EBF... would 1 FF help?

[sleepdodger]

I have a 15wo ds who is ebf, but sleep has always been a nightmare (see many seperate posts) & my mum & dh have both suggested / pushed introducing a bottle of formula at pm ish to tank him up for the night.... but I'm not sure
he frequently has bottles of expressed bm, but hat makes little difference to sleep
my mother is insistent that my milk isnt any good in the evinings because I'm tired, but there is plenty there, able able to express etc
Has anyone any thoughts as to whether 1 x FF a day would help with sleep, if it would I'd probably give it a go, otherwise I'm erring not to as I've come this far without (nothing against ff, but having been through colic, reflux & early teething I've perceviered with bf, seems odd to stop now)
If he was a better sleeper I would have prob bf till 6 months...as it is I'm shattered but poss stubborn
I dont know why I'm making a fuss really just after your thoughts!
thanks

[RitaMorgan]

It might or it might not - it's harder to digest than breastmilk so can sit heavier in the baby's tummy, it isn't better or higher in calories than your milk in anyway. And you being tired has no effect on the quality of your milk either.

Introducing formula does change the baby's gut flora and make them more susceptible to infections. Not saying that you shouldn't introduce formula (my ds had some formula from 4 months - made no difference to his sleep though!) but just something to weigh up if you do.

[MigGril]

There is no evidance that formula help's baby's sleep any better/longer.

It's very common for babies to cluster feed in the evening, this is a good thing they are getting the higher fat milk at this time of day and can help them sleep longer. I'd sit on the sofa and feed all evening even at the slightes squeck and see if this helps.

Sorry if I've repeated anything I haven't read your other threads.

[HandMini]

Perhaps express some milk during the course of the day to include in the "tanking up" sessions in the evening so that someone else can help and your boobs get a rest?

[Nagini]

I didn't give formula, prob because I was stubborn too

DD is 8 months now. They get through it. I think lots of babies are a nightmare at 4 months.

I am happy I continued Bfing. I just wanted to offer some encouragement, and tell you to do what you think is best, and not be pressurised by your family :)

[blackcurrants]

Oh god, I feel your pain, OP! DS was a terrible terrible sleeper (up every 2 hours, sometimes less, all night long) and still gets up twice now (11 months). I tried a bottle of expressed milk at 11pm (first couple of nights it got me a 4 hour block, after that it stopped working) and then I tried formula at 11pm (made no difference).

Other than actually slipping him a sedative (which I didn't do!) I don't think anything would have helped him sleep at 4 months. The 4 month sleep regression was HELL but it did end.
I hereby proscribe you a glass or two of wine between the hours of 7-9pm, which will do you wonders. Might help him sleep, might not, but at least if you're cluster-feeding you'll enjoy it more! :)

[Fontsnob]

Any joy with co-sleeping? DD used to just latch on by herself so i could drift off to sleep. i know it's not for everyone, but it helped my sleep massively.

[sleepdodger]

Thanks for all your kind replies
cosleeping is my saviour when I'm at the most sleep deprived but I didn't want it to become the norm when he was so used to a basket before
he literally fed all last night, I'm expecting to see a huge growth spurt soon surely!!
From your comments I feel motivated to stick with bf but if this goes on for more than a phase will review !!

[narmada]

YOu say he's had/ got reflux - have you ruled out cow's milk protein allergy? This can cause vomiting, symptoms of reflux and also poor sleep.

[Fontsnob]

Hi narmada, how is your lo doing with the reflux? Sleepdodger, dd went through a few nights of constant feeding, knackering indeed. Just when you think you've got them into one routine they go and do something else to suprise you!

[narmada]

Hi Fonts - DS doing good thanks, reflux under control now with drugs...about to start weaning him off them, eek. How's your LO?

[Fontsnob]

Fantastic, I thought it was ds but couldn't quite remember! DD is doing great to thanks, the drugs did a fab job, have tried taking her off a couple of times but each time she has gone back on them as she was suffering (not majorly but enough to put her back on). Good luck with the weening, that reflux support thread was a fantastic source of info and help for me. Thanks. :)

[narmada]

oooh, glad your DD isi doing well. I know what you mean about weaning off drugs, we have tried once and his feeding and sleeping went haywire so it was back on them pronto.

Really pleased your DD is better. Isn't it nice to have a baby that does normal things like eat and sometimes sleep, although DS is nto doing too well on the latter front ATM. Ugh.

[AngelDog]

You're right in the 4 month sleep 'regression' (bad name as it affects even babies who didn't have better sleep to 'regress' from).

Babies' brains are really busy working on a huge developmental spurt which happens at around 19 weeks.

There is a great book explaining it called The Wonder Weeks by two scientists who researched all the developmental spurts up to 20 months.

More info here, here, here and here.

And I don't think ff will make any difference. The baby I knew whose sleep was worse than anyone elses's at 4 months was exclusively ff.