Should I give up now?

[Rhubarb]

I've been b/f ds now for 6 months, and it's definitely got easier with time! However I'm unsure as to whether or not I should give up, so here's my reasonings why;

To Carry On
We're going to re-locate to France in the next 4 weeks or so, b/fing would be so much easier especially on the road.
It's great not having to worry about taking a bottle with us wherever we go, esp as we have no bottle warmer and I've forgotten most of the hygiene rules of bottles!
Mornings are easier to just 'stick him on' rather than get up and start making a bottle.

To Quit
Hayfever season and I suffer quite badly, I don't want him to get Piriton in his breastmilk.
He's on solids now but is still taking his 5th feed at 10.30pm, we've tried cutting back but he just wakes up earlier. I think if he was on the bottle he would go longer and we would be able to cut out that feed altogether.
It would be nice to go out for the day occasionally or not have to worry about how much I am drinking.

So there you go. I don't know whether to stick at it or to quit now as I've given him the best start. The convienence side of it is pretty good though, however the Hayfever and early morning wakenings are also swaying me in favour of bottles.

What do you think?

How do you know being on the bottle would make him go longer?
I work full time now and am still breastfeeding dd (8 months) so days out an be done.

I also drink alcohol and feed as normal.

Hayfever is a difficult one though and dont suffer myself but wouldnt want to suffer with no medicine.

Personally I think I'd stick with the convenience til the re-location is over, unless the hayfever is unbearable (which it generally is!). Do any of the homeopathic hayfever remedies work for you?

You can booze, but I don't know about the piriton.

I'd go on myself, but then I don't have hayfever and don't know what that involves - I know that I couldn't cope without something to zap my sinusitis (fortunately I find acupuncture works, but I used to pop decongestants regularly) so I can sympathise.

Two suggestions, if you aren't quite ready to stop now (though of course if you do want to that's absolutely your decision)
Firstly get the pharmacist to look for an antihistamine that isn't contraindicated with breastfeeding (or maybe Tiktok will help)
Then introduce the odd bottle so that you have a bit more freedom to go out. It's perfectly ok now and IME won't impact on your supply. By six months he'd sometimes not have a breastfeed at all some days but I could still feed him myself next day.
My ds didn't sleep any longer on formula than breastmilk. I presume he eats food? But if you want the odd bottle at bedtime, when you want to drink that whole bottle of vodka ( ;o) or to test the theory, that would be fine IMO.

I don't think it has to be all or nothing and agree that breastfeeding will be very handy while you are travelling.

Where in France are you going? Have you found somewhere nice to live?

The hayfever is a bad one! Piriton is the safest of the brands as it's been around the longest so they know more about it. But it does get into the breast milk and will make the baby drowsy, so you don't want to take it if you can help it. However there are days when I'm just streaming and can't take a breath without sneezing. At the peak I find it even affects my breathing. I managed whilst pregnant just taking 2 when it got unbearable (I did try homeopathic stuff but it didn't work) but I don't want to go there again.

I don't know bottles will make him last longer, I'm just comparing here. I finished b/fing dd when she was 4 months, and once she was on solids her feeds cut back to 4 a day, and then eventually 3 a day. She didn't wake up once in the night and would sleep through until 7am (7.30am at the weekends). He's on 2 meals a day and still has 4 good breastfeeds and 5 ounces of a bottle at night, but he still wakes up at 6am. The only way I can get him to sleep longer is to give him more milk at his last feed, but then I get paranoid that I'm overfeeding him, or I'm not producing enough milk during his day feeds. At least with a bottle I know exactly how much he's having.

But formula is so expensive and inconvenient, especially when going out anywhere. I used to have some thermal things to keep the bottles warm when we did venture out, but dh microwaved them and broke them.

With hayfever like that, at 6 months, I'd opt for Piriton rather than b/f. When out and about, can't you carry the powder in a sterilised bottle, then add boiled water from a sterilised thermos?

I've done a Google search for you and Dr Tom Hale who is THE expert on breastfeeding and medication says that Clarityn is 'just fine' to take while breastfeeding. Also anything wtih diphenhydramine is safe and non-drowsy too. Piriton causes no harm but as you say may make babies drowsy. Remember, it is given to babies anyway in paediatric form and your baby will get much less than the minimum dose via breastfeeding. I think comparing different children can be very misleading. My ds never slept longer when he had more formula. If your dd is thriving at six months, you have enough milk. Though if you want to give the odd bottle that can't do any harm.

If hayfever is really bad as I'm sure it is then I would be tempted to mix feed and just give previouly expressed milk or formula when takng the medicine.

Also, I NEVER warmed formula and ds never complained. I just took out bottles of boiled water and added the right amount of powder when it was required. That way it was always room temperature, but no more.

I never warmed DS's bottles either.

What about the cartons of formula?

So if you made up a bottle of milk, how long can you keep it at room temperature before you give it to them?
I have tried ds with cold milk, but he turned his nose up at it. Trouble with b/f is that they always get it warm, so you can't gradually get them to accept cold milk as I did dd.
Interesting about the Claridyn though Aloha - my GP told me only Piriton! I think I'll get some of that tomorrow.

So if I were to continue (which I'd like to do, to be honest) any ideas how I can make him drop his last night feed? Surely the amount of solids and milk he is getting at 6 months is too much? He's already about 2 stone as it is, I don't want to overdo it!

Rhubarb - I would try the Clarityn and it it works good and well. If it doesn't I would stick with the piriton and still breastfeed and see what effect it has on the baby. It 'may' make him sleepy but may not. The latter is more likely. I would also drink whatever you want - alcohol and breastfeeding is not the problem that some people seem to think it is. It would take bucketloads to be a problem.

Do you wake him for the 10.30 feed or does he wake on his own? You could try just not feeding him and seeing if DP can get him to settle but quite honestly that can be more hassle than it is worth. He really probably doesn't need it but likes it. Is he in your room? Could you move him out? You could give him formula if you want but it is unlikely it will make him sleep any longer. Then you have the hassle of a bottle instead of the breast. Ultimately you can only try it and see.

Breastfeeding will certainly be better when relocating to France, much easier for travelling.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Rhubarb I also have bad hayfever and have been told that beconase is fine if you wanted to try that. Because it is a nasal spray it doesn't get into your milk.

Hope the relocation goes well.

Thanks! I did try the nasal spray when I was pregnant with dd and it didn't work. But I will get Clarityn.
Ds woke again at 6am today, but dh took him downstairs until 7am when I fed him. So it's not hunger. Therefore the problem is just early waking and I might try and put him to bed later this evening to see if that works. I'll also start reducing his night feed again.

Thanks for all the advice, I think I will try and plod on for now!

Hi Rhubarb- I bought an Avent plastic thingy into which you put the powdered formula, kept a bottle of previously boiled water with me (not boiling, obviously!) and when my ds was hungry, tipped the powder into the bottle of milk, shook it up and gave it to him. So it wasn't warm, but it wasn't fridge cold either, and he never batted an eyelid. On a warm day the water would probably be quite warm, but still perfectly fine to give. Once it was mixed he'd either drink it there and then or I'd keep it for up to an hour or so. I was also breastfeeding so ds was used to warmer milk, but it didn't bother him.
Good luck!

Rhubarb, I was going to recommend Beconase at the start of this thread but am sorry to see it didn't work for you.
I'm so pleased your relocation is happening! Where are you going? Any plans yet? Keep us posted, I'm reeeally envious