'Topping up' a five day old breast fed baby.

[minko]

Here's hoping there's someone out there on a Saturday night who can help me!

Had 10lb 13oz DS five days ago who I am attempting to breast feed. Have had a couple of horrendous nights since then of no sleep. Midwife recommends topping up with Aptamil First after his last feed of the night (due 11pm).

DP has been shopping (I can't as recovering from caesarean) and couldn't find Amptamil First cartons so has bought powdered version.

I've never made up powdered milk before and am very confused about how you make it and get the temperature right. I only need to make a small amount. Should it be warm or can it be cold? Once you've mixed the powder in must you then feed it in straight away? Do I wait for the water to cool down in the bottle then add the powder at the last minute?

Sorry to sound so dippy, I blame it on sleep deprivation...

Minko, there are reasons why mothers might need to top up with formula in these very early days, but the risk is (as others have said) that you interefere with the stimulation of breastmilk production....the other suggestion that expressing earlier in the day to give at night is worth considering, but not if it means your baby goes long time between feeds. What I mean is, you go through the hassle of expressing earlier in the day (and it is a hassle - pumps and sterilising and storing and finding the time to do it) and then the baby has it at (say) 11 pm after (not instead of) a breastfeed, and then goes longer than he would otherwise before asking again for a feed. That will reduce your supply, too (because it's frequency of feeds that builds up the supply). As a one off to give you a break - fine. It won't have a pemanent effect.

It all sounds like harder work than just fixing the breastfeeding so it works well - which might mean accepting the baby needs to stay close to you/skin to skin with you between feeds for the moment, checking positioning and attachment, and getting lots of support so all you have to do is feed the baby, most likely lying down or in bed while others wait on you