What happens if I have to supplement my baby with expressed breast milk or formula?
This happens, and the last thing we want is for the mother to feel stress about sabotaging her breastfeeding goals. If the baby needs to be supplemented with expressed breast milk or formula, there are many different ways to mimic what the baby would be doing at the breast.
- Cup or spoon: The baby is swaddled and held upright. The cup is touched to the bottom lip and the baby's tongue will come down and out to lap up the milk. Don't pour it into the baby's mouth. This should be giving them practice to latch on.
- Syringe or dropper: The baby sucks on someone's finger, while the supplement is slowly delivered by syringe or dropper at the same time.
- Supplemental Nursing System: This is a system of tubes that the mother wears at the breast to entice the baby to feed. This is an intense intervention, but has proven to be very successful
- Bottles: The best choice is a bottle designed for breastfeeding mothers, such as Second Nature. The nipples allow the baby to go from breast to bottle easily because the technology mimics that of the mother's nipple. There are many pores and the baby has to put negative pressure on the nipple to extract the milk.
During this time, the mother should be pumping every three hours to stimulate her supply until the baby is fully able to feed at the breast.
As babies get older, they can be in any position and nursing well. We have to be careful in the newborn stage to get the positioning and latch correct, but patience is key. Babies learn quickly. They don't "forget" how to latch on as they get older. It's common that other breastfeeding problems arise that seem like latch problems. Be sure to seek help from a Board Certified Lactation Consultant if that is the case.
