anyone mixed bfing with formula for newborn??

[SANA]

I have been advised by a mum at work to give formula for the last feed, helps then sleep longer and to bf otherwise so d also gets the benefit of this. Anyone practiced this and found this worked??

i would be v sceptical about that claim, only give formula if that is what you want to do. imo bfeeding is easier/cheaper/better, if it is what you want

I don't think it's true, and also the night feeds are what get your milk supply really going - there is more prolactin (I think) at night.

i wouldn't bother. theoretically breast milk should last a baby 3 hours, and formula 4 hours (though of course in the early week, they will feed, and feed, and feed at all sorts of frequent intervals). so the theoretical gain isn't worth it. you could end up with the worst of both worlds with this - i.e. faffing with bottles/sterilisers etc on top of bfing.

A few of my friends have bottlefed from the start and their babies sleep better than my dd- but they're not as active as my dd anyway so it could be coincidence. I imagine that formula is 'thicker'/'bulkier' than bm, maybe that's why your friend said this but you should smell a formula nappy compared to a bm nappy. Also wind and sick etc... don't bother with it SANA. If you can bf stick with it as long as you can.

I would try to stick with the breast feeding. I did give ds a bedtime bottle of formula from about 6 weeks as I had problems expressing. Gave bottle because I was tired and wanted DH to do the odd feed. I hope to be able to express next time. DS did not sleep longer in my experience on formula.

The benefits of bf are actually reduced even by one bottle of formula because you are introducing possible allergens to baby. So the benefits in terms of asthma, eczema and allergies are reduced.

Sounds a bit hypocritical of me but do try to stick with bfing. there's loads of support available if you're having any difficulties. Good luck!

Giving formula early on is associated with early cessation of breastfeeding.....this is backed up with extensive research. Of course this does not happen in every case.

Yes, it may ensure a longer sleep at night. This is not physiological for new babies, and undermines breastfeeding...of course it is a personal choice, but it has implications.

Exclusive bf has health advantages over using formula, too.

As for the convenience factor....well, someone has to prepare the formula bottle, buy the formula, wash and sterilise the bottle and teat, and it is also possible to make night breastfeeds easier for you by not changing the baby's nappy unless you have to, and asking your partner to help settle the baby after the feed. Or you can co-sleep which makes things easier, too.

Just a few things to think about

hi SANA

you know since i have been coming to MN i have noticed that bottle feed babies do often sleep through the night quicker than bf babies. Not all but many do. Is your baby on at routine? A routine for the night feeds can often make a baby sleep sooner especially if they are in a cot and you do not want to rise from your bed multiple times in the night. tortoiseshell had a good point about milk supply.

Sorry but I think it is a bit of an urban myth that it will help them sleep longer. newborn's tummies are very small and they need feeding little and often. It is also difficult to do that in the very early days because it could affect the establishment of a consistent milk supply. Most advice I have come across suggests that it can take at least six weeks to get going properly. I'm sure there is something in what Tortoiseshell says about the hormones for milk supply being more active at night - perhaps Mears or Tiktok could elaborate for you.

ds had a few bottles of formula in hospital in the early days because he couldn't latch on and was sleepy and jaundiced. However he was fully bfed by the time we left hospital but still had to be woken at 3 hour intervals to feed as frequent feeding helps clear the jaundice.

I gave my son formula in hospital as was told he was "starving". In retrospect somewhat regret this as don't think it was true. IME formula made NO difference at all to his sleeping. HOwever, I did give formula after that and still had gallons of milk, so it varies very much from woman to woman. If you really want to breastfeed, then I think the safest and best thing to do is not to give formula, esp early on.

I was told this too and finally cracked when ds was 12 weeks old and wouldn't sleep for longer than 2 hours at a time. Despite gulping down a 7oz bottle he still woke after 2 hours, so it made no difference at all. Sterilising and making up formula is such a faff too.

I did this a few times as ds was supposedlt starving in the hospital and jaundiced.

I had masses of mik so the occassional bottle of formula did not diminish my supply.

Ds does have excema which started a around eight weeks so that may have been why/

If you can i would stick to breast

Hi Sana

I breastfeed so can't comment on formula fed babies sleeping through earlier from personal experience. DS was a terrible sleeper to begin with, but he has done a decent stint at night most nights for several months now (he's six months old). A lot of the mums I know who bottlefeed still get up in the night to eight-month-old babies. Obviously some breastfed babies don't sleep well and some formula-fed babies do - I think it's more to do with your child than how you feed them.

As others have said, giving even one bottle of formula will affect the protection breastmilk affords against allergies. You may also find that your baby is more unsettled because they aren't used to having formula all the time (NOT advocating giving formula all the time though!).

If you want to breastfeed don't mixed feed from early on as this is likely to affect your supply and mean you have problems with beastfeeding. I've known several mothers who've mixed fed from early