Do formula fed babies sleep more?

[McShities]

4.5 month old EBF, still feeding over 14 times a day, 4 times at night. I'm shattered. Fed up. Only break I get is when I pump for DH to give bottle and I fucking hate pumping, considering I breastfeed for over 7 hours a day I can't stand using it in the rare times I'm not. Yes I know breast is best, and I've done it for months but can someone be real with me, as my HV is refusing to say anything that could be conceived as pro ff. Will it help? Read a tub of Aptamil which suggested between 5 or 6 feeds a day which sounds like heaven to me. I'm so bloody tired

I FF and had a sleeper. Most of my friends BF and some had sleepers, some didn’t. DS was probably the best sleeper out of all of them though!
The most successful BFers I know tended to give one bottle of formula before bed after a certain age, maybe 3 months- it’s a good compromise and seemed to be the best of both worlds. I’d try that.

My DS was on 6/7 night feeds at that age, he fed every 90 minutes day and night.

My DD slept through from 6 weeks.

Both were breastfed exactly the same. It’s the personality of the baby, not the feeding method that determines sleep.

I would stop pumping and introduce a bottle of formula if I were you. My DD is 7 months now and has 2 bottles of formula a day and I breastfeed the rest of the time. I don’t pump at all.

At DDs 1 year check (at 10.5 months) we were talking about sleep and the HV said that by this age most FF babies are sleeping through the night and most BF babies aren't. Averages are averages though and not necessarily what will happen to yours.

DD is BF and although she still doesn't sleep through at 11 months, there was a notable improvement in sleep when she was eating a decent amount of solids.

Breast milk is digested within 2 hours whereas formula takes longer and that's why some babies sleep longer after having a bottle. My health visitor described it as giving them a Christmas day roast and the full feeling after that. Waking during the night so often is protection from SIDs. Anyway not knocking it either way . I combi feed personally with a bottle before bed. I know how tiring it is. Giving formula isn't guaranteed to help with this but be careful with your supply while trying out whatever you do. I hate pumping too and have days of upping my supply from giving a couple bottles of formula and not pumping.

My 3 month old is ff on demand but during the day he goes 3-4 hours, at night he generally has a bottle around 11pm and then around 4/5am. He probably only woke 3 times during the night when he was newborn anyway. It is a massive faff having to sterilise bottles but my baby is perfectly happy and healthy and I get a good amount of sleep as my husband can help with feeding.
Could you maybe introduce a bottle or two in the evening or night that your husband could do so you can get a good block of sleep? You could still continue with bf as well.

In my experience (9yrs) FF babies sleep much better and longer than BF ones.

Also, if you're not enjoying it and need a break then just do what needs to be done and switch. You could even then leave baby for a night and get a good 8-12hrs yourself (heaven).

You must be shattered.

Ime they slept better. I’d also go to bed really early so I could sleep from 9, dh would do the dream feed before he went to bed and I’d do the 3/4am feed. It’s getting that 6 hours makes a big difference.

In 24 hours at 4 months mine were on 7 feeds a day, 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10pm, 4am so more than the tub suggested. The middle of the night feed went at around 6 months.

The big difference is that it doesn’t have to be you!

Yes . Formula feeding is so much easier than breast feeding which is undoubtedly why it is so popular .

Can you pump and let your husband do a feed at 11 while you go to bed earlier .

Sleeping depends on baby not what's in their tummies.

My breastfed babes slept through the night from 6 weeks.

My formula fed nephews didn't sleep through till about age 4.

Breastfeeding babies wake more regularly which is why the sids risks are lower. Breastmilk is more easily digested .

I agree with previous posters that if I were you I'd be on the formula. My daughter is 17 weeks old and has been FF since birth. She's slept through since about 8 weeks old. I suppose it can't just be down to the feed but in my opinion it helps.

My formula fed DS didn't sleep through until he was 13 months old. He was up multiple times per night and at least one wake-up would be a long one (2-4 hours) he only started sleeping through when we started to bedshare.

