Struggling with Evening Feed (bf 6 month old)

[Fenouille]

I would really appreciate some advice as to how to deal with evening feeds for my DS. I've had wonderful advice from you all over the last few months so would appreciate you sharing your collective wisdom!

I went back to work 6 weeks ago and my 6 month old DS has been having a mix of my milk (can express around 2/3 of his daily requirement) and formula during the day. He has 3 feeds at the CM. I bf night and morning and all day at the weekend.

We've been having a bit of a struggle with the evening feeds over the last couple of weeks. DS is increasingly difficult to put down and seems to be constantly hungry, waking 3 times a night and having a good drink. I've been trying to ride it out but DH and I are getting increasingly exhausted. DH will try to settle him first and that works for one of the wakings, generally, but not always.

DH gave him a top up last night after his evening feed (60ml) and then I fed him again and DS then slept 7pm to 8am. We've just given him another top-up as I've been feeding now for an hour and DS didn't seem to be calming down at all.

I don't want to starve him if there's no milk there but I'm worried that my supply will start to dry up now if I'm not only pumping for all his day feeds while I'm at work but also giving him top-ups at home. Or perhaps it already is?

I know that weaning* is not necessarily going to solve the problem, but does anyone have any ideas? Can I just hang on in there? Is it likely that my supply will catch up, considering I'm only pumping during the day? He has doubled his morning feed since starting at the CM (90ml to 180ml) so am I simply behind the curve? I feed on demand at the weekend but it seems to be roughly the timing the CM sees during the week so I assume he's getting about the same amount. All advice is welcome!

*He's been looking keen while we've been eating for about a month now so we've tried a bit of puree but he doesn't like them or being spoon fed. He'll happily gnaw on a chunk of veg but obviously not getting much down him.

I don't really have any advice, but just to say that my 6 month old feeds up to 3 times a night and he's on 3 meals a day! (combination of purees and BLW finger foods) There isn't a problem with my supply; he's just a growing boy. Although he always goes down easily at 7pm. Could your DS be having a growth spurt? Making up for mummy time in the evening? It doesn't sound to me as if your supply is a problem if you are pumping that much, feeding at night and feeding at the weekend. Can you perhaps experiment a bit more to find food he does like? I found that my DS was not keen at all on baby rice or other cereals, but much preferred a sweet puree at first.

Thanks for giving me your reality check! I should say that I don't really expect DS to sleep all the way through, but three weeks of three wakings between 10pm and 6am with full on shouting for food was getting a bit much!

I think it's the texture of the purees that he doesn't like to be honest. We haven't bothered with baby rice but we have tried a lot of different fruit and veg, and those that he won't eat as a puree he will chomp on quite happily if I just give him a stick of it.

I think the thing that really bothers us is the difficulty we're having in putting him down. He just cries if I try to take him off the boob even though he's fallen asleep. Even DH can't calm him when he's like that. He'll even whimper if I put him back on the boob although he will finally calm down... until I take him off again. Ah, I dunno. Perhaps he is just missing me during the day :(

from my experience 3 feeds between 7pm at 6am was a good night's sleep so it depends on your "normal reference" really. Some babies do something called reverse cycling where they feed tons at night as a way of reconnecting with mum so this too could be an issue. I found my supply dipped on and off without much good logic and in the end I'd feed her and if she wasn't settled after then I'd give a bottle of expressed milk and then express later as well. I amnaged to keep BFing til 15 months (and stopped because she kept biting me and clearly preferred cow's milk by then) so the odd top up won't hurt as long as you make sure you keep pumping

There's a big growth spurt at 6 months too to contend with. Plus you being at work can mean that he wakes at night looking for you for comfort not just food. And teeth come through, in average, at 6 months!!! Again so he'll want boob for comfort.

Thanks for the encouragement :)

He's always been a good sleeper and I would be tempted to say that normal for us is once a night around 3-4am (well, and 10pm as we go to bed). But what really is normal? There have been so many phases I don't know what is any more!

OK, I'm going to stop worrying and just bf to the max during the weekends, mornings and evenings and nights and see how it goes.

Thanks. This is why I love MN, so helpful :)

Ha, well back to normal service last night (10.30, 2 and 4). The top-up did get him right off to sleep though instead of the 2 or 3 hour battle it's been of late. We're resigned to more sleepless nights (though why do everyone else's RL babies sleep through allowing them to give you quizzical looks when you say it's been a hard night?)

Thanks again you lovely people.

I also meant to say well done for continuing to bf even though you've gone back to work- that's really good going! I had a 10.30pm, 2am, 6am sort of night. DH tried to settle him first at 10.30pm, but seeing as he lacks the necessary equipment, it failed! I have resigned myself to it too at the moment. Up until 12 weeks old he only fed once a night, so it is somewhat annoying to be feeding 3 times still!

Hope yours continues to settle in the evening.

Hi Camper, it sounds like we have the same baby! DS slept beautifully to start with but has got worse in fits and starts, with the odd run of two or three nights where he sleeps through, just to taunt us

As I said above, I'm only keeping going with the bf because I'm so monumentally lazy I don't want the faff of bottles at the weekend. Have to see how long I can keep it going though.

I'll be thinking of you during the early hours feed(s) :)

How are you getting on Fenouille? I am so tired, had a rubbish night last night! I don't think he's ever going to sleep properly! Had to feed him 3 times.