I never imagined I’d have to write a blog post like this. No matter how you feed your baby it should never be hard to JUST FEED YOUR BABY. I am so sorry this is what families are facing right now. I want to be extremely clear here- whether you chose to breastfeed, formula feed, or a combination of the two your current situation is not your fault. You make choices out of love for your family. You make choices with your family’s best interest at heart. Don’t ever regret that or think you could have somehow changed what you’re currently facing. You are doing great. This is a failure of a system… not you.
I am going to share a lot of information here and links throughout the blog. At the end I’ll just bullet point a bunch of links to click through. I’m not going to lie, I’m really tired and did not plan on writing this blog post. I thought I’d just go on Instagram and say a few things, save it to a highlight and be here to help. There’s just a lot of information so I thought a blog would be easiest. I’ll likely be coming back to edit this so keep it bookmarked if you need it. My apologies for any typos and forgive any misspeaks. I’ve been much busier with work in light of this formula shortage and still balancing being a mom to my three kids, so I admit this blog is a little rushed.
To start I want to remind you to watch the diaper count. Any time you have to make changes or adjustments to your baby’s feeding, or anytime you are worried about what they’re taking remember what goes in must come out. Your baby should be peeing 6 or more times per day and stooling regularly. Regular poops for some babies is 8 times a day and some it’s one or two, but they should be regularly pooping. A breastfed baby’s stools look like seedy honey mustard, sometimes you may get shades of green, and a formula fed baby’s stools will look a little more like peanut butter. A baby who has started solids will give you all sorts of colors, but black or red you should call your pediatrician.
If you are partially breastfeeding and need to increase supply in light of the formula shortage your first line of attack would be increase the demand. In a typical anatomy, typical situation, increasing the demand should have your body produce more milk. How do you do this? Increase either time spent nursing or time spent pumping. You can add more sessions in, or lengthen the ones you do. You may find at first nothing is coming out but within a few days you should see your body start to respond. Going long stretches without expressing any milk will tell your body you don’t need it and work against your efforts to increase supply so consider waking overnight to nurse/pump. If you have a baby who does not nurse well at the breast you cannot rely on them alone to increase your supply. This is a time I would be reaching out to an IBCLC to figure out if you can get baby nursing more efficiently to help drive that supply and decrease the amount or need to supplement.
If pumping make sure your flanges fit correctly. Search YouTube videos for tutorials on how to find the proper size. Using the wrong size affects output. Get hands on. A baby massages and squeezes your breast as they nurse, but your pump can’t so you have to do it! Pump both sides at the same time. Your body will have a letdown on both sides even if just one side is stimulated so optimize that process by pumping both sides together (hands free pumping bras are game changers!). If you do not own a pump check with your insurance carrier to see how to get one. You are entitled to a free pump with each birth that has 12 months or more between them. If you did not get one during your pregnancy ask them if you can get it now. You will need a prescription from your doctor to order it. A manual pump is also an option. The Medela Harmony is a good manual pump with active suction and two modes of suction similar to an electric pump.
You can also increase supply by pumping the opposite side baby is nursing on. I like the Hakkaa for this situation, but any pump will do. Nurse baby on side 1, when you switch to side 2 place a pump on side 1. Then if baby switches back switch the pump to the other side, or if baby finishes you can pump side 2 to empty.
You can also consider using donor milk. There are a few ways to find donor milk and it depends on your comfort level. One option is ordering milk from a milk bank. Human Milk Banking Association of North America accredits non profit milk banks in the US and Canada and sets guidelines for pasteurized donor human milk. Their donors go through a four step process before they can donate which includes an application, interview, statements of health from their doctor and their nursing child’s pediatrician, and finally a blood screening. Donors are taught proper milk handling and storage and the milk banks keep in touch regarding any changes in medications, supplements, and more to ensure the milk donated fits the standards set for the bank. When donor milk is received it goes through a pasteurization process and is also pooled with the milk of up to five other donors to distribute any variations in nutritional and immunological components. Then a random sample is tested from each batch to watch for bacterial growth. You can search for your local milk bank and learn more about this process on their website.
You can also donate peer to peer. Human Milk for Human Babies has chapters all over the country and you can search for your local chapter online or on Facebook. Eats on Feets is another organization to check out. This is a way to connect with nursing people in your area willing to share their milk. You can set the questions you want to ask. If someone is comfortable answering and you are satisfied with the responses you can facilitate the donation on your own. Eats On Feets has a list of questions you may want to ask here. If you question the safety of any medications, supplements, or herbs a donor takes you can contact Infant Risk to ask about the most up to date research here.
If you are donating peer to peer please practice safety when meeting up to do the exchange. Public places, well lit, go with a friend or partner, etc.
When you have breastmilk to store you want to make sure you are limiting waste by practicing proper storage and handling guidelines. I talk more about this as well as other pumping tips on my Pumping Tips blog post. The storage and handling guidelines images should be able to saved or screenshot for easy access.
If you are looking to donate milk you can donate through either of the ways listed above, either through a milk bank or peer to peer. If you are looking to increase supply for the goal of donating you can do this safely by adding a pump session into your routine, but not pumping yourself into oversupply. Collecting a couple of ounces following a feeding once or twice a day should be fine, or using a milk catcher without suction to save any leaking milk is another way to safely collect. You could add a late evening pump session after your baby has gone to bed for the night, or use a manual pump on the opposite side baby is nursing from here and there. Some things to watch for if you are starting to get an oversupply would be clogs, mastitis, blisters on the nipple from baby going shallow to slow the flow of milk, baby being unable to handle your letdown and sputtering or coughing while nursing, increase in spit up, gas, or reflux symptoms. If you worry you have an oversupply you’ll have to wean that down and I’d recommend contacting an IBCLC to assess your situation and have them advise the best way to go.
During this formula shortage you are likely searching for the type of formula your baby has been used to. All formula has to meet the same guidelines to be able to be sold, and the variations between them are not that big. Your first goal here is feed your baby, so get what is available. Never water down formula. Do not make your own formula. If your baby is older than 6 months you can offer whole milk on a very, very temporary basis. This should not become routine but will work in a pinch. Cows milk is not as rich in iron so discuss this with your baby’s pediatrician as they may suggest an iron supplement, but either way offering iron rich foods during meal times is always a good option.
If your baby is on a specialty formula you should be in touch with your pediatrician about ways to get this type, safe alternatives, and asking if they were given any samples.
Ask your friends what they are looking for and help them search! Be a support to them, even if it’s just a listening ear. When you become a parent you become a partner to all other parents… now is the time to emulate this.
Here are a list of resources to have on hand as we navigate this unprecedented time.