supplementing formula?

im pumping breast milk for my 31 weeker preemie she is now 35 weeks gestation. She is still in the hospital and she eats breast milk from the bottle and they add a breast milk fortifier in it to help add calories and other nutrients in it. Well she will be coming home soon and they are talking about supplementing with enfacare preemie formula. i feel so sad because i thought my breast milk would be enough. but apparently its not enough calories to help her catch up just breast milk alone. anyone else have experience with this?

no   That is not going to help your supply at all. Why do so many nurses/doctors say to do this? I would continue BFing, nursing is the best way to up your supply. their stomachs are extremely tiny at that point, she does not need very much.

lol i tried supplmenting and lost my supply in days.. if you want to b-feed, do it

http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/108659/5_Breastfeeding_Myths_You_Probably




#1. A well-meaning but sorely misled writer at Parenting.com says, "... [Since] he was a preemie I had to supplement with special formula for six weeks so he could get the phosphates he missed in utero."
While it's true that preemies require special formula if you're not breastfeeding, it is not accurate to claim that preemies need to be formula fed instead of being breastfed. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Not only does breastmilk tailor itself to even premature babies (including making lots of extra phosphorus), but studies show that while special-formula-fed preemies may gain weight more quickly, that breastfed preemies do better in physical, cognitive and motor skills and are released from the NICU an average of two weeks sooner than formula fed counterparts, and escape the risk of deadly necrotizing enterocolitis as preemies, whereas that risk continues for formula-fed infants.
Of course, babies who are only getting IV sustenance are totally another story, and preemie moms have their own issues with making enough milk, but as long as mom is making enough -- either feeding from the breast or pumping, there is absolutely no reason to not give the breastmilk -- formula is unnecessary. For moms who are struggling with supply, breastmilk banks and milkshare programs give special priority to NICU babies, who have the most to gain from breastmilk. Call up or attend meetings of the Le Leche League as well to get the best help with upping your supply, such as an Supplemental Nursing System (SNS).

Quoting £egendary Zeppelin:" no   That is not going to help your supply at all. Why do so many nurses/doctors say to do this? I would ... [snip!] ... nursing is the best way to up your supply. their stomachs are extremely tiny at that point, she does not need very much. "

i have an excellent supply now i pump every three hours and she hasnt latched very well lately and this hospital she is at doesnt have a lactation consultant. even if she was getting formula i would still continue pumping but i do not agree at all with them wanting me to supplement with formula

Quoting Mama Bird of 3:" i have an excellent supply now i pump every three hours and she hasnt latched very well lately and this ... [snip!] ... was getting formula i would still continue pumping but i do not agree at all with them wanting me to supplement with formula"

then don't do it, you don't have to. maybe try & talk to a lactation consultant in your area. I heard nipple shields are helpful

Quoting £egendary Zeppelin:" http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/108659/5_Breastfeeding_Myths_You_Probably #1. A well-meaning but ... [snip!] ... of the Le Leche League as well to get the best help with upping your supply, such as an Supplemental Nursing System (SNS)."

oh thank you! im going to call someone from LLL i need someone to back me up! i finally get the hang of pumping and have been doing so for 4 weeks i do not want to give formula

Quoting £egendary Zeppelin:" then don't do it, you don't have to. maybe try & talk to a lactation consultant in your area. I heard nipple shields are helpful"

yeah they have smurffy nipple shields at this hospital im going to buy a medela one at walmart

Quoting Mama Bird of 3:" yeah they have smurffy nipple shields at this hospital im going to buy a medela one at walmart"

i can understand you wanting to continue to pump and keep up your supply
but
listen to your doctors, please! by all means, get multiple opinions!
premature babies born that early don't follow any of the normal rules. they DESPERATELY need to gain weight, to catch up
there is no "natural" here. nothing about your 31 weeker is "natural". she only survived thanks to medical science.
why turn your back on it now?

