re: supplementing formula?

My boys were born at 32 weeks and they are almost EBF- their dad gives them a bottle or two each at night to let me sleep, but that's still breastmilk, just fortified with Enfacare formula to boost calories.
Even when one baby didn't gain and the other lost an ounce, he was not worried, he just said to feed them every 2 hours around the clock, no more than 3 hours between feeds. They are almost 6lbs at 2 months old actual, 5 days adjusted.
Breastmilk produced by moms of preemies is different than that produced by moms of full term infants. You can't get anymore specialized than food made by the same body that grew them!  

Quoting ProginoskesII (SuperKink):" My boys were born at 32 weeks and they are almost EBF- their dad gives them a bottle or two each at night ... [snip!] ... produced by moms of full term infants. You can't get anymore specialized than food made by the same body that grew them!  "

on 100% neosure, at 2 months actual (zero days adjusted) my 32-weekers were
girl a: born @ 3 lbs 9 ounces = 9 lbs 3 ounces

girl b: born @ 3 lbs 2 ounces = 7 lbs 8 ounces

at 3 months actual,
baby a: 13 lbs 3 ounces (i.e 57th percentile unadjusted)
baby b: 11 lbs 6 ounces (i.e 27th percentile unadjusted)

as to the "same body that grew them"... my body didn't manage to provide for them even for the 36 weeks of a *term* twins pregnancy
i certainly didn't expect my body to do any better than that afterwards

Quoting regina_margot:" on 100% neosure, at 2 months actual (zero days adjusted) my 32-weekers were girl a: born @ 3 lbs 9 ... [snip!] ... them even for the 36 weeks of a *term* twins pregnancy i certainly didn't expect my body to do any better than that afterwards"

Congratulations? Shall I alert the pediatrician that he's wrong, and that formula is superior to breast milk? Yes, formula is an adequate substitute, and has more calories, which leads to faster weight gain. There is more to a baby being healthy than rapid weight gain.
Your body obviously grew them until 32 weeks- preemies happen. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't breastfeed just because a child was premature. In most cases, nursing is the best thing to do for them. If you want to believe that your body is broken because your children were born early, and therefore you shouldn't breastfeed, then go ahead- but there's no need to try to convince every other preemie mom to believe the same.

Quoting ProginoskesII (SuperKink):" ... [snip!] ..There is more to a baby being healthy than rapid weight gain.
you shouldn't breastfeed, then go ahead- but there's no need to try to convince every other preemie mom to believe the same."

like what? what more is there? they need to gain weight fast.
there are some immunity benefits to breastmilk, but if the kids don't go to daycare, those are less important than weight gain.

and i'm not "trying to convince" every other person of anything. i'm sharing my experiences, just as you are.
you think breastmilk is best. based on everything i've seen and read, going breastmilk only is not enough.
comparing your babies experience (i.e 6 lbs at 2 months) to mine (i.e. 7.5 and 9.3) is a good example.
i think formula is very valuable for dangerously low weight babies.
i think pretending that your breastmilk is this magical endall and be all is misguided

Quoting regina_margot:" like what? what more is there? they need to gain weight fast. there are some immunity benefits to ... [snip!] ... for dangerously low weight babies. i think pretending that your breastmilk is this magical endall and be all is misguided"

I'm not pretending that my breastmilk is "magical", if I'm fortifying it with formula. 
Our pediatrician is extremely pleased with my children's weight gain... my twins only weighed 2lbs 15oz and 3lbs 1 oz at birth- even the heavier one is nearly double his birth weight. They gain over an ounce a day on average, except for one weekend when they had mild colds. Apparently that is "enough", or else the pedi would tell me to do something different.  
What's more important than weight gain? The immunity benefits are for more than daycare   , they are very important because preemies are immuno-compromised very nearly as a rule. Breastmilk is gentler on their stomachs and intestines, and is digested faster and easier than formula, which can sit in their stomachs for hours after feeds.
My sons' pediatrician, NICU nurses, and the various doctors that saw them while they were in the hospital- pushed breastfeeding as hard as they could- these are healthcare professionals that deal almost exclusively with LBW (and VLBW/ELBW)/ premature infants, and keep up with all of the most current information available, at a hospital with the best NICU in the state- I think that their opinion that breast is best (even if it does have to be fortified or supplemented), counts for more than your opinion.

