How to get baby to take formula and/or stop cluster feeding?

[NerdyBird]

DD is 11 weeks old and I would like to get her to have the odd formula feed so that I can have a break or go out for an evening.
She tends to cluster feed from 7pm or so, right up till about midnight. It's quite tiring and I get phases of sore nipples.

She will take a bottle of expressed milk and I have managed to get her to have three or four small formula feeds over the last month or so, but this evening she wouldn't have any formula. I have been expressing but don't always get a lot out. Also I've no idea how much she'd need if I was to go out for an evening. Last week she had almost 5oz of breastmilk in one feed during the day so I'm guessing she'd need quite a lot.

Does anyone have any tips for getting her used to formula or reducing the cluster feeding?

Hi, someone will come along with more advice than me in a minute I'm sure but I didn't want you to go unanswered.

The thing with cluster feeding is they do it for a reason, which is to get the milk supply up. They only do it for a little while, and after about 3 months or so, it does tend to drop off (not far away if she is 11 weeks). It won't always be like this, there is hope!

If you try to stop the cluster feeding and introduce formula, you are likely to interfere with your supply. You might find a local breastfeeding counsellor will be able to give you more info on maintaining supply if you want a break for the odd occasion.

I have heard some people offer their babies some formula after a breastfeed or part way through to help them get used to it, but again that might affect your supply.

Congratulations on your new baby!

Have you seen the Wonder Weeks app? It's brilliant, and so reassuring for things like cluster feeding.

Wonder Weeks

bump for you, OP

Thanks Celia, I will download that app. I don't want to upset my supply so would only do one formula feed per day at most in general. I'm just worried that if she won't have anything other than breastmilk it'll be difficult to leave her for an evening as any babysitter will end up with a screaming hungry baby as I've got no idea how much expressed milk would be enough.

Hi, I am amazed nobody has come on here with more advice!

Neither of my two would ever take a bottle, so I am not very well placed to advise, but it needn't be the end of the world. If your baby starts to settle in the evenings, which hopefully she will do eventually, you will be able to take slightly longer time out. I think around 11 -12 weeks, the desperation for a little break hits its peak!

Anyone got any tips for the OP?

I had a go at feeding from a cup, but that didn't work. I probably don't have the right kind of cup. I will just have to keep going and hope it lessens soon.

Thanks for trying to help.

Hi Nerdy. I'll second Celia and say my DD stopped clustering around 3 months I think. She just suddenly started getting really fussy on the boob a few evenings- pulling off and shaking her head, latching back on and pulling off again and crying, and I realised she was actually tired! So started a 7-8pm bedtime routine shortly thereafter and it has revolutionised my evenings!

In terms of bottles the 5oz your LO took is quite a big amount I think- if you do a search for Kellymom and amounts of expressed breastmilk you'll get a calculator that'll give you an idea of how much she should need in the average expressed feed. My 20 week old milk monster takes just 3oz in the daily expressed bottle she gets while I'm at work and I think that's fairly average.

If you haven't already, get the smallest flow teat you can- breastfed babies have to work a bit harder to get their milk from boobs than they would from bottles so when they're given a bottle they often hoover up a larger amount than they really need. The slowest/smallest flow hole on a newborn teat (I use nice soft Nuk latex teats with the "small" hole and newborn size- the standard newborn teat often comes with a medium hole) should help prevent that and reduce the amounts you need to express if you decide to do that rather than go with formula.

No real advice on stopping the cluster feeds but just keep an eye out for the signs that she might be getting ready for an earlier night I guess!

Hope that helps

Thanks Hedgehog, perhaps it really will stop soon.

I will see if she seems tired. She did fall asleep after feeding from about 5.15 until 5.45, but only for about 20 mins or so. Woke up when I put her in the crib.
We have tommee tippee bottles so I will check what the slowest one is. Will check Kellymom too.

It will stop soon. I can remember people telling me that and I just couldn't imagine anything other than the cluster feed bubble I was in! I got into the habit of feeding off one side and pumping off the other side every morning. I then had a freezer full of milk for my weekends away. ( billions of hen parties this year !) my husband would then give her a bottle feed every 4-7 days so that when I was away she got used to it. Sometimes she would have a day when she would refuse but would always take it when she got hungry enough. My husband so found that of he prepared it so she could see then she took it better ... I guess she knew what was coming! She was also quite fussy about the temp .... It had to be body temp and I also found this with the odd time we have her formula. Hope that helps

Also not so and if not of!!