Even now at 19 months he doesn't sleep through every night. And he's not waking up from being hungry as he never stops eating! Everyone told me once he started solids he would sleep through 😂 yeah right!

Sorry I know it's probably not what you wanted to hear but I think it's just luck of the draw! I didn't sleep through until I was over 3, my poor mum didn't know what to do as she had my Dsis who was 2 weeks old and already sleeping through and I was still waking her up 🙈

Put the baby on bottles and be done with it.

4.5 months is still very admirable.

Perhaps you can consider a bit of both, it doesn't have to be breast OR formula. I have a 17week old and recently started at 10pm 3oz formula top up feed (after bf at 7pm) and she now sleeps till 4:30am. Previously I would have done at least 2 feeds up to then. In my circle, the ebf babies are still needing 4 or 5 feeds a night at 6 months old. I think it's simply a volume thing of what you can provide in a single feed vs demand.

All my friends BF and their babies were all a dreadful sleepers. Formula fed both my DD's. DD1 slept through from around 12 weeks and DD2 was about 8 months however only woke up once during the night. So yes I think there is some truth in FF babies sleeping better.

I do think it's luck of the draw as I have known other FF babies that haven't slept very well.
My DS is 18 weeks and he is FF he has 5 or 6 bottles a day and sleeps from 9-8 but I think I'm very lucky and didn't put it down to being FF but I could be wrong.

Honestly I would introduce 1/2 bottles of formula so you can sleep better! If your DH can do them you will be better rested, which really matters.
Not an expressed bottle, sounds like you need a small break from everything to get some rest.

I FF from birth, from birth we had 3 to 4 hour stretches of sleep. Friends who bf got 1.30 to 2 hour stretches Anything to it, I dunno, could be just the nature of our kids too

But that said, if BF getting you this down, stop. There is nothing wrong with formula. It allows your dh to take over feeds while you sleep without any pumping effort from you. Allows you your body back.
A happy mum is much better than a resentful one.
BF isn't the be all and end all of parenting. It's in reality a tiny part of parenting. One that is NOT compulsory

I have a 3 month old who’s been FF from the start. She’s a poor sleeper and does as she pleases.

I think it just depends on the child

Mine were both FF from day one and both slept well from very early on. By 12 weeks with DS1 and 9 weeks with DS2, I was getting a decent stretch of sleep each night.

I didn't BF, so had nothing to compare it to really. My parents say I slept through from very early on, so it could be genetic. They were both very big babies as well and I remember HV saying with my eldest that helped. Both had dummies so had that for comfort rather than a bottle. DS1 also never napped for longer than 30 minutes at a time so was probably knackered by 7pm.

In short, there's a number of possibilities why they slept through early. None of it was anything I did intentionally to get them to sleep. I was just very grateful at the time.

It definitely made my baby get a good night sleep ... and me!! With my first I felt so guilty wanting to stop breastfeeding, I even had a midwife say "the bond might not be as strong!" Which is absolute crap! I was so tired and up all night like you it was no good for either of us. I gave her a bottle and it was like magic. Never regretted it once. My second who is three months old I combi feed. I think she mainly takes the formula and the breast is just for comfort. But it works for us. Don't feel guilty, no harm in trying some formula to see if it works for you both! I hope whatever you do you get some sleep soon xx

Yes, of course they do. And so will you, because you'll be sharing nights with your partner.

See here: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/expectingscience.com/2014/09/09/lets-face-it-formula-fed-babies-sleep-better-from-their-parents-perspective/amp/

3 breast fed babies here and 3 completely different sleepers.

Yes, they absolutely do. Of course, there are always exceptions and there are some kids that don’t sleep properly until they’re 2 1/2 or something like that.
However, when my children were babies I didn’t know anybody that breastfed and the general expectation was that the babies would be sleeping through from between 6 to 8 weeks. Both of mine did that, as did my friends’. The only other mother I knew at that point was living in a much more progressive/educated sort of place and hers was the only baby I knew of that didn’t sleep through.
I wouldn’t dream of asking a breastfeeding mother, at 6 to 8 weeks, if her baby was sleeping through yet!