DD is 15 weeks, and bedtime for the last few days has been really distressing with lots of tears.
She has been mainly breastfed since birth, with a bottle at 11pm since about 6 weeks (either ebm or formula, will drink 3-4oz, I express at same time & will get similar amount).
About 10 weeks old she started sleeping through from this feed until about 6:30-7am.
For the last few weeks, she has been getting very frustrated from about 6pm onwards - let down taking too long & her refusing to stay on to bring let down. We've worked through this, & she would sometimes get a couple of ounces ebm as a top up (when she literally wouldn't stop screaming at my nipple).
I am aware of the impact that a) topping up with ebm when she was frustrated, and b) sleeping through until 7am would eventually have on my supply. However, the last few days - since Sunday - she has been wanting a huge amount of milk at bedtime. There has been a lot of screaming. Tonight she fed from me at 5:30, then the other side at 6pm, then 4oz ebm at 6:30, then a further 2oz at7 (hysterical crying) then another 2oz at 8 (woken up again, hysterical crying).
Is this a massive growth spurt? Or has my supply suddenly dropped off a cliff and she isn't getting enough during the day so making up for it at night?
How do I know how much expressed milk to give her at bedtime? All of the guidelines of 3-4oz per feed don't seem to apply at the moment.
I'd intended to start transition to bottles in preparation for going back to work full time at 5.5 months, but wanted to do it a feed at a time and a bit more gradually - but with all the hysterical screaming, I feel like I should switch much quicker to avoid distressing my daughter further.
During the day, she feeds happily & naps well - it is just from about 5:30 that it seems to be an issue. I would ideally like to continue these daytime feeds for the next couple of months & gradually switch to bottles, as long as dd is happy to.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Sorry it's such an epicly long post!