BF Benefits/Weaning/Formula

[Mia31]

Hello,
I would like to nurse for 6 months, but start the weaning process at 4 months. Will my baby recieve all the long term benefits from the BM for this duration?
Also, should I just start replacing one feeding a day very slowly with Formula? And do I NOT pump when I do this?
TIA!!!

[toomanystrollers]

I'm going to guess that baby is on the way :) I believe the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend breastfeeding for at least 12 months for long term benefits.

I would suggest you "play it by ear" and don't plan a set date to wean by. FWIW, bf'ing is so much easier (in my opinion) than formula and bottles - no heating up and no cleanup :)

[Momof3Labs]

I wanted to do something similar, and ended up nursing exclusively to a year and still nurse a couple of times a day... I'd also encourage you to keep an open mind rather than stick to a rigid plan.

If you want to wean gradually, you can start by replacing one feeding a day. You probably won't have to pump when you do that, but might have to do something to relieve engorgement once your baby is fully weaned.

I'm not sure if there are studies that show exactly how long you need to bf'd to pass on the long-term benefits. But I'm pretty sure that your baby will not get the benefit of your immunities after weaning since those are developed and passed on continuously while nursing, and I don't believe that they stick around beyond weaning.

[Rachels]

Just wanted to echo what others have said. Much of the research that has been done finds an increase in the risks associated with formula feeding for babies who were exclusively breastfed for less than six months. The benefits appear to last or increase the longer you nurse. Keep an open mind! Any breastmilk at all does a baby good, and more is better. I was truly scared that I'd hate nursing, but it has been one of the most vital and rewarding things I've ever done.


-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[farsk]

Mia,

Assuming baby is on the way....I understand EXACTLY how you feel. For me, I was going to breastfeed for six months. Then I decided I would breastfeed for six months and continue pumping and offering expressed breastmilk for a year. Then I decided that I would nurse for a year. Now, I have decided to nurse for as long as Ellen wants to.

I know a lot of people have the misconception that all the "good stuff" is had in the first three months. Although I have no studies to site, I have read that the benefits of nursing are cumulative....they just keep getting better with time. Case in point...Ellen got a cold a couple of weeks ago. In two days, she was over it, and I guess it's because my body was making "feel better stuff" and she was getting it while nursing. I got the cold two days later and stayed sick for a week!ha!

Anyway, I guess to sum up, what I though I wanted before Ellen arrived is vastly different than what I want now that she is 7.5 months old.

Good Luck!

[supersparkee]

I too told myself 6 months max before the baby was born. Now she is 5 1/2 months and I'm playing it by ear. After reading sites like LLL and Kelly's, I decided to do "partial" weaning, which I didn't even know that was possible - I thought it was all or nothing. I went back work when DD was 3 months old. My job is pretty darn demanding and finding time to pump has been difficult so I'm only pumping twice a day even though I'm usually here 9-10 hours a day (yet I still find time to take mini-breaks to post to the boards LOL - it helps save my sanity). About a month ago, I started supplementing with formula since I just can't pump quite enough and don't have time to add more pumpings. Over the past month, I've been very, very slowly increasing the amount of formula in her diet but I haven't cut down on my pumping yet. I'm trying to build a little freezer stash of EBM so I can keep her on some BM every day for as long as possible, even if it's BM in a bottle.

You'll definitely find the groove that works for you - just keep an open mind!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Your baby will get some benefits, but not all the long term benefits. For as long as your baby is growing, breastmilk is helping her brain to develop. A formula fed baby, on average, has a 4 point lower IQ than a breastfed baby. So if you breastfeed for just 4 or 6 months instead of a year, does that mean your baby will only get 25% of that advantage? I don't think anyone can say for certain.

And will you only get part of the reduced risk of breast cancer? Who knows?

Breastfeeding helps protect against ear infections, due to the way baby uses their jaw muscles while suckling. It also helps with jaw and teeth alignment. If you stop breastfeeding before the teeth come in, will you lose that benefit? I don't know for sure, but doesn't it seem like that benefit would just begin at about the time teeth start to come in? (formula fed babies on average have more orthodontic problems than breastfed babies)

Here is one I do know for sure. Your body provides antibodies to the baby through breastmilk at the time you are exposed to something. So if there is a cold or a flu going around, your body will make the antibodies to fight that exact strain and give it to the baby, who will then be protected. So if you stop at 4 months or 6 months, your baby may get more illnesses than if you had continued.

Honestly, breastfeeding gets so much easier at 4 months that you may be surprised and change your mind. If you make it that far, you're on the homestretch. Baby can hold his head up and help during nursing, baby isn't nursing as often making it easier to plan outings, all sorts of things happen at about 4 months that make things much easier.

Any breastmilk that baby gets is better than none at all. But the benefits continue as long as you continue nursing.

Here is an article that shows the cites for some of the things I have mentioned: http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_more.html

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[christic]

Since you're already committed to nursing for 6 months my advice would be to wait to start weaning until then. Most people start solids at around that point anyway, which is really the start of the weaning process. I found formula to be an excellent tool to have on hand at this point--to mix up cereal and other foods and to practice cup drinking with. At this point you might also want to start formula in bottles, but I ended up finding it easier to continue nursing and let my daughter's solid food (including formula in a cup)gradually become a larger part of her total diet.

Exclusively breastfeeding until 6 months seems to be the most crucial health recommendation, so I think delaying the start of weaning a bit longer than you had originally planned would definitely help maximize those benefits.

Good luck!

[Mia31]

Thank you ladies for your opinions! I've been BFing for almost 4 months, I enjoy it completely, I just want my smaller bb's back since I'm running again to shed the extra baby weight! (: I read that the babies immune system isnt fully developed until 6 months of age, so I'm going to wait until then to wean (play it by ear when i get there) but I appreciate all your info!

[Rachels]

FWIW, my breasts got smaller again on their own by about 8 months, even though we were still nursing full-time. I really think it's a worthwhile tradeoff to have temporarily larger boobs in order to safeguard the health of your baby. Glad you're sticking with it! :)

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[22tango]

Yup! Mine too. We're still nursing at 18 months and my breasts have been small (ie. back to normal) since around 6-8 months! :D

[C99]

Same here. I'm still nursing Nathaniel (who is just shy of 14 months) and I've really noticed that my breasts are noticeably smaller than they were 2 months ago and definitely smaller than they were 6 months ago. :)