Is formula really the magical solution I think it will be?

[Slh122]

I have a 9 day old baby and I'm getting about 2-3 hours sleep on a night.
He settles fine in his Moses basket during the day, feeds every 2-3 hours.
He goes to bed when we go to bed about 11.30 pm then wakes up around 2.
He then feeds constantly till around 7 or 8 am. If he falls asleep on my boob I lay him in his Moses basket and he screams and starts rooting until I feed him again. Repeat constantly.
I can't do it anymore. I feel like leaving him in his crib to cry.
A few people have told me their baby slept longer on formula. Is it true?

My son did this, he never really fed properly because he was using me as a dummy. I introduced a dummy at 10 weeks because I was at the point of giving up. I managed to carry of bfing and sometimes formula for another 6 weeks before we switched to formula completely. I would say if they have had a good hours feed then give a dummy for the comfort it offers. I tried to limit offering the breast to every two hours.

For what it's worth, I was expressing milk and bottlefeeding non-latching DD for the first three weeks, and I found all the messing round sterilising bottles and stuff exhausting, especially during the night. I also fairly quickly realised that I was only ever going to get any sleep if I co-slept, something I had always said I wouldn't do. But it works for her.

There's a difference between introducing a dummy at 10 weeks and introducing one in the early weeks when you're still trying to stimulate and settle your supply.

Maybe but if they are comfort sucking surely you are creating too much supply

Maybe naty, maybe, but oversupply is better than undersupply, don't you think?

But out of a choice between formula and dummy, I would expect dummy is better as the formula will definitely decrease demand and supply as the baby is full.

I used a dummy and breast fed til 10months.
I introduced it once BF was established at about 2 weeks, DS2 liked to comfort suck. He would be so full of milk he just sicked it up again. I used it to help settle him to sleep and once he'd dropped off I'd gently remove it. I used it for about 2 months.
It did not cuase nipple confusion, affect my milk suppy, nor give me sore nipples

Also, as a mum, I think get to know when your baby is hungry and when he is comfort sucking.

At 9 days it is normal for your baby to feed frequently. That doesn't make it any easier, but be assured that what you are experiencing is not unusual and the only way to get through it is to rest when your baby is sleeping or happy being held by someone else.

Is formula the answer? Well of course it means that someone else can feed your baby instead of you, so you could maybe get some more rest. It doesn't necessarily mean that your baby will sleep any better though.

Ultimately it really depends on whether or not you really want to keep breastfeeding. Cluster feeding is natural as is wanting to be held constantly. I recently posted on here when my, now 3 month old, newborn baby was cluster feeding overnight for 8 hours at a time. It was exhausting. At the time it's hard to see how you can keep going, but you do and in a few weeks things will be much easier.

Hope you have managed to get some more rest - honestly it does get better

We had this too at 9 days...there are a LOT of growth spurts in the first few weeks. I was at my wits end. I did get some help from a breastfeeding group run by the NHS, help with my technique which helped my LO feed more effectively ( he had quite a shallow latch). It does get better. My DH was giving bm top ups and one bm feed at night via bottle which helped me sleep for a few hours, but that is a choice we made x

Have you tried giving him infacol or another colic relief medicine? You give a squirt of infacol before feeding and it helps them burp after. It helped both of mine, and DD1 was like your DS, sucking and then screaming.

You could also try the NCT breastfeeding helpline - I really despaired with DD1, it was just feed feed feed scream scream scream and the person I talked to had suggestions that made a big difference. On her advice we did give her a dummy and also started swaddling, which helped her to settle a lot. She really needed to suck to get to sleep and I found it really unbearable to be feeding her for so long. She never had problems with the dummy and nipple confusion luckily. I was very careful about watching if her latch or anything changed and was going to take the dummy away if it did to try to avoid it but for us it was just not working without that. I don't know about formula so young but I'd try other things first. Have you tried feeding him wrapped in a blanket so that when you transfer him it's warm already? Or wrapping him in a t shirt you've worn so he can still smell you? That worked for a friend of mine.

With DD2 she wouldn't take a dummy, hated swaddling, wouldn't go in the cot or basket but just about managed to be in bed with me at night (but only slept on us in the day). I just had to make it as safe as possible for her and accept it. You only need one solution, and right now it doesn't have to be a cot or Moses basket. I hope you can find something that works better for you. It will change quickly, but those early days are extremely hard, I know.

