Weaning from boob to bottle

The decision to quit breastfeeding and to move my baby to formula was difficult enough, but searching for information and advice on how to wean  was almost just as hard.

The actual process of how to wean, how much formula to give and how often to feed was hard to track down. I got some basic information from a friend and sort of ‘winged it’ myself. And thankfully it all worked out.

But if you are looking for some help and advice to bring your baby from boob to bottle, I hope this information will help.

You should note that Abbey had received formula in SCBU from a bottle. And when I was breastfeeding I did pump extra milk and gave this bottle most nights - so we didn't have any issues with changing to an actual bottle. We used Aptamil 1 and Tommee Tippee Closer to nature bottles and Dr Brown's anti colic bottles.

Whatever your reason for stopping breastfeeding I would recommend you do it slowly, I have witnessed the pain mothers go through if they quit breastfeeding abruptly - it really is not worth it.

This is what worked for me and my baby (born 5 weeks premature, so weighed about 7.5lbs at six weeks).

The toughest part to work out is how much formula to give. Abbey would feed for about 20 mins a time. So I pumped for 20 minutes and got about 70ml - I know she was probably getting more, but it was a good indicator for me.

At six weeks old I started her off with one 30ml bottle at 3.30pm and then breastfed at 5pm. I found her to be quite hungry, so I knew to up it to 40ml the next day etc. By day four she was on 60ml twice a day the first at 12 noon and the next at 12am. She had one or two little vomits but was taking it well.

Moving on, I either upped the amount of the formula feed by 10ml or added another formula bottle every 3-4 days. This process really worked for us, breastfeeding in between bottle feeds was slow enough to not give me with any pain and she seemed to adjust perfectly.

It actually took me over 3 weeks to move her fully onto formula as she had been breastfeeding at least every three hours a day. Once she was on full formula we started to start the process of a sleep routine. 
We used Gina Ford’s Contented Little Baby and were delighted with the results. Review and details soon.

We did have some issues with colic a few weeks later, but this was down to her being in a pavlik harness. More on that soon!

If you weaned to formula, did you have any issues?