Am I being stupid?

[midnightexpress]

I'm only asking out of sleep-deprived desperation (5mo still wakes every hour or two all night and refuses to nap during the day).

Dr Sears et al tell us that introducing formula and/or solids won't help babies to sleep better, but they also seem to suggest that we should help to cure night-waking by stoking up babies on bm during the day. . Isn't there a contradiction there? If it works with bm, why not with formula/solids? I know it's more difficult to digest and all, but that passes once their digestive systems are used to it, doesn't it?

Anyhoo, would be interested to see if anyone can explain this to me.

I'd have said because breastmilk is just as calorific as formula, (I think) so introducing formula won't really make any difference to your baby's calorie intake. Solids too - fatty milk is far more filling than baby rice or pureed pear, or even any of the things that a BLW baby will take in the first few weeks of weaning. So I don't think there is a contradiction, but do sympathise. Will your little one nap outside? Mine takes crazy long naps when in the pram outside, as opposed to her extended blinks inside...

Please don't change to formula in order to help your baby's sleep. My dd was a crap sleeper when breast-fed, and now that she's formula fed, she's just as bad. FF was the right choice for us, and may well be for you, but don't change for the wrong reasons. Good luck with the sleep though - let me know what works

breastmilk is actually a wee bit more calorific than formula , IIRC.

also, letting baby feed as much as he/ she needs ensures your supply keeps up with demand...

a spoon of puree or two is not going to be as filling as a full breast feed

Thanks for the responses - I see that I was indeed being stupid . Don't worry bagsundereyes, wasn't planning to change completely to ff, though was wondering whether a night time bottle would help. FFed DS1 after about 10 weeks for various reasons, and he is a fantastic sleeper and ds2 has been exclusively bf and is the most rubbish sleeper you can possibly imagine. Having said all that, and after a princely 20 minutes total napping yesterday, he's asleep now, and slept for over an hour this morning. Life, eh?