<blockquote><b>Quoting ProginoskesII (SuperKink):</b>" I'm not pretending that my breastmilk is "magical", if I'm fortifying it with formula.  Our pediatrician ... [snip!] ... their opinion that breast is best (even if it does have to be fortified or supplemented), counts for more than your opinion."</blockquote>




I'm really in awe someone actually believes formula is better than breastmilk, lmao. Um it's a fact that BM is better, in every way... But hokay  

this thread began with doctors telling OP to supplement
i provided information from my own experience that backed up the benefits of formula
let me be clear what my opinion actually is: breastmilk alone is not good enough for very low birth weight babies
that's why all your doctors told you to *supplement*
i dont know what you think "supplement" means, but it actually means that
breastmilk alone isn't good enough for very low birth weight babies
that is all i'm saying.

Quoting ProginoskesII (SuperKink):" I'm not pretending that my breastmilk is "magical", if I'm fortifying it with formula.  Our pediatrician ... [snip!] ... their opinion that breast is best (even if it does have to be fortified or supplemented), counts for more than your opinion."

i dont know what you think you and I disagree on
because that's exactly what i'm saying: breastmilk alone is not enough. obviously, you agree, which is why you are fortifying, which is exactly what OP is being told to do.
i think you need to reread the thread, namely, the OP

Quoting regina_margot:" i dont know what you think you and I disagree on because that's exactly what i'm saying: breastmilk ... [snip!] ... is why you are fortifying, which is exactly what OP is being told to do. i think you need to reread the thread, namely, the OP"

I'm not disagreeing with supplementing/fortifying with formula.
You are saying (or at least heavily implying) throughout the thread, that because breastmilk isn't high-calorie enough by itself, that mothers of preemies should just formula feed, and not breastfeed at all.

Quoting £egendary Zeppelin:" <blockquote><b>Quoting ProginoskesII (SuperKink):</b>" I'm not pretending that my breastmilk ... [snip!] ... actually believes formula is better than breastmilk, lmao. Um it's a fact that BM is better, in every way... But hokay  "

Ditto, lol.
Chica has a total boner for formula.  

Quoting ProginoskesII (SuperKink):" I'm not disagreeing with supplementing/fortifying with formula. You are saying (or at least heavily ... [snip!] ... breastmilk isn't high-calorie enough by itself, that mothers of preemies should just formula feed, and not breastfeed at all."

where did i say "don't breastfeed"?

nowhere did i say "don't breastfeed"
i said, several times, breastmilk alone isn't enough.which obviously you know just as well as i do
which is exactly what OP is being told by her doctors

Quoting regina_margot:" where did i say "don't breastfeed"? nowhere did i say "don't breastfeed" i said, several times, breastmilk ... [snip!] ... alone isn't enough.which obviously you know just as well as i do which is exactly what OP is being told by her doctors"

You did not say it directly, and no one has said that you did. You implied (   ) that your children were healthier because they were fed only formula.

Quoting ProginoskesII (SuperKink):" You did not say it directly, and no one has said that you did. You implied (   ) that your children were healthier because they were fed only formula."

so basically, you get to put whatever words you want in my mouth, and say "you implied it", and then get into an argument with yourself?
this is how you want to spend your time?

i said my kids gained more weight with formula than they would with breastmilk alone
obviously, you know this to be true, since you yourself supplement
in closing. for the last time, seriously. we agree that breastmilk is not enough for very low birth weight babies.
which is exactly what OP's doctor recommended in the first place.

Quoting regina_margot:" this thread began with doctors telling OP to supplement i provided information from my own experience ... [snip!] ... but it actually means that breastmilk alone isn't good enough for very low birth weight babies that is all i'm saying. "

Breastmilk alone IS all a baby needs though. lol

*UPDATE!*

im not supplementing with formula she latched on only a few weeks after coming home on october 11th and we have been EBF ever since. she is now 10 pounds 2 ounces! all boobie <3 her dr is pleased