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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Breast fed introducing a nightly formula feed at 6 weeks?

41 replies

Tallysmum · 20/08/2006 17:25

My 4-week old daughter struggles to go longer than 3 hours between feeds at night and its very tiring. I've been told that introducing a late night forumla feed (say 11pm) at 6 weeks will help her sleep through the night, or at least only wake once. As the advice is all about 'exclusive' breast feeding, does anyone know how this feed will affect the benefits she gets from breast milk? I would express at this time to keep my supply up, but like the idea of getting more sleep!

OP posts:

Jalexandra · 20/08/2006 21:59

We gave ds formula at 4 weeks as he was waking up every 2 hours for a feed. Without wanting to sound dramatic he actually developed excema within 24 hours of his first formula feed. I don't know for sure but I have always thought that it had something to do with it. Having said that lots of people give top up feeds and they work wonders. If I was you I would try it and see what happens.

Original poster

Tallysmum · 21/08/2006 10:30

Thanks to you all for some really useful advice and balanced views. I hadn't realised the effect that just one bottle of forumla a day could have on the gut and this does put me off. I hope to breast feed for a few months and don't want to undermine the benefits DD would get. I have already been expressing so DH can give her a bottle in the evening and I get to bed a little earlier. DD goes longer after the bottle, I assume because she takes more in one feed.

I have renewed confidence that DD is on the right track to sleeping well, I just need to get her to feed more quickly as some feeds can take 45 mins which can be frustrating. I will keep up the breast bottle instead of formula for a while yet and let you know how it goes.

OP posts:

morningpaper · 21/08/2006 11:31

Hello Tallysmum, glad that you are feeling a bit more confident about the issues.

At your daughter's age, taking 45 minutes to feed is very normal. In my experience, by about 4-6 months she will be MUCH more efficient at feeding and your body will be much more efficient at making milk and the feeds will probably be much shorter (maybe 10 minutes or so).

When she hits a growth spurt around 6 weeks she is likely to be feeding CONSTANTLY for a whole evening or evening several evenings in a row - on and off possibly for 3 hours or so. You will be convinced that you are not making enough milk. Actually she will be increasing your milk supply although it may be a bit gruelling. See through this period by gritting your teeth and maybe just sitting with her feeding while you watch some tv and your hubby brings you a nice glass of wine and a pint of water. And don't forget to come on here and moan and get some great advice from people like Mears. You will soon be on the road to a successful breastfeeding relationship.

You sound like you are coping REALLY WELL with early motherhood, so well done you. MP XXX

MatNanPlus · 21/08/2006 11:40

I care for a baby who is breast feed from 6am thru to 6pm and then she has ebm or formula and she wakes/sleeps the same regardless as to the fluid in the bottle.

At 8 wks i introduced a 11pm feed and this stopped the 1-3am waking and she slept to 5.30-7am, at 10wks i stopped doing the 11pm feed as she was taking very little and she sleeps till 6.30-8am from a typically ebm bottle at 7.15-7.45pm.

HTH

Original poster

Tallysmum · 22/08/2006 14:34

Thanks MatNanPlus, that's helpful. How many feeds did the baby get during the day to only need those night feeds? At 8 weeks to go through from 11pm to 6am is very good. If I can manage that I'll be a much more rested mum!

My other main problem at the moment is getting DD to go from a 6 / 6.30pm feed in the evening until 10. She doesn't settle at all well in the evening so we end up giving the EBM feed about 9 or 9.30. Any tips?

OP posts:

caspercat · 22/08/2006 16:45

4 week old daughter. B/fed. Feeds well in day, goes to sleep for 3 hrs at 7.30pm after bath & feed. Feeds 10.30pm ish, then up 1 - 1.5 hrly through night. Last night awake from 2 - 8 am almost non-stop. Am exhausted. Thinking about expressing so dh can give bottle feed at 10.30 so i can sleep. Any ideas/tips? When would be best time to express for this feed so as not to interfere with supply? Will giving bottle this early cause 'nipple confusion?' How much milk should i express for this feed? 1st time mum feeling tired/confused; please be gentle! xxx

caspercat · 22/08/2006 16:46

Sorry to confuse! By b/fed i mean breast fed!!

