Supplementing with lactogen milk formula

i am not producing enough milk for my 3 week old baby so i have to give him formula milk atleast twice a day. my baby poops immediately after having lactogen milk formula. why is this so ? is lactogen not suiting him ?

is there any other milk substitute that i can give him?
please help.
also my nipples hurt as he breastfeeds for long during night.

Answer from the lactation consultant

I cannot answer your question about formula. I am not a formula expert, I am a breastfeeding educator. I never suggest formula. Never. If a baby needs supplementation, then I recommend human milk from a human milk bank. My belief is human babies should get human milk. Would you expect any less from a lactation consultant? Breastmilk and formula are not apples to apples and many babies have digestive issues when alternated back and forth.
I would like to address your feelings of low supply. Is your baby eating more frequently than every 1.5 hours when at the breast? Is your baby nursing for at least 20 minutes at a feeding? A 3 week old baby should be eating 8-12 times per day at the breast and this is normal. Also during this time, they go through a growth spurt and want to eat frequently to boost your supply. They nurse frequently to increase your supply. If you dont allow this natural process to happen and give a bottle, your supply will never increase and the problem will only get worse. So my suggestion, is to take a 24 hour period and do not supplement at all. Nurse your baby on demand or a minimum of every 2-3 hours. Monitor his output to make sure he has at least 6 wet and/or dirty diaper changes in this 24 hour period. If your supply has not increased and/or you are still feeling insecure about it after completing the 24 hours, I suggest you find a local la leche league leader or lactation consultant to walk you through this time. Low milk supply is a very resolveable issue and supplementing is not the answer in my opinion. (unless baby is dehydrated, which you did not mention).

Many times moms begin supplementing in the early weeks when babies go through the growth spurt (and are feeding every hour) moms feel the babie is not sastified and begin supplementing which sabotages moms supply.
When if they would just give the baby a 24 hour window to stimulate a better supply, the feeding pattern would resolve on its own back to a 2-3 hour pattern.
And for your last question about sore nipples at night. It could be from several things. Either a bad latch because you are dozing off and baby slides down onto the tip of the nipple accidentally. OR simply the fact the baby is nursing more frequently at night to try to boost your supply. Or lastly, our hormone levels go up at night and can cause our nipples to be more tender.
Liz Pevytoe, RN, IBCLC