6 months old now and I tough that he was not sucking enough because I was only pumping 2 ounces. I consulted a lactation nurse and the leche league (WWW.lalecheleagu.com) and they both told me that is rare for a woman to pump out more than 2 ounces per session. They both recommended me to take Fenugreek pills and Mother's Milk Tea (I bought them at the health food store) and to pump after each feedings for an extra 5 to 10 minutes. I also did what they call a "Breast Feeding Boot Camp" here you mostly rest for 3 days in bed with your baby. Nap when the baby naps, and have baby sleep with you at night too. Withing a day I noticed my pumped out milk increased by an ounce. Give it a try. The Best of Luck to you. Just remember that what you pump out is not what your baby is taking out. The pumps usually pump 20 sucks per minute and the baby sucks 40 sucks per minute.
Another to take in mind is that when you have your monthly your supply decreases and I would advise you to drink the tea and take the capsules then.

Hi there. I can only answer part of your question. How much milk you are able to pump out of your breasts has NOTHING to do with how much milk your baby is getting. I totally breastfed by babies, never gave them a single drop of anything else, ever, and I could never pump out more than an ounce or two if I really worked at it. If you are able to pump out several ounces of milk it just mean that you are good at pumping out several ounces of mil! The one has nothing to do with the others. My babies were SO plump, they looked like little budda's and I never gave them anything else. I can also tell you that it is entirely possible to nurse your baby and go back to school. You can experiment with other types of pumps and see if one of them will work for you. The other thing you can try (this did work for me on the few ocassions that I had to leave the baby) try letting your baby nurse on one side while you pump on on the other. When your milk "lets down" you should be able to get several ounces of milk from the other breast. Do this several times and you should be able to get several ounces and over time, enough to fill a bottle. Then whoever is watching the baby can warm the milk in warm (not too hot!) water and feed it to the baby.
It is possible to nurse your baby even tho you are gone now and then. I went to college when I was breastfeeding and I can remember hurrying home to feed the baby because I was feeling SO full and the sitter would tell me that he would NOT take the bottle! But, he would hear my voice and be wide awake and wanting mommy! Sure enough, he would wake up and nurse really well! You can make it worse if you want to! Leave the bottle whatever for the baby, just in case he is hungry and you are not there but don't be surprised if he or she waits for you! They know what the good stuff is and they will wait for it sometimes! Babies can be really smart some times! They do not like that artificial gunk! You really should not be feeding that stuff to him now as he will get confused and your milk supply will dwindle. Keep nursing him as often as he is interested. You will also have better luck pumping if you have a bit extra milk and then you can freeze it for later. Giving formula to a breastfed baby it DOOM for breastfeeding. A very bad idea. Keep trying to increase your milk supply so that perhaps you will have a bit extra to try to save for when you are gone to school. Good luck. Your baby is still so tiny that he really needs the benefits of breastfeeding. If he were closer to a year old I would not be so sure but a baby his age NEEDS your milk! Hang in there.
Love and Blessings
Lady Trinity~

LA has it straight.

Ditch the formula...it will only complicate your attempts to breastfeed.

Do not take the amount you pump into consideration at all.

When my son was 4 months I was pumping about the same...Clearly he's getting more than that from me because he's in the 95% for height and weight...so obviously he is more sucessful at getting milk than the pump.

Feed your baby in a quiet and low key environment with fewer distractions...

Also it's normal that your child has honed his breastfeeding skill, so what used to take a half an hour now takes only ten to fifteem minutes because he's getting good at it.

My son's 9 months now, and he feeds for MAX 15 minutes on one side and he's full.

You're going to need a top of the line pump if you plan on continuing with the breastfeeding while you go to school (It's totally possible, I work full time, my son is nine months old and we've never touched formula)

Check out this website for a top of the line Medela for the most reasonable price you'll find anywhere...

I know $250 bucks probably sounds like a lot...but if you figure the amount of money you'll be spending on formula after you start that ....$250 is a drop in the bucket compared to months and months of formula.

Do yourself a favor and quit with the formula NOW before you make more trouble for yourself. Check this site.

http://www.lactationcare.com <-cheapest Medela's I've found anywhere.

From your description, it's a possibility that your baby pulls away because he's not getting anymore milk after sucking for 5-10 mins on your breast. Some women's milk naturally tapper off after a couple of months, and that's perfectly normal.

On your question of rejecting breast milk, there's little evidence that babies will get used to sucking on the bottle and get nipple confusion, and begin rejecting the breast after being supplemented by bottle formulas. If you're still concerned, you can consider teats that're specially made and that claim to prevent nipple confusion. In my experience as a nurse who'd worked with neonates for 2 years, most babies don't develop this problem...they're smarter than we give them credit for!

So, yes, go ahead and continue putting your baby to your breast and let him suckle till he pulls away. That's an indication that he's had enough from that breast. Do the same for the other breast. Then supplement if he still hasn't had enough. Most formulas are made to be as close a fit to breast milk as possible now, so do be assured that your baby is still getting the nutrients he requires to grow into a healthy boy.