To not really understand breastfeeding

[Nonomore2]

Hi all.
Please can I ask some advice on breastfeeding? I really need some advice.

I have a 11 week old baby. I’ve been Exclusively BreastFeeding him & it’s been going ok. He got back up to birth weight quickly but since then dropped a bracket in percentiles and now has steadied at the 9th percentile.

He seems hungry a lot in the evening. And fusses a lot at my breasts. When I can, I express earlier in the day and sometimes I give him these extra ounces in the evening and he always guzzles it down.

I am worried that he needs more than I can give him. I am contemplating giving him some formula.. just in the evening.

So, this is where I am very conflicted.
On the one hand, I know there are many benefits to Exclusively BF.
On the other hand, I really don’t want my son to be going hungry.

All the literature tells you about the benefits of EXCLUSIVELY breastfeeding. Are any of these benefits negated if I give him formula?
This is what I am trying to understand.
Does it actually cancel out any of the benefits?
Or do people warn against it more because it often means people stop breastfeeding sooner?

I’m worried he is hungry. If there is no downside to formula then I would give it to him.

Does anyone have any real knowledge in this area? Please can someone advise?
Thank you

From my experience in the early days your baby will go through phases of being hungrier and having growth spurts. Their way of increasing your supply to match their need is to feed more frequently, and can appear fussy/hungry at these times. If you supplement with formula then your supply won't actually increase and so it will continue to seem like your baby needs more than you can give. I just listened to my baby, I figured they knew why they were doing. If they were fussing for more and asking more frequently I just went with it and it always seemed to settle back down.

Don’t stress about it. Introducing formula is not the end of the world and certainty won’t undo or cancel out all your good work.

It's very very normal for young babies to be fussy in the evening. From what you've said I doubt there is any problems with your supply. Babies often want to cluster feed then, partially to stock up for a longer sleep and partially for comfort to negate the overwhelming effect of the day for a young baby. Dropping one percentile line is also not a concern, it happens often.

Introducing formula early can end up with your supply failing and it also appears there are benefits to babies having nothing but BF in the first 6 months. You are probably past the window for formula to affect your supply too much though. In general, some breastmilk is better than no breastmilk and all breast milk is optimum.

Lots of people do choose to mix-feed or give an evening bottle of formula without ill effects. There's no reason based on what you said to believe baby is hungry though, so it's purely up to you and whether you feel it would offer you benefits.

Sounds like cluster feeding to me, where you settle in for the evening and just take the cues from your baby even if it feels like they're feeding non stop.

But equally, no, giving your baby formula won't hurt them. But honestly, cluster feeding is totally normal and not a sign that they need more than you can give

Feeding lots in the Evening is completely normal, it's called cluster feeding. Prolactin is higher at night, so baby is able to boost your supply. He's not hungry per de, he's just making sure your supply keeps up with his growth.

I can't comment on giving formula as I didn't use it, but I'm sure lots of babies are mix-fed.

It does get easier over the next few months, it's just that your baby is probably having a growth spurt currently.

I went through this too, exclusively BF for about 10 weeks but then discovered my DD was much more satisfied when I gave her formula in the evening. Was it the best thing for her nutritionally? Maybe not but she slept so well and seemed so content. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.

Formula isn’t bad. But using it often then stops the body getting the correct messages from the baby and then you end up with less milk instead of more. Then baby needs the formula, and before you know it breastfeeding is undermined and stops or reduces. The fussing is to get the fatty bits moving and tell your body to make more milk. He isn’t hungry as such- he is getting your body ready for the next stage. Trust it- you’re doing fab. Look on kellymom website for more info. And maybe see if there is a local BF support group nearby.

Babies don’t just breastfeed for food. It’s also for comfort. Which is probably why he’s fussy in the evening - he also wants a cuddle from you and a feeding because he’s tired. So it’s not because you don’t have enough.

Mine went through a fussy phase at about 12 weeks - they were getting more alert and it’s harder for them to switch off. Plus they have a growth spurt. So try feeding somewhere dark and peaceful and keep him with you. I slept with my baby second time around and it made life easier.

He’s just cluster feeding quite normal st his age. My baby is nearly 6m and he would do that a few months ago but not anymore. It’d bit that he’s desperately hungry but building up energy to sleep continuously for longer during the night

One thing I’ve learnt is that these phases keep changing and in a few weeks he won’t demand as much (tho in My experience he takes more in the night and won’t wake up for 6h)

The high demand for feeding means it's going well as long as they are steady on the percentiles.

If you are going to mix feed then you need to try a bottle sooner rather than later as baby might reject it at this age. I mix fed dc1 before going onto exclusively breastfeeding him so it's still possible to do without destroying your supply.

Bf works on supply and demand, esp in the early weeks/months, so introducing formula could limit your supply and have the potential to start a bit of a vicious circle. I also think formula may just add another dimension of faff and hassle rather than providing a solution to your difficulties. Evening cluster feeding is very normal, albeit exhausting. What do you mean by fussing? Does he refuse to feed, or come off crying?

AIUI it's not as simple as formula 'cancelling out' positive health effects of bf (except perhaps partially in specific instances like GI infections?), but introducing formula does tend to reduce bf duration and positive health effects* do increase with bf duration (not sure how well studies bear this out because so few women in the west bf past a certain point).

*I prefer this to 'benefits', as it's more precise.

Www.kellymom.com

Is a fantastic research website - saved me many a time!

