I'm wondering whether I should stop BFing my 22 week old DS (or at least introduce formula on top on the odd BF). I could do with some advice and reassurance before I take the plunge.
Bit of background - he was 9lb at birth and gained well in the early weeks (to be fair, he was hardly ever off the breast). I exclusively BFed (didn't even express) until 19 weeks when the HV advised weaning him early. At that point he'd dropped a centile in weight (from 50th to 25th), even though I was BFing him almost hourly - day and night.
I feel the decision to wean him early was definitely the right one for him. In the last couple of weeks he's taken to solids (baby rice mixed with formlula, fruit and veg) brilliantly, and on Thursday when I weighed him he'd gone back up to the 50th centile. He looks visibly healthier.
However, despite the fact the solids seem to be filling him up better he's still feeding alarmingly frequently. Last night, for example, after he went to bed at 8pm he woke for feeds at midnight, 2am, 4.30am and 6am.
I just feel that my breast milk isn't satisfying him, and that introducing a bottle (if he'll take it) might settle him better. Plus, it's been a tough few months of exclusive BFing, as my 2.6 year old DD has SN and can't walk - so the many hours I'm spending BFing DS has meant I haven't been able to support her as I'd have liked.
I've enjoyed the closeness of BFing DS, and will really miss that if I decide to stop. It's a tough decision - can anyone give any advice?
Thanks for reading this far...