Breastfeeding and formula milk

[na5ima]

Hello all,
My DS is 3 weeks on Thursday and I've been breastfeeding via the nipple sheild due to cracked nipples. He is a colic baby and at night he constantly cries awants feeding.. I feel like his never full.. It's not even 40 min he wants feeding.. I'm thinking of mixing giving him formula to top it up. I've bought Aptimal so thinking of feeding that as well as still breastfeeding..
Just thinking when to really feed him bottle milk.. Maybe at night as he keeps me awake all night and in the morning?

[CalypsoLilt]

Have you been in touch with your local breastfeeding clinic for support?

[na5ima]

Calypso I haven't you know. They always promote breastfeeding so I'm not sure if they would like the idea of mix feeding.. Feel so confused

[Stubbed]

To be honest I would not get stressed about it. It will ruin the time you have with your new baby. I would give some formula for now so that you know he is fed & content, and call an NCT breastfeeding or LLL group or local midwife breastfeeding group in the morning.

I had a lovely bf counsellor, helpful, non judgemental, and when my friend couldn't cope and eventually went back to formula, she was very understanding. I hope you get the same support either way.

[nottheOP]

If you want to mix feed try to pick a rough time of day to drop a feed and stick to it. This means your supply should be maintained at the other times and you can have a bit of predictability.

I would finish feeding at 9pm and go to bed. Dh would do the next bottle feed and settle ds and then I'd do the rest of the night from then but ds would do a really good stretch from 10/11ish to 3 ish so I'd get 6 hours in.

[NickyEds]

I agree with stubbed -you could always give a small bottle tonight and call LLL/nct in the morning. I always found that LL are a bf support group- I mix fed and their advice was kind of "how to get back to ebf". Nct seems to be broader in its advice and more "infant feeding" than pushy about ebf.

[theaveragebear1983]

I mixed fed my DS as he was a lazy feeder and risked being readmitted with jaundice, but I found topping up feeds with formula incredibly labour intensive as I had all the discomfort of new breastfeeding and all the hassle of formula (giving him 1oz top up after each feed). I switched and did alternate whole feeds with formula, which meant that I at least got some respite and I knew he was getting reasonable quantities at most feeds. I'm not sure what the going advice is on nipple confusion though, but I definitely feel that once he got the taste of formula and the ease of a bottle, it basically ended breastfeeding for us. (however, our reasons were different to yours, and he was already a lazy feeder which was why we were struggling- he much preferred the effortless pouring of milk from a bottle!)

[cakeandcustard]

I mix fed DD, she was incredibly fussy and cluster fed in the evenings which meant I was glued to the sofa and couldn't do bedtimes & stories with my other two DCs. After six weeks we'd had enough so I used to give her a bottle of formula at teatime to settle her down a bit for the evening shift. I then breastfed her before bedtime.

I'd agree with previous posters, pick one feed to replace & stick to it to maintain your supply. We started giving her a bottle at midnight after a bit but I don't think it helped her sleep any better. With mix feeding I managed to breastfeed till six months as it helped with the stress of being solely responsible for filling her up.

[IrritatedPartyOf1]

sounds like he has hit a growth spurt. he is feeding often to build up your supply, drink plenty of water and rest when you can. It should settle down in a day or two. congratulations on your little baby x

[tinkerbellvspredator]

You're better off giving formula during the day as feeding during the night is when your prolactin hormone is highest (between about 12 and 4) and will increase your supply more. Doesn't help with the sleep though! Do get some advice and RL support - tongue tie perhaps?

[na5ima]

Thanks for the advice guys. Also I forgot to mention he only feeds for max 20mins.. I've tried taking his clothes off so he feeding for longer however it didn't work. Plus his such a fidgety baby.. Constantly moving and being really active.. Even in his sleep his always moving around. I gave him 60ml at 11pm last night after a feed and he still wasn't full. I breastfeed him till 1am on and off. I can say he slept for 3 hours 40min.. That's amazing as usually wakes up every hour for 10 -20min feeds

[goodnessgraciousgouda]

OP - Whatever you decide to do, good luck!! I don't have any experience of this yet, but it sounds like previous posters who suggested replacing the last feed before bed with formula had some good advice. Especially if that helps you to get some much needed sleep.

If you have a nice, impartial midwife then it might be a good idea to ask for some advice.

[Levismum]

Have u tried a dummy op?

I gave do a tummy from 2/3 days. By for a year.

Try & contact a bf advisor.
Good luck.

[Levismum]

Sorry for typos!
I gave her a dummy from 2/3 days!

[BotBotticelli]

Hi OP, not a popular opinion here in MN, but formula feeding is an equally valid choice, if you decide BFing is not for you.

I tried to BF DS1 and just couldn't cope with the cluster feeding from 11pm - 5am every night. I was like zombie. Plus his weight was plummeting and he NEVER came off a feed satisfied.

I sodded it off at 2 weeks old and put him exclusively on FF. best decision I could have made for our family.
Just throwing it out there so you have a different opinion on this board.

BF isn't the be-all-and-end-all of motherhood. Plenty of brilliant mums ff their babies.

[knittingirl]

Lots of good advice here, and I hope you find something that works for you.

I just wanted to address something you said, about your baby not feeding for more than 20 minutes - this can be totally normal. When he was little, my son's feeds lasted maybe 10 minutes, but he was getting plenty in (lots of wet/dirty nappies coming out and gaining weight well), he was just an efficient feeder and/or my milk came out quickly. Don't stress about the length of feeds, just let the little one feed until they are done.

Cluster feeding in the evening is exhausting, but it is also totally normal.

Given he is only three weeks old, so only tiny, nothing you have said sounds out of the realms of normality, so if that's your main worry then I would try to relax - as long as you're seeing plenty coming out of the other end and they are gaining weight, then you're doing fine. Having said that, if it's not working for you then absolutely look into other options - talk to people who are knowledgeable about bf, maybe get his latch checked to ensure he is transferring milk properly, get him checked for tongue tie, and speak to someone about the best way/time to introduce a bottle to ensure that you don't affect your supply too much.

Above all, DO NOT feel guilty about any of this, or about any decisions you make in you and your baby's best interests. This is a tough time, you're doing awesomely!

[na5ima]

Thanks guys for the advice.. I've kinda accepted he doesn't get enough milk from me and I give him formula jus at night and started expressing so I know how much his getting. Thanks again