my 32 weekers were on the unadjusted growth chart by their 2 months' ped appointment.
by their 3rd month, one of the two was above the 50th percentile.
this is thanks to Similac Neosure (for premies)
they tripled their birthweights in 12 weeks
there is no way you're gonna get that result with breastmilk

i compared Neosure to regular formula the other day, and there is NO COMPARISON
neosure blows it out of the water with calories, with protein, calcium, everything

Quoting regina_margot:" i can understand you wanting to continue to pump and keep up your supply but listen to your doctors, ... [snip!] ... the other day, and there is NO COMPARISON neosure blows it out of the water with calories, with protein, calcium, everything"

There is a comparison actually. Breastmilk is much better than ANY formula.

Quoting Mama Bird of 3:" im pumping breast milk for my 31 weeker preemie she is now 35 weeks gestation. She is still in the hospital ... [snip!] ... but apparently its not enough calories to help her catch up just breast milk alone. anyone else have experience with this?"

My son's NICU team recommended the same thing. I was only allowed to bf 3x a day with him the rest of his feedings had to be by bottle with the enficare preemie formula. They also had me using a breastshield with him to "strengthen his suck". Well when i went to bf him without the shield because it was inhibiting my supply he wouldn't latch and was inconsolable. It was horrible on both of us and he would not relax long enough to get latched and get my milk flowing bc of nipple confusion. It got to the point that I was so depressed over it I had to stop bf-ing all together and he is now on all formula. Not the way I wanted it to go but he is healthy and happy and that is what matters most to me.

Quoting regina_margot:" i can understand you wanting to continue to pump and keep up your supply but listen to your doctors, ... [snip!] ... the other day, and there is NO COMPARISON neosure blows it out of the water with calories, with protein, calcium, everything"

100% agree with this. My son was born at 25weeks4days gestation. My husband keeps asking me when the doctors will allow Eli to be "normal". I said when he is fully caught up with babies his age. It took me a while to accept that the rule book for term babies gets thrown out the window when you have a preemie. They have different needs than term babies and it is best to listen to the medical team that saved your child's life. In my case Eli was 1lb 13oz at birth, he never lost any weight and continually gained the entire time in the NICU and once he got home. He will be 8months on 9/20 (5months adjusted) and weighes a little over 16lbs now. He is in the 75th percentile for preemies his age and has almost reached the 50th percentile for term babies. It broke my heart to not be able to breastfeed him the way i had hoped but bottom line is it's not about me, it was about what was best for my son and following the doctor's orders seems to be working fine in my experience. Not saying it will for anyone else but concerns about breastfeeding with a preemie should be discussed with the medical team.

I think your baby would be fine, I dont know wht doctors push formula so much. If you have an excellent supply then you and baby should be fine, If you supplement with formula that's only going to hurt your supply.

My AJ was also born @ 31 weeks. The NICU in my area is excellent. They assume you will provide breast milk for your baby since it is the best. They did add a human milk fortifier to the milk to boost it to 22 calories.
At discharge after only 26 days, they said to supplement his feedings with ONE bottle of 22 cal formula per day. Have your spouse feed the bottle while you pump that one time. This will allow you to keep up your supply, allow him to feed, and may help your little one avoid nipple confusion.
I have noticed that after bottle feeding, I have to go back to using the nipple shield for 1-2 feedings before I can get him to latch, but I always offer the naked nipple first and then use the shield if I cannot get him to latch after several attempts and he is getting frustrated.
Hope this helps.

My daughter's NICU Dr's arent the ones wanting me to supplement with formula. i had her transferred to my local hospital to their level 2 nursery so i could be closer to home. The dr who suggested adding formula is just a pediatrician. so i called the neonatologist from the hospital she was at originally at and she said they send preemies home on straight breastmilk all the time. before they leave they take them off the fortifier and make sure that the babies are gaining weight on just breast milk before they get sent home. value the neonatologist opinion over the small town pedi anyday.