Will my 14 wk old giant 18 lb son ever sleep through the night while I am EBF'ing??

[franyb]

My 14 wk DS is ebf and until recently was sleeping well and only waking up at night after 6/7 hrs and then again after another 3 but since about 12 weeks he's been waking up at random intervals - sometimes 3,4 times in night - and is apparently hungry as he feeds for about 15 mins and is then easy to settle. He is a big baby - almost 18lb now - so I'm worried that I can't produce enough milk to fill him up enough at night. Keep getting told that I should give him a bottle of formula to see him through but not sure that this would definitely work (?) and would rather ebf for bit longer if possible but worried that my supply can't cope. Thought would try expressing in day and give him the extra in bottle at night but I can't get enough out! Maybe I am expecting too much and just accept the fact that he's not going through the night any time soon? Or maybe my milk supply catching up after growth spurt? Any advice welcome!

Breastfeeding works by demand and supply so you're right to stick by your gut instinct that when he's feeding more it will build up supply (probably a growth spurt!). No need to top up with formula.

We had sleep "blips" like this around the same age, then at 6 months old again, but generally even though we have a big baby she did start sleeping longer stretches (almost "through" I guess) between 3-6 months. You might be unlucky, some babies still wake a lot at night for years but introducing formula or not won't change that.

It sounds like you're doing brilliantly. If he's putting on weight as he is, you're clearly making enough milk. I went through this with dd2 and kept thinking I might not have enough milk. But I think she was just one of those babies that woke in the night.
I did introduce a bottle if formula at about 7 months but it didn't make any difference to the sleep - was just more annoying for me.

Make sure you have a restful evening if you can. I always felt that I wasn't as 'full' if I'd run around all evening tidying etc (DH wasn't convinced!!!)

I also started to feed lying down and sleep with her for the rest of the night which made the wake ups less disruptive.

It was hard going but now she's 14 months and generally sleeps well. Except for tonight! But that's teeth related, not hunger!

Good luck!

Keep feeding. The more he feeds the more you produce. I found both dc had the biggest growth spurt at this time, the one where they constantly feed and we start doubting ourselves that we are not producing enough milk. My dc were attached to me almost constantly for nearly two weeks. But then things started to settle down again.

I agree with the others; you're doing great, and must be producing enough milk as he's growing just fine :)

Some babies sleep through from an early age, some don't. I honestly believe it has little to do with what we feed them and what 'routines' we try to follow - the baby will do what it will do regardless! I got a bit knackered following this philosophy as my twins woke at 12.30, 3.30 and 5am for a feed until they were just over 2 years. Each waking was a quick 5 min feed and back to sleep though (helped by cosleeping). A friend has tried every trick in the book to get her baby to sleep through, and at nearly two years old the baby sleeps through sometime, wakes for prolonged stretches sometimes and demands to be fed sometimes! Personally I don't think its worth the stress of trying to control a babies sleep!

Good luck! I hope you can get some rest at other times until your baby sleeps through. An well done for feeding your boy yourself - don't compromise what you'd like to feed him in the hope it'll make him sleep, as I don't think it'll make any difference.

Erm he's 18lbs and you are worried you aren't producing enough milk? How did he get to 18lbs then OP?

Its normal to worry, especially if people are giving you helpful advice. Giving a bottle of formula is unlikely to equate to more sleep and research shows that by 7 months ebfing mums get more slerp than ffing ones.

Sounds like you are both doing really well

Thank you very much everyone - feel more
confident now and will continue to EBF for the time being! :)

I inwardly giggle when MIL people fret about you making enough milk for your ginormous healthy baby . Seriously, how do they think the baby got that big?

My DS is also 14 weeks, EBF and weighs 21lb! He wakes twice in the night. Tbh their stomachs are so tiny I'm not expecting him to sleep through until he starts on solids, and I'm guessing our big babies are going to get hungry quicker.
Although a full nights sleep would be very welcome right now