In a similar situation. Have a toddler and a 15 day old. Seem to breastfeed 24 hours a day! Am getting about two hours max a night. Shall I switch to formula? I fed the first one to nine months, do feel guilty. Nine days is early and it is worth persevering. I Am only considering the switch because I cannot spend time with my eldest.

Trying - you might be best to start anew thread, but only you known of formula will help. My gut feeling would be that formula would take you away from the older one more through warming up and washing etc.

You've bf before so know it gets easier in leaps and bounds. How about a special box of toys or books especially for when you're feeding the little one? How about a bit more tv time than usual?

I breastfeed for 9 weeks and switched to formula for various reasons. i found it FAR easier to bottle feed and sterilise etc than to breastfeed. I'm not anti breastfeeding, this is just my experience. My son is never ill and is thriving. Good luck op with whatever you do

Oly4 that's interesting. I found breastfeeding so easy, especially with an older child around.

I wish I had found it easy, I was always so jealous of anyone who did. For me it was an exceptionally difficult, emotionally draining experience. The switch to formula was a relief. Again, I'm not anti breastfeeding at all, I wish it had worked. But every mum needs to do what she thinks is best for her family. Good luck to everyone! X

At three weeks old DS was still only wanting to sleep on us and was formula fed and feeding every two hours night and day. It's not a magic cure, it just takes time.

We bought a slumber bear, it was the only thing to settle DS in his cot. Babies take a while to learn what night and day is too. It all sounds normal to me.

Trying I feel the same at times but it does get easier - feeds become quicker and sometimes less frequent. For me dd2 feeds less when we go out so I try and make plans like play dates, trips to soft play etc as it means dd1, who is 3, gets plenty of time to play.

I think there was a recent study that showed infacol does diddly squat.

Really glad I found this thread - I'm ebf dd2 (4 weeks) & finding it really hard. I bf dd1 till she was 1 with no real problems, but this time around it is proving to be far more challenging. She feeds a little, then starts squirming, goes red in the face, cries & fusses. She is full of wind but even once I've brought it up she is desperate to get back on and suck but as soon as the milk starts flowing she pulls off & claws at me & herself, bobs on and off & cries. It's very distressing for both of us! I've been to a bf support clinic & while I agree with them that she looks hungry when all this happens, i don't think she is. Her weight gain is great, as are here wee & poo output. I think she's getting what she needs early on in the feed & then she's too full for anymore but still has an urge to suck. We introduced a dummy a couple of days ago & so far so good but I'm quite paranoid about whether its going to muck everything up, so it's good to hear that it didn't ruin bf'ing for many of you.

Sorry for the long post, OP I genuinely think at 9 days I would give it a bit longer for things to settle down on their own, ff at night this early could affect your supply & it can be hard to go back. Even a dummy I would try to hold off a bit longer. I co-slept with my first and swore I wouldn't do it again as we never got rid of her but I'm so shattered I've ended up doing it again - it's also really nice to have some calm cuddle time when she's not screaming at my boob.
Good luck, don't feel guilty if you do decide to introduce formula, but do be prepared that it might not be something you can go back on down the track. You're doing a great job & it's brilliant that you're giving bf'ing such a good go & thinking through all your options properly.

We used infacol and it does make them burp. But now she is allergic to soya and im just wondering.. As the only food before 6m

Pam, it sounds like you may have oversupply or a fast let down. Have you tried feeding in the biological nurturing or "laid back breastfeeding" position? Your little one may find it more comfortable with gravity helping to control the flow.

Infacol study link here. infacol study

I tried that danny, but it didn't make any difference. I just saw the child health nurse & she was happy with dd's weight gain & said to keep an eye on her nappies to make sure she's getting everything she needs. She said it sounds like she's a very efficient feeder but does need to suck, she suggested trying a dummy. So we'll try that @ see how we go. Glad I didn't bother with infacol!

When do babies tend to stop needing to cluster feed? Dd is nearly 4 weeks and it's killing me. A bit of washing up of formula bottles seems infinitely preferable to constant pain and no sleep to me, but trying to get to 6 weeks.