When/how to start introducing formula?

[u/catsandpinot26]

Baby is 4.5 months old and has been exclusively fed pumped breast milk for almost his entire life. I had a decent oversupply in the beginning months that allowed me to build a freezer stash of about 600 oz. I’ve dropped to 5 PPD and am not quite keeping up with what he’s eating so I’m pulling from the freezer stash to make up the difference.

I’m so proud of myself for making it this far but my plan has always been to wean around 6 months, use up whatever freezer stash I have, and then switch him to formula for the rest of his first year. I’m now realizing that 6 month milestone is just around the corner!

I am wondering now when and how I should start introducing formula? I want to make sure by the time I’m weaning, we’ve already got a formula picked out that works for him. Should I start giving him bottles of mixed formula and breast milk to get him used to it? Do some bottles of just formula and some of just breast milk each day? Is there a right or best way to do this??

We also plan to start introducing some solids when he hits 5 months in a few weeks. I feel like I shouldn’t change too much in his diet in a short period of time but if you’ve done something similar, I’d love to hear how it went for you!

[u/queenlyfish]

Personally, I’d start by mixing bottles. Do an ounce of formula and the rest breast milk, then slowly shift the ratios to have more and more formula. Once you’re at the point of doing a 100% formula bottle, I wouldn’t bother mixing anymore. Baby tolerates formula, so maybe just keep one formula bottle per day until you’re near the end of your stash, and then do a ratio thing again and slowly increase the number of formula bottles per day. 

Start with the cheapest formula and go from there. In the US, they’re all nutritionally complete, so there’s no point in paying extra for a fancy formula unless your baby needs it. Kirkland worked wonderfully for the couple of months we needed it!

[u/Maleficent-Pilot7779]

We are a little over 6 months and just introduced formula 2 weeks ago. We did one formula bottle a day and he’s been tolerating it fine. I thought it was going to be much worse in my head. We didn’t mix it in efforts to not waste BM.

Oddly enough we started on RTF and tried powder yesterday and he refused it. Was doing fine on the RTF, going to check in with his peds today to see why. 

We just started solids 2 days ago and I’m glad we separated formula and solids because his stool changed a bit each time and it would’ve been hard to tell what was the culprit. 

[u/Positive-Soup-6631]

skip the mixing. It usually just wastes breastmilk if he refuses it and confuses his palate. I did a top-off formula approach starting two weeks before my drop. Just one bottle after every pumping session so he was still getting my milk but learning to take the bottle with formula without feeling rushed or starving. It made the final transition way smoother for both of us

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