Q. Is it okay to supplement with formula until my milk comes in?

Yes, it’s okay, but it’s usually not necessary.

Mother Nature has an elaborate plan for babies and breast milk. Newborns arrive with some extra nutritional baggage to carry them through the first few days of life. That’s good because they’d rather sleep than eat. It’s also good because your body is making early milk (colostrum) that is antibody-rich, but calorie-poor (it has fewer calories in it than mature milk, which shows up around day three or four).

In fact, pediatricians expect most newborns to lose about 10% of their birth weight by the third or fourth day. That’s supposed to happen.

At about 48 hours of life (at precisely the moment most of you are heading home from the hospital), your baby suddenly says, “Hey, I’m starving, what have you got to eat around here?!”

The baby will act completely differently than the first two days and want to nurse non-stop. That demand drives your milk supply up. Although that can be pretty nerve-wracking for about 24 hours or so, it’s what gets your milk production going.

Bottom Line

You don’t need to tinker with Mother Nature’s grand scheme by offering formula. Unless there is a medical reason to give formula, let nature take its course.