Tag: breastfeeding goal

To celebrate Pump Momma Pump’s 7th Birthday, I’m sharing the “7 Things I Wish I Knew” at the start of my pumping journey. Here’s #5: Supplementing is not only “okay” but can help you meet or exceed your breastfeeding goal!

I highly suggest setting an achievable goal, which looks different for everyone. (Yours might be week-to-week or month-to-month, 3 months, 6 months, etc!) When I was exclusively pumping for my first baby, I set a goal of 6 months. I had the support system and resources where 6 months seemed like an achievable goal. At the 6 months mark, I decided that I could keep going! I reduced my pumps to 4 per day to give myself more freedom, and began supplementing. Supplementing helped me far exceed my goal (I made it to 11 months with my first baby!)

Let’s talk about supplementing. It’s way more common than you think. Supplementing is a fact of life for many mommas, but can also be the key to prolonging your pumping journey!
How? Read on to find out:
*This post is NOT sponsored by any formula brands, nor is any specific brand mentioned/suggested/promoted within this post*

Coming to terms with supplementing

The need to supplement can leave mommas feeling guilty about not being able to provide a complete diet of breastmilk for their baby. I get it, I’ve been there. Keep in mind, even if you can’t provide 100% breastmilk for your baby, they are still getting 100% of the benefits of your breastmilk. Read that again, because it’s true. That amount still matters. (For example, did you know that one teaspoon of breastmilk contains up to 3 million germ-killing cells? Wow!) Still, it can be hard to start supplementing. There can be feelings of failure. There can be feelings of guilt and grief. Let yourself feel your feelings, because they matter. Then, try reframing your mindset about supplementing. Formula was scientifically designed to help infants thrive. A mindset shift that helped me personally was this: Soon, there will be lots of things your baby will eat that you didn’t personally create with your body. Do you give yourself a hard time because you can’t create bananas, bread, or broccoli with your body? Of course not! Just group formula in with all the new foods that will nourish your baby.
I promise, there are so many silver linings to supplementing!

The benefits of supplementing

• Supplementing can help improve baby’s bilirubin levels to combat jaundice.
• Supplementing can help while a momma is actively working with a lactation professional to improve nursing or pumping.
• Supplementing under a doctor’s guidance can help a baby who is struggling with weight gain.
• Supplementing helps a momma with low supply keep offering breastmilk.
• Supplementing can help mommas reach their breast pumping goal.
• Supplementing can help momma ease up on her pumping schedule and potentially pump longer than anticipated because it feels more sustainable!
• By combo-feeding, you can ensure baby is still getting the benefits of your breastmilk, no matter what amount you are able to provide. Think of it as the most personalized vitamin you can give them!

Since this is a topic I feel passionately about, I’ve blogged about it before. Today’s blog is an abbreviated version. For the full blog on supplementing, click HERE.