MatNanPlus · 22/08/2006 17:14

Tallysmum she is on 6 feeds, 2.5 hours on average, she was on a 2 hourly routine as she had lingering jaudice past 6wks and is now self stretching the times between feeds.

caspercat how many feeds is she having during the day and for how long? Does she feed well in the night or just snack/sucking for comfort?

Do you have a electric pump?
does she use 1 or both breasts at a feed?

have introduced a bottle from day 10 and not had abies prefer bottle to mum but have had several babies who rejected bottle if it wasn't given daily.

caspercat · 22/08/2006 17:19

Most feeds last about 10 mins (day & night).She takes herself off when seems like she's had enough. I do offer both breasts, sometimes she'll go again, sometimes not! Feeds 3 hourly through day. Have hand pump. Only tried expressing at beginning (unsuccesfully) when breasts engorged and dd not feeding well. But feeds well now and i feel i have plenty of milk (sometimes worry it comes too quickly as she appears to gag/choke midway through feeding sometimes)

LIZS · 22/08/2006 17:31

casper cat, your lo sounds unusual in sleeping a long stretch early evening, many that age and older snack on and off and are fussy for those 3 hours. I wonder if your baby still hasn't distinguished day and night so was wakeful and snacking at the "wrong" time. But one night does n't make a pattern and as it is still such early days it could yet all change tonight.

I found I got most expressed by doing so on one side while feeding from the other but you need to be organised.

hth

LIZS · 22/08/2006 17:35

I found I got most expressed by doing so on one side while feeding from the other but you need to be organised.

hth

LIZS · 22/08/2006 17:36

sorry, screen locked .

MatNanPlus · 22/08/2006 17:36

"Most feeds last about 10 mins (day & night).She takes herself off when seems like she's had enough. I do offer both breasts, sometimes she'll go again, sometimes not!"

Do you wind her for a while before offering same breast back?

"Feeds 3 hourly through day."

Could you encourage her to feed for longer or a bit more frequently, i work out that she has 6 feeds from 7am-10pm - yes?

"Have hand pump."

Most of my mums have found that the concentration needed to operate the hand pump interfered with baby thoughts and when they moved onto the medela mini electric had good results.

"Only tried expressing at beginning (unsuccesfully) when breasts engorged and dd not feeding well. But feeds well now and i feel i have plenty of milk"

Expressing from the breast she used or first used will encourage more milk and will be the hindmilk so good for a middle of the night bottle.

"(sometimes worry it comes too quickly as she appears to gag/choke midway through feeding sometimes)"

Sounds like 'letdown' and she will deal better with it as she gets older and more experienced.

caspercat · 22/08/2006 18:19

Thanks for your msgs. I do wind btwn breasts but again that is difficult. She doesn't burp easily. Have tried infacol but doesn't seem to help. Also, if i express in morning after feeding her, will the fact that won't be feeding at 10pm affect my supply/affect breasts at that time.
As for the evening sleeping, have consciously been doing that so that she can tell difference btwn night/day. Bathing, feeding in quiet and dark, etc. I thought the fact that she sleeps at this time was a good sign. Am i wrong?

LIZS · 22/08/2006 18:45

You do want to avoid getting engorged as this is uncomfortable and could lead to blockages and I'd say fromm 7.30 to midnight might be too long for comfort. Remember your supply is still not established so any changes be they from your dd changing her demands or you varying it, will affect your supply somewhere along the line. You can add one batch of ebm to the next to make a full feed, so perhaps express some before you go to bed and some in the morning, freezing the excess. I found 4 oz of ebm enough for ours until several months old. If she drains that have more ready next time.

Her evening nap isn't necessarily a bad thing (I had 2 evening screamers so never got to sit and eat a meal properly for a while) but it may explain her later period of wakefulness, and if that is her longest period of sleep you are really benefitting. She probably won't be able yet to keep sleepy until morning from a 7.30 start. Do you maintain a low key approach during the night too ?

amijee · 22/08/2006 20:03

Hi there

I have a 4 week old and he feeds for longer than 10 mins ( even tho he would like to fall asleep sooner) I change his nappy half way thru and keep him open so he's really awake again and start again - either same breast or other if that one feels empty. My LO feeds loads bet 5 and 8 ish and then is down for 3-4 hrs and then it's variable how often he is up in night, anything from 2-3 hrs. Found putting him in a grobag really helped with him sleeping.

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