How do I encourage my partner to use formula?

[hora]

Circa 4months in and my partner is constantly knackered and just alittle grumpy. My partner is quite small/petite and I wonder if she is able to produce enough?

She has done very well so far but our son (Zachary) is quite cranky and cries alot during the day - is he hungry?

How does he sleep at night? settles in bed and sleeps from circa 7.30am to 11am feed to the 7am feed.

I've mentioned a few times that its fair that she could try topping up the breastmilk with formula but she sees formula as 'bad' for babies.

Is it really that bad? Why not use formula as 'support'?

Its very valiant what she has been doing so far but I do feel he could also be 'bigger' a s well.

Help! (I will also share this post and subsequent comments with her).

My dh admitted (quite sheepishly) that if I had used formula then he could have fed ds and dd - but he quite liked his "hero" days in the earlier stages of df.

i.e - dd going through growth spurt, constant feeding cryng and a touch of colic, dh walks through the door at 6pm, takes time to chat to ds about his day at school, makes dinner - serves to me, takes her away if she is not on the breast so can eat with two hands. And then finishes whatever housework has been abandoned. Baths ds does bedtime. Allows me to slob in front of tv with boob out.

Breastfeeding gets progressivily nicer and easier as you go on (6 months now - a doddle) -and I appriciated it a lot when dh came home from a long day at work and leapt to the rescue.

But what I never realised was, he liked being in a position to be able to do it .

"I was nonplussed by "small/petite" reference and then the penny dropped."

No no- I mean build. Shes slim/not the tallest etc.

"It's nice when a man admits that they are wrong"

Lets not start a trend

Do stick around by the way - you don't even have to always admit that you are wrong

Will do

You admitted you were wrong?

Are you quite sure you're a man?

Good to meet you. Welcome.

Is your wife a member? If not, perhaps she might like to join too?

Once she's finished doing a complex victory dance while chanting "I told ya so I told ya so I - I - I - I told ya so"

"Are you quite sure you're a man?"

Overly-fertile, big balls but now a shadow of my former self through sleep deprivation and worry?

Yes/sort of...

I have not read any of the comments, just the OP.

Your baby needs his mother's milk. If you want the best for your baby you should be doing anything you can to help make breastfeeding work for her. Your son is at increased risk of tummy upsets, ear infections, amd a load of other nasties if he is not breastfed.

You do the math.

Ohh, apologies, I just read that you admitted you were wrong!!

Make your partner a cup of tea and remember it's such a short time in the grand scheme of things - it's tough when they're tiny, but it gets easier so quickly. Sometimes they yell - it's not always cos they're hungry. Sometimes it's just cos they're babies.

Congratulations to everyone - MrsHora for doing so well with bf (although at 11pm - morning!!!!) - Hora for accepting advice so gallantly and coming back to admit it - and all the posters for not going OTT, and who posted sound, sensible advice that clearly has made a difference! Don't you just love MN sometimes!

Hora are you the same hora from singletrackworld? I think I posted on same thread as you about a month ago on there about parenting young babies. You were saying how well your little one was doing and sleeping and I think I may have said yeah so did mine at three months, you'll find it might not last!
I have a different login on there and hardly ever post now on account of hardly ever riding my bikes :-(
anyway sounds like he is still sleeping well to me - four months is classic growth spurt age so I hope it is just a phase and agree with all the advice your mrs should stick with it!
Apologies if it is not you as now I have made an idiot of myself!

It IS you as I have just been on singletrackworld!

Oh hora, you're a mountain-biking troll.

I am disappointed.

The infiltration thread is great , been ROFL.

Surely mn isn't that scary?

SummerLightning, it is me (Im now new and improved and behaving myself as MN lot are bloody scary'!).

Ps. SummerLightning- I love that bit of trail off of Leith Tower