Breastfeeding and Supplementing

So my darling baby is now 6 months. I have been trying y best to BF from the start. But we always had to give her some formula early on it was 3 or 4 oz a day..these days (especially with the growth spurt) her formula intake has become 8 to 10 oz.. I do work and have to be away from home few hrs a day- but thankfully have flexible schedule. In last few days, I am starting to wonder if this is it.. is she likeing formula more than my milk..supply seems insufficient.

One friend (who is a doc BTW) told me its great that now you can stop breastfeeding-Its six months.. I was like..No I would like to keep going at least till a year.

we may start a bit of solids in few weeks time.

Also there is a new isuues.. she has started gumming the nipple in the bottle.. she does the same with my breast at time..ouch.. I press her lips then and say - NO.. but who knows if she gets the clue. So that makes me bit less eager to feed. But I want to feed her as much as I can.

I used to pump at work when I am away for long time. But in last few days I have noticed that when I am away for even 3 or 4 hrs..I dont pump..I just get back and feed her.

Any comments/opinions on the situation here?

<<So my darling baby is now 6 months. I have been trying y best to BF from the start. But we always had to give her some formula early on it was 3 or 4 oz a day..>>

I presume you where supplementing with formula early on due to a perceived low milk supply issue. Can you tell me exactly what made you think you had a low milk supply issue?

Determining if your milk is really low and how to increase it is needed:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

Is my baby getting enough milk?:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/enoughmilk-older.html

<<these days (especially with the growth spurt) her formula intake has become 8 to 10 oz.. I do work and have to be away from home few hrs a day- but thankfully have flexible schedule. In last few days, I am starting to wonder if this is it.. is she liking formula more than my milk..supply seems insufficient.>>

The best way to deal with growth spurts is just to allow just to allow her to feed on demand as much a she wants. Her nursing frequency will increase a for a few days during the growth spurt which in would increase your milk supply. Sometimes a mother mistakenly thinks that her baby wanting to nurse more often during a growth spurt is a sign of low milk supply. If your currently replacing one or more feedings with formula then you are only going to cause your breasts to make less milk and thus start a vicious circle where you produce less and thus needs to supplement with more formula and so for. What you ideally want to deal is to take steps to encourage more nursing and more milk introduction and to slowly wean from the formula supplements.

To help increase your milk supply, I suggest you try taking a herbal supplement for increasing milk production. Oatmeal and Fenugreek are both used for increasing a mother's milk supply. Fenugreek, which is used in South-Asian cooking, is available in tablet form from many drug and health food stores. Here is some info on using Fenugreek to increase your milk supply: http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html

Info on weaning from formula supplements: http://kellymom.com/bf/supply/decrease-formula.html

<<One friend (who is a doc BTW) told me its great that now you can stop breastfeeding-Its six months.. I was like..No I would like to keep going at least till a year.>>

There are many benefits to continuing to BF for at least one year which is why the AAP and other major medical organizations worldwide recommend BFing for at least one to two years minimum. BFing does not stop being nutritionally or immunologically beneficial at 6 months contrary to what your doctor friend seems to think. Also, it annoying when others assume that BFing is a chore for all mothers and that they are all looking for the first chance to quit where they won't feel they are sacrificing any major benefits. Some people actually do enjoy BFing.

<<we may start a bit of solids in few weeks time.>>

The important thing to know about introducing solids into the BF babies diet is that breastmilk has more calories then most solids foods and thus you don't need to worry about getting your baby to eat lots of solids at this time. Solids should be for exploring new tastes and textures and getting her used to taking solids but she does not need three square meals of solids prior to a year. Also, don't rely on solids to get extra calories to your baby as most solids foods have less calories then BM or formula.

Info on introducing solids into a BF babies diet:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html

<<Also there is a new issues.. she has started gumming the nipple in the bottle.. she does the same with my breast at time..ouch.. I press her lips then and say - NO.. but who knows if she gets the clue. So that makes me bit less eager to feed. But I want to feed her as much as I can.>>

I have heard of mom's having success with stopping nipple gumming following the advice for stopping biting in a baby with teeth so here is so a link to info on how to stop bitting during BFing:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html