Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Introducing a night time formula feed to EBF 12 week old baby

47 replies

ayjayjay · 07/10/2010 18:07

A question for those mix feeding their babies. I am considering inroducing a bottle of formula for 12.5 week DD as her last feed of an evening to see if it helps her sleep better. Can anyone advise if they are doing the same and if so how much formula they give? She is a small baby (just over 10lb), currently if I give a bottle of EBM I give 5oz. Would 5oz of formula be enough to get her through the night or would 8oz be better?

Can I also add that before anyone posts to tell me not to stop EBF I have already considered the following:

she is going through a growth spurt now so I wouldn't introduce the formula until next week.
I understand there is no guarantee that she will sleep better with an evening formula feed
I know my supply will reduce but unless I'm mistaken it will only adjust to eliminate the evening feeds I am missing (although let me know if I'm wrong about this)
I do not have any wish to co-sleep. DH is smoker so it is not feasible.
I know that for many people their babies feed less in the night after 4 months.

This is not meant agressively because I know that encouragement to EBF is given with the best of intentions but I have thought about the pros and cons and believe introducing a single evening FF is worth a try.

OP posts:

FruitSaladIsNotPudding · 08/10/2010 10:01

Sorry, forgot to say, my supply wasn't really affected - still feeding now at 8mo with no formula.

jemjabella · 08/10/2010 10:08

I'm not trying to guilt trip anyone love - if you're feeling guilty it's your own doing. I simply point out the truth and let people get on with it. That there are other posters who pussyfoot around so as not to offend is not my problem.

gaelicsheep · 08/10/2010 10:13

Jemjabella - I have said before on this board that I believe the over zealous promotion of exclusive breastfeeding can be a major factor in some women giving up altogether. They think that they've already ruined their baby's health by giving that odd bottle so what's the point of struggling on.

It is precisely attitudes like yours that I had in mind. And I was nearly one of those women.

Original poster

ayjayjay · 08/10/2010 10:16

No but that sanctimonious spiteful attitude is your problem.

OP posts:

Original poster

ayjayjay · 08/10/2010 10:17

This exactly the kind of bun fight I hoped to avoid. Am annoyed at myself now for reacting.

OP posts:

littlemissindecisive · 08/10/2010 10:32

Give it a go....I've done an evening bottle with all 3 of my very hungry and rubbish (waking often 2 hourly) sleeping babies. When your boobs are chewed on day and night, the last thing i wanted to do was express! I bf DD over 7months and current DS at 6.5months is still going strong. One botttle does not mean a 'slippery slope' and if so whats the harm...it's not poison! Only now at 6months is DS taking 8oz...used to be all of 2 or 3oz

Give bottle to dh and skip off to bed early to get some extra sleep. My kids sleep longer some nights but not others, but atleast i know i get a few hours off to catch up and re-charge my batteries.

jemjabella · 08/10/2010 10:34

I'm sorry, ayjayjay; I'm having a shit day and shouldn't have been so blatantly tactless. You didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of my frustration.

jemjabella · 08/10/2010 10:35

Shit day, shit week...

littlemissindecisive · 08/10/2010 10:37

Chin up jem everyone has them....i sure you've given me some great advice in the past

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 08/10/2010 10:59

jemjabella - I wouldn't describe how I approach breastfeeding threads as pussyfooting, absolutely not. I think I am pretty clear that I think EBF is the best thing for a baby.
But there are ways and ways of going about it, and certainly with our first baby none of us really know what to expect in terms of feeding and sleeping patterns.
Far better IMO to encourge than guilt trip.

Let's not forget that we are not talking about a 2 week old here. I will be honest and say that those threads I do find exasperating and often steer clear of.

Original poster

ayjayjay · 08/10/2010 11:03

jemjabella ok I agree to truce. Don't feel proud of reducing myself to personal attacks.

OP posts:

crikeybadger · 08/10/2010 11:12

Lovely, now we're all friends again, can anyone help out dried apricots with her earlier question?

Can I ask driedapricots why you'd want to mix feed with formula in the day and bf in the night? I'm sure it can be done but to me it would be the worst of both worlds. (and I'm asking that in a non judgy, non agressive, non pussyfooting way!)

gaelicsheep · 08/10/2010 11:20

I was surprised at that as well driedapricots. Are you proposing to bf at night because you've read that's the most important time for building/maintaining supply? I can't imagine that only breastfeeding at night would be enough to maintain your supply tbh. Can you give a little more background?