What everyone has said is true, at his age he is also probably distracted during the day so keen to stock up on milk at night when things are calmer!

As well as supply issues with introducing formula, there is some evidence that exclusive breast milk gives the guts a special coating that protects baby from gastric illness. This goes when food or formula is introduced. www.thealphaparent.com/virgin-gut-note-for-parents/

If you want to exclusively breast feed you can. Your supply will catch up with your baby’s needs. Resting, drinking lots of water and eating oaty things helped my supply.

With my second I did introduce a bottle of formula in the evenings for the last feed. It really helped me recharge a little. I breast fed both children until 12/13 months.

Cluster feeding in the evening is really really normal.

You are doing great i’m sure. The early months are so stressful. As long as you are feeding your baby (breast milk or formula!) that’s all that matters. X

If you bottle feed make sure you are pace feeding

Research based website!

Wish there was an editing tool!

The thing about evening formula and sleeping well - it's not physiological for babies to sleep deeply. I think it's been speculated that this may be part of the reason why bf appears protective against SIDS.

as lots of people have said it sounds like evening cluster feeding which is pretty much par for the course when breastfeeding.

There is no harm introducing formula if you want though. I have mix fed two babies and genuinely think it gives you flexibility and the best of both worlds.

Totally normal for an 11 week old to want to nurse constantly. With the weight drop, a visit with a lactation specialist would be worthwhile. They can evaluate your latch, do weighs pre and post feeding, and have a million little tips and tricks to help you succeed.

I wish there were more information available on mixed feeding - I really believe that many women would breastfeed or pump for longer if they didn’t feel it was all or nothing. As you’ve found, there’s very little info out there for people who want to do this.

I would be asking, is he dropping centiles (as in a sudden drop) or has he been following his own curve and his growth has just tailed off a bit? Has he properly dropped a centile or gone from just above a line to just below it?

I am not a medical expert but find the science of breastfeeding really interesting

Cluster feeding at night is completely normal and increases your supply. It's a PITA but fills them up to hopefully sleep a few hours. I don't know why they seem distressed - I think it's a mixture of being hungry, grumpy, milk supply lower and sometimes a bit of wind which feeding temporarily helps. It does gradually get better and better

Some people find if they introduce a bottle of formula then their supply does reduce then they have to introduce more and it's a vicious circle that ultimately ends the breastfeeding journey quicker than they wanted to. Other people find they can give bottles at set feeds and it doesn't me n'y difference at all

The baby may prefer the taste of one to another but you won't know until you try. When they're really young they won't have as much preference or way of expressing it as much as if they are a few months older.

Formula milk is more difficult for them to digest. It may increase colic / wind / throwing up / discomfort etc. But because it stays in their stomach for longer it may mean they sleep longer stretches as well.

Also if you breastfeed your baby to sleep, a bottle say in the night may not provide as much comfort as a breastfeed so may break the feed to sleep habit which for some babies can be the cause of a lot of wake ups.

There is a lot of reserve currently on gut bacteria and the virgin gut. Apparently there is unique gut flora in breastfed babies that may help the immune system. But they are all eating and gaining different gut flora by 6 months anyway. The research is still in its infancy and I don't think is widely accepted by the scientific community yet though pro breastfeeding people will state it as fact.

Your baby will continue to get the immune boosting benefits of breast milk every time they have some

Basically if your supply is established enough that formula won't deplete it, and your child doesn't have a cows milk allergy I can't see it doing any harm. I think EBF is the strictest definition but there is no quick way of saying EBF with one bottle of formula every 2 days. It's a sliding scale and I don't thin there is much research on mixed feeding

I found this blog really helpful when my boys were small - this article is about the concept of “virgin gut” scienceofmom.com/2016/05/03/whats-up-with-the-virgin-gut-do-babies-really-have-an-open-gut-until-6-months-of-age/

From that link, because I thought it was interesting / useful :)

Does whether an infant is breastfed or formula-fed affect intestinal permeability? Maybe a little, but the difference doesn’t last long. The study shown in the graph above found no difference in intestinal permeability in exclusively breastfed and formula-fed babies on day 1 or day 30. On day 7, intestinal permeability was slightly lower in breastfed compared with formula-fed infants, indicating that formula-feeding may slow the process of gut closure (5). It’s possible that this may contribute to the increased incidence of GI illness observed in formula-fed infants. But again, this difference is transient. By one month and beyond, there is no difference in intestinal permeability between breastfed or formula-fed infants

I had a similar problem with my first born losing weight and not seeming to be getting enough. I gave 1 bottle of formula at 9pm after I'd fed her myself, so I effectively just topped her up before bed. After a couple of months I stopped topping up and went back to exclusive breastfeeding. If you just drop feeds completely and replace with formula you'll reduce the amount you produce. I maintained supply as I always fed her myself first. She started to gain weight and was much more settled before bed, it was definitely needed.

There is no harm introducing formula if you want though.

I think one of the issues is that if you keep feeding him exclusively then your supply will meet his demand. If you introduce formula then you will produce less milk so as time goes on you will need to continue to use formula and it will likely form a bigger part of his diet proportionally
You just have to decide if you are happy with this.noone else can tell you.

As many have said what you describe is normal and he sounds like he is thriving. It's extremely rare for a woman to not be able to supply enough milk for baby, our bodies just have to adjust to baby's as their habits change

In my experience by 3 months the milk supply is usually sorted and you can just get on with it.