Help - cant express enough milk to mix with Farex!

[ButterflyWings]

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[drewid]

Hi there :)

My bub is a breast fed bub and I could never express to save myself (so to speak). Andrew started off on rice cereal mixed with cooled boiled water. Then later with pureed pears.

It is absolutely ok to use formula to add to the cereal! Its only a few drops really and its only to get consistency right. I just found it heaps easier to pour some water from the kettle than muck around making up formula.

Just do whatever works for you! :)

[Rainbowbrite]

I'm the same, it takes me ages to express a tiny amount, totally not worth it. I just mixed it with water, and as much bm as i could. Now at 7months i mix cereal with boiled water, prune juice & stewed apple/pear.

RB

[Chickadee]

Water or formula is fine for mixing up Farex.

I think most women find they can express best in the morning. Definitely after bub has had her usual feed and not before (unless you have heaps and heaps of milk to the point of needing to express some so bub can cope with the flow). You can express directly after bub is finished, but might get more if you can wait and try expressing between feeds, ie if she's typically bf every 3 hours you could try expressing at 1.5hr after her morning feed. That gives boobs a chance to refill.

[xkwzit]

Hi Brookes Mum

With DD2 she only ever had rice cereal with boiled water. You've probably noticed that BM breaks down the cereal, making it watery later on during the meal. I found that a bother and as she was having plenty of BM, why not water for her "meal"? I definately would not buy formula just for that purpose, because it seems like a big waste of money when boiled water is fit for the job.

Regarding timing expressing, you won't "run out" of milk by expressing, you are actually stimulating more BM production by expressing. Most women's supply is higher in the morning than in the evening. Because my DDs always went down to sleep early (6pm and would not wake for a feed until 2 am), I found it most convenient to express at about 9pm before I went to bed. If you have a warm shower first, that helps you to "let down" as well, maximising the volume you get.

Cheers

[Goosie22]

Have you thought about just offering more Breast to satisfy hunger? This will boost your supply also. At four months babies show signs of not being satisfied because they are having a growth spurt. To maintain your supply so you can continue to feed you need to feed more at these times. Or your supply will remain the same and your baby will end up weaning early as the baby needs more Breastmilk.

The recommendation to delay solids is because the ceral ect will not be absorbed as the gut is immature, this means the solids just sit in the tummy untill you baby manages to get then through to his intestines and pass them(potential health risks here).

Edited to add:-The harm with formula is that it is MODIFIED COWS MILK and as such is not recommended untill after 12months due to allergic reactions/asthma ect.