HelenLG · 08/10/2010 11:36

I could understand breastfeeding at night...the idea of trying to make formula up at 4 in the morning puts the fear of god into me. What with the having wait half an hour for the water, it is just easier to pop a baby on a boob, but then having a baby demanding food all day when a bottle of formula might make them go a little longer between feeds...

I would have thought that if it did keep your supply up, you might have issues with engorgement throughout the day...

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 08/10/2010 11:41

driedapricots how old is your baby?

gaelicsheep · 08/10/2010 20:03

Oh goodness, I never made up formula at night. That's what ready made cartons are for. But then I was giving formula because I found bf at night so difficult, so anything was easier than that. Couldn't have DD screaming the house down and waking DS though, so the quicker the preparation, the better for us. Plus giving bottles at night meant DH could help out (under pain of death).

For me, formula in the day was the biggest pain in the neck of all. I had to do this with DS, I was demand feeding and what with the new guidelines on making the stuff up - plus the wastage - it drove me demented.

Driedapricots - please do come back on the thread. Sorry if you were scared off by the bickering.

MoonUnitAlpha · 08/10/2010 21:24

Formula in the day while mum is at work, bf at night while she's home possibly?

gaelicsheep · 08/10/2010 22:05

I did wonder that, but figured if her DC was 6 months plus she'd just do it anyway rather than ask advice on a thread like this.

driedapricots · 09/10/2010 15:13

sorry i've not been bck..just not had a second! if any of you are still out there here's the answers to your q's. ds is 11 weeks. with fear of enduring the wrath, i have to admit i wanted to feed this way for purely selfish reasons...i like breastfeeding which is why i want to keep it up at night, it is easier, and of course BM is best etc ec..but with toddler and busy days i find it a real hinderance and really dont feel comfortable doing it when out and about, plus hate the iregularity of it. it's just not convenient for me to get caught short and have to feed him whilst for instance on the way back from park with tantruming 2 year old...

surely tho if people can BF for years - just one or two feeds a day, then just BF at night shouldn't muck up supply??
thanks ladies. glad the bickering stopped ;)

crikeybadger · 09/10/2010 16:31

Glad you ventured back driedapricots. Not really sure to be honest. I guess like you say your supply would adjust to the change in demand. I'm just not sure how you'd do it to make sure that you didn't face engorgement.

Sure someone else will come along who knows a bit more.

PS: no wrath here, it's your decision after all.

pepperonipizza · 09/10/2010 17:03

Hi dried apricots - I did exactly what you're proposing and my supply was fine. I cut down very slowly on BF in the day, taking a week or so to drop each daytime BF and replace with FF (expressing until I was comfortable but as little as I could get away with). You probably don't need to go that slow with dropping feeds but I had a few issues with lumpy breasts so wanted to make sure I'd be okay.

After that, I BF only at night and first thing in the morning, until DS was sleeping completely through the night (then switched the first morning feed to FF, thus exclusively FFing). No problems at all with my supply. I think the going slow with dropping helped, and also, that middle of the night feed is supposed to be the most important in terms of keeping your supply going (prolactin levels as I understand it).

HTH

gaelicsheep · 09/10/2010 23:16

Well loads of women do this when they go back to work, so I guess it depends at what point your milk is "established". Pepperonipizza's approach sounds like good advice. I am very envious of you enjoying breastfeeding in the night - for me it is the absolute worst part of the whole thing. Hence night time bottles for 10 weeks (which I forced myself to drop when DD hit the 3 month growth spurt).

Just thinking of other ways though. With regard to being caught short, could you try to give him a snack at a time and place that's convenient to avoid this happening? And you could perhaps try to adopt more of a scheduled feed approach in the daytime, so you have a better idea when he'll be hungry? After all most of our mothers will have been advised to feed 3 or 4 hourly in the day - I know mine was and she bf me to 7 months. I totally sympathise with the toddler though - I have a 4 year old and I found it very very difficult to find the time required to establish bf. I'm not going to even suggest expressing milk to take out with you - I know only too well how impossible it is to get the time with another DC.

Why do you feel uncomfortable feeding when out and about? I must say, having experienced both feeding methods, bf is by far the easiest now I am confident. I was using nipple shields until recently and that was a bit of a faff, but nowadays it's so easy! I can't imagine going back to the days of making sure I have sterilised bottle, hot water, milk, bib, etc.

Flip

1 2