Baby formula

Congratulations on your baby on the way!

I know about 5 healthy babies raised on homemade goat’s-milk-based formulas when the mother was unable to breastfeed. The moms followed very specific recipes that included things like flax seed oil. I think it can be a legitimate and healthy choice…no formula is going to perfectly replicate breastmilk and you have to find one that your baby tolerates and you are comfortable with. I think the Weston A. Price Foundation offers formula recipes that have been used by many and aim to have the same caloric content etc. as breastmilk. Having not used them myself I’m not going to endorse any particular recipe.
I don’t know that homemade formula is going to be cheaper, most people I know do it because it doesn’t have the corn syrup, GMOs, soy, etc. that commercial formula does.

I know that feeding your baby is an important and personal choice and that you asked about formula. I’m just going to throw these two options out there as well since many people aren’t aware of them, I hope they do not offend:

Donated breastmilk: I’ve donated to several adopted babies and one whose mother couldn’t nurse due to cancer…I gave them a copy of my prenatal blood labs to confirm that I was free of diseases…you can find donors through organizations like Human Milk for Human Babies. You can also sometimes purchase breastmilk from a milk bank, but it is very expensive and mostly goes to premature or sick babies. 

Adoptive nursing: It’s also possible to lactate for an adopted baby (I’ve heard it’s easier if you have lactated before but it’s not necessary). You would want to work with a lactation consultant and/or get support from La Leche League leaders or something to that effect. Many adoptive nursing moms supplement with formula (either on bottles or at the breast with a supplemental nursing system) but are able to give their babies some breastmilk. Every drop helps!

Blessings to you and I hope you can find something that works well for your baby, whatever that is. Sometimes babies’ digestive systems have their own opinions about things!

Dont have a lot of time.  But I am 100% for goat milk formula.  If you can’t do the many options here and you need to really use store bought formula I would highly suggest doing a lot of research.  Do not do anything with soy in it. IMHO.  Which doesn’t leave a lot of options.  I had a hard time nursing my last 2 (for reasons we don’t understand) and I just pumped, pumped and pumped, added goats milk for added milk and we did great.  Good luck, so hard, so many decisions and so much advice.  I will be praying for you.  

I’ve nursed all mine, so I’m no help as to having used a homemade formula, but I definitely would look into it if I were unable to nurse – THOUGH, I don’t think that homemade formula will save you money. If cost is your biggest concern it may not be worth the effort.   Do continue to seek out support from someone who has done it – contact a state Westin A Price Foundation and see if they can put you in contact with someone local – it’d be nice to get a tutorial live!  Raw milk is definitely available in a good number of states, there’s just a very quiet network of people that have access to it, because while not illegal – many states do not allow the farmers to advertise it’s sale.  I also would NOT mention to your pediatrician that you’re planning on making your own formula or using raw milk as it’s VERY frowned upon in most medical circles – of course you want to share this information if your baby is sick, but provided your baby is healthy and thriving, I wouldn’t offer the information and would likely try to find some type of medical professional – chiropractor or naturopathic doctor if I were going that route – again the Westin A Price foundation should be able to point you in the right direction.

I have a friend who successfully relactated to nurse her adopted daughter – if it helps to know another success story.

(I have not read all the replies here . . .)

You could totally relactate.  It is possible 🙂  Domperidone is useful for that.

On another note, if you decide to go with formula, the Weston A. Price Foundation has their own recipe and I’ve heard great things about it.

I, too, love nursing.  I have nursed all four of mine and currently still nurse my twins at 18 months 🙂

secondinging Lindsey D.’s comment above as I used one of the formulas in the book to feed my nephew when my dsis went back to work when he was a babe as she was not able to relax enough to provide enough milk when pumping.  However, if I were in your shoes, I would try relactating and supplementing with the homemade formula as necessary. 🙂

Pax,

~jacqleene