From Nursing to Formula

On Tuesday of this past week I made the decision to start formula feeding Logan. This whole diet thing for his intolerance to dairy and a bunch of other foods was getting so hard and I wasn't eating very well. I would go hours and hours and sometimes even most of the day without eating anything because nothing sounded good and anything that did sound good I couldn't eat. It was driving me crazy so I knew weaning him off breast feeding would be the best choice for us. When I had Logan I wanted to breast feed him at least 6 months or longer if I could.

The first day of weaning Logan off the breast was sooo hard. Logan was literally crying all day and I couldn't figure out why. I didn't know if he was constipated, hungry, tired, or teething.....I really wish babies could just tell you what's wrong sometimes. I almost gave in a few times that day to breast feed him, but I didn't want all of my days work at weaning to go to waste. I know Logan would take my breast over a bottle any day and I didn't want him to have that choice since my goal was 100% formula at this point. I never imagined it would be this hard. I thought it simply would be giving him a bottle full of formula and he would drink it and that was that. It was nothing like I had envisioned!! The first bottle I gave him with formula in it was immediately rejected and he even gagged. I was like ok, is it not hot enough? did I mix it wrong? I took a big whiff of the smell and it was horrible. The formula that Logan has to be on is hypoallergenic and is for babies with food allergies/colic. It is called Similac Alimentum and the best way to describe the smell is to say it smells like a room full of Asiago cheese....The smell is so bad and I myself would have gagged just like Logan if I had to drink it. I talked to a nurse at his pediatricians office and she said to add breast milk to it to make the transition a little smoother. That really seemed to help and he took it. He still wasn't drinking much at a time, but at least he was getting a little down. At this point I was adding 5 oz breast milk with 2 oz formula.

Day 2 of formula was a lot better than day one, but it was still hard. I broke down that morning because I didn't realize how much I would miss nursing and I'm sure that is why Logan had such a bad day yesterday. I knew he liked nursing, but my body simply wasn't producing enough milk for him to gain weight and I wasn't being nourished enough with the foods I could eat. I gave in that morning and nursed him one last time because I just wanted to soak it all in. I don't think I've ever seen Logan eat so fast. He was probably just so excited he could nurse again. I knew that would be the last time I would nurse him and it was hard for me. The next feeding Logan didn't take the bottle as easily because I'm sure it didn't taste good at all compared to the breast milk he had just had the feeding before.

Day 3 & 4 of formula were better than day 1 & 2.

Day 5 of formula was great! He was taking bottles really easily so I changed the bottles to 4 oz breast milk and 3 oz formula. He drank 37 oz in a 24 hour period and ate 2 containers of baby food. I couldn't believe how much he was eating, but he needs to gain weight some how so I was fine with it. Logan's pediatrician said he should be getting between 30-35 oz of fluids every day so I was really happy he was over that.

We're now on day 8 of formula and it seems to be going well. We did a weight check yesterday and he was at 15 lbs 5 oz!! This is really good since he has been at 14 lbs 10 oz for the last 1 1/2 months.

I'm really glad I was able to nurse Logan for the first 6 months. That first month of his life I dreaded nursing every feeding because it was so painful, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. Nursing Logan for those 6 months created a bond between us that nobody will be able to break. Logan is such a momma's boy and when I walk into the room and say his name his face just lights up. I LOVE it!