MONICA, I am happy to try to help. (m)
As far as the formula, I can't really say for sure if it will be "harmful" for your baby to have it. It really depends on many things. Certainly if she has a sensitivity to it that would be a problem and if you or her Dad have allergies her risk of sensitivities and allergies is higher. For a very sensitive baby even a little formula might cause problems. Most of the studies that look at the risks of formula feeding study totally formula fed babies compared to babies bf exclusively for at least 6 months so there aren't many studies that tell us what happens with the baby who gets occassional formula. However, most of the studies suggest that problems associated with formula feeding are what we call "dose related". In other words, the more formula a baby gets the more likely they are to have the problems associated with it. Certainly the ideal would be for every baby to get breastmilk exclusively, but for you in your situation just do your best to provide breastmilk and watch your baby for any signs of trouble tolerating the formula when you use it. Obviously if you see problems you will strive to give only breastmilk and/or talk to the pediatrician about a formula that may not cause your baby to react.
As far as what happened when the baby cried at the breast. Well it could just be normal infant fussiness. Normal infant fussiness starts at about 1-3 weeks, peaks at about 6-8 weeks and is gone by about 3-4 months. Most babies will "fuss" about 2-4 hours per day, no matter what you do. They want to be "in arms" or at the breast very frequently and fuss even though you attempt to calm them. They often seem "unsatified" with their feedings and even seem to reject or cry at the breast. It most commonly happens in the evening hours, and usually the baby will take their longest stretch of sleep after this fussy time. The best thing to do is offer the breast as much as the baby wants it. If she fusses at the breast try to calm her in other ways such as "dancing" with her, gentle bouncing and rocking, and just giving big doses of TLC. You can tell it is normal fussiness if if occurs about the same time each day, if your baby has other times of the day when feedings are calm and she seems happy, and if she is growing and gaining well per her pediatrician and having plenty of wet and soiled diapers.
It may be that Morgan is experiencing some increase in her "normal" fussiness because of her age( fussiness peaks at 6-8 weeks). Parents who don't know this is "normal" frequently respond as you did by giving a bottle because they think the baby isn't "happy or satisfied" with the breast. When the bottle goes in the baby's mouth the mouth fills with milk, the baby is obligated to swallow and the action of swallowing initiates another suck. The suck again fills the mouth and the cycle repeats, giving an appearance of the baby "gulping the bottle down hungrily". This of course only contributes to mom and dad's fear that the baby wasn't getting enough at the breast and they keep offering more and more bottles (understandably). Which then causes a true low milk supply. Often the baby falls asleep peacefully after this episode which also reinforces to the parents that the bottle was just what the baby needed. What has really happened is the baby has by coincidence come to the natural conclusion of the fussy spell (most parents give the bottle as a last resort which means the fussiness has been going on for awhile) and/or the baby has withdrawn because "gulping" down the bottle was actually stressful and NOT what the baby wanted but she could not stop the flow, so exhausted, she falls asleep. So don't offer bottles during any fussy time. Look at the bigger picture (weight gain and poopy pattern) to determine if your baby is "getting enough at the breast", and trust the process enough not to fret over individual feedings or fussy times. Don't feel badly, I thought the same thing you did with my first and if I hadn't had a wonderful pediatrician would have probably given bottles of formula and who knows might not even be an LC today if the rest of my bf expereince was not good.
Certainly give the bottles as needed when you return to work, try to pump enough to make as much of it breastmilk as you can and give formula as needed if you are unable to pump enough to keep up with her demand. Also, understand that what you pump is a really bad way to determine your milk supply. Babies get more from the breast than the pumps do, so don't worry if you get small amounts from the pump, just do your best.
Hope this helped to reassure you. Please let me know if anything was unclear or if you have more questions.
Warmly,
Kathy
