I take it back, bottle of formula before bed does NOT help sleep!

[Nancy54]

A couple of months ago, I posted I. A thread saying how great a bottle of f before bed was for making them sleep. Well, it turns out my dts just happened to be sleeping reasonably.

Dtg has been refusing bottle for last month and is now ebf and has actually been sleeping much better than dtb who has the bottle.

This week, four month sleep regression hit and both are sleeping badly.

Anyway just thought I'd share for anyone thinking of introducing bottle of f, it's not necessarily worth it!

[swanthingafteranother]

Nancy, just in solidarity; I was breastfeeding one twin and bottlefeeding the second, due to latching issues. The bottlefed one slept far worse. We switched him over to breastfeeding in the end!

I think where formula can help as a bedtime feed to settle baby is if the baby wasn't originally getting enough milk. There is a grain of truth in it. Sometimes if you are very tired, cluster feeding in the evening to boost supply can feel like the last straw (although of course it does work in the end).

A lot of babies can be unsettled in the evenings full stop, whether breast or formula fed, in first few months, whether it is overtiredness, or colic. Some breastfed babies sleep through the night from an early age, some formula fed babies sleep through from an early age. But, I wonder whether parents who give their babies a bottle of formula at bedtime feel reassured that the baby has had a good feed, and is not waking from hunger and this gives baby subconscious cues to sleep better and longer? Whereas a breastfed baby stirs in the night the mother is more likely to assume it is ready for another feed?

When you are not very confident about your baby's sleeping patterns, maybe the bottle of formula added into a breastfeeding "situation" makes the difference to the bedtime routine? I have heard this story about the bedtime bottle so many times, and I think it is a bit of an urban myth. It makes people feel good, as if they are doing something determined and effective. It is hardly ever proved wrong, because like a lot of placebos it usually "works".
Unless you have twins

[aamia]

A bottle (ebm/formula) works for us before bed (after a full bf) when DS is growth spurting and I just don't have enough milk at the critical time. It only works 'cause he is hungry though and crying for more food!

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Made absolutely no difference here. Actually I take that back, formula and solids made their sleep worse because it was harder to digest and upset their tummies,