How many bottles a day and how often?

[Newmummytobe79]

If I were to increase my baby's ff feeds to 4 a day and one bf how often should I feed?

I'd like baby to sleep through the night! (yes 1st baby so will accept lots of laughing from expert-mums!)

Would a 3/5am bf (usual wake up time) be ok and then formula at 9am/12.30/4.30pm and 7.30pm sound right?

That's pretty much DC's schedule now (currently on ff at 12.30 and 7.30pm - bf the rest of the time) but I don't want to over/under feed.

Baby is 12 weeks.

Are you loooking to switch to formula completly or carry on BF?

You do realsie that most 12week olds wake up at night and it's only the odd one's that sleep through. Oh and formula woun't make her sleep more if that's what you are hoping for. Apparently BF mum's actualy get on average an extra 20minutes of sleep a night.

If you did as you propose I doubt you would have any milk after a week or so. Sorry to be blunt but baby is only 12 weeks even at 12m feeding once a day might end in premature weaning. Bfing feeding at 12w just isn't robust enough to take such little feeding and still carry on.

BFing mums get more sleep but that is only if they are ebf, mixed feeding get slightly more than ffing mums though. Details here.

Realistically speaking babies don't sleep through the night because they need to be close to mum and feed frequently day and night. Out of my 3 the earliest to night wean (not sleep through btw!) was 12m and that was parent lead. My other's night weaned at 16m and 2y (though I have no objection to the occasional night feed if they are ill or in pain). 12w is very very little still though there is plenty of time for sleeping through yet.

I fully ff my 20wk old and he doesn't sleep through and is showing no signs of doing so . Having ff/bf four babies now, I can confirm that ff really does not necessarily = sleeping through.

I also agree that if you proceed on that plan you are unlikely to have any milk left within a short space of time. If that's ok with you then go ahead, but you need to be really sure that's what you want.

FWIW, I've found that demand feeding, whether bf or ff, is the way forward to a happier, less irritable baby - ie one which tends to sleep better anyway!

Just to agree I have fully formula fed 3 dds (youngest 9 months) and it has made absolutely no difference to their sleeping. Dd1 was a fab sleeper, dd2 was a terrible sleeper for 2.5 years and dd3 is in the middle.

I have found that if they're not great sleepers, formula won't make a difference. Neither of my younger two were sleeping anywhere near as well as your baby at 12 weeks. I also fed on demand and still basically do for dd3.