Combi-feeding and sleep

[daisymouse]

Hi everyone, i'm looking for some advice about combi-feeding and whether it will help with sleep. My daughter is six months now and i am considering starting combination feeding. Feeding is going fine, she's been ebf since birth and i really enjoy it, but i'm looking to formula to help with our sleep pattern. She has never been a long sleeper and even at six months she only sleeps on average 2-4hrs, with most sleeps past midnight being 2hrs. I have stuck it out this far but my own health is suffering; i have lost a lot of weight, my iron is low, and i'm just generally feeling desperate to start looking after myself a bit more. I tried 'topping up' her bedtime breastfeed with 2oz of formula a few nights ago, and she slept 6hrs then 5hrs with a breastfeed in-between. Mind you i tried it last night and it didn't make an ounce of difference lol, but she was unsettled and upset about something, who knows. I have read several articles/pages online which all suggest that beyond six months, it is entirely possible to combi-feed and maintain your supply. I only want to formula feed at bedtime and will still be feeding frequently during the day and whenever else she wakes up at night. My plan is to breastfeed to sleep as usual at 7pm, but when she wakes around 10pm, before my bedtime, give her a formula feed. I would then probably breastfeed her at 2-3am. Is there anyone else here who has tried something similar and did it work? Thankyou!

I successfully combi fed my daughter from 5 months until she was a year old. I used to breastfeed to sleep and bottle just before midnight which helped her sleep through. Then she dropped the late feed herself after starting solids and would breastfeed morning and bedtime with bottle during the day and she would sleep through the night. I have recently stopped breastfeeding my 6 month old son, I combi fed him from 3 months successfully and it suited us both to switch exclusively to formula from 6 months. He is now on solids and has dropped his 10.30 night time feed and the last 2 nights has slept from 7.30 to 5.45! I therefore think if it helps you it can work and you can keep your supply up, good luck

Thanks for your reply, that's really encouraging

DD was combination fed from 6 months when I returned to work until a year old when she switched to cows milk. It may or may not make any difference to sleep patterns but it could give you a break if there is someone else to give the bottle feed. Pat yourself on the back for giving your child a fabulous start in life and do whatever you feel works best for you as a family.

Both my DDs have had a bottle of formula at bedtime from 6 and 4 weeks old respectively with no adverse effect on my supply. It doesn't seem to make much difference to DD2's sleep but definitely helped with DD1, and I just like to give my nipples a break!

@thepowerofcake - thankyou! And thanks all xx

Did you find breasts slowly adapted to the dropped feed?x

Hi,

I think combi-sleeping is possible and may give you a break.

Have a wee look at this video. I found it quite interesting.

www.itv.com/news/wales/2016-03-18/should-babies-really-sleep-through-the-night/

Hi, yes breasts slowly adapted after a few days from dropping a feed. They felt full and uncomfortable for those few days then my supply adjusted X

I was going to suggest what artisanroast posted.

It will give you a break if baby accepts it over you.

We have given our previously EBF DS (nearly 6.5mo) a bottle of formula for the past two nights because having been up feeding every 1-3 hours since Christmas I thought maybe it would give me a break. I then read some websites saying "you're ruining his gut with just one bottle of formula" and felt guilty. I'm so glad we aren't the only ones trying this; the lack of sleep for so long is just killing me. He used to be hit and miss with bottles of expressed milk and now his sleep is so bad the thought of adding a session expressing every day just makes me feel a bit depressed. He hasn't slept any better but did guzzle 200ml of Hipp first milk so at least I know I could potentially be away from him for a few hours if ever I needed a break! Good luck OP.

I Ebf but I must say I didn't feel formula at over 6 months was an issue as they've started eating solids.

It made ds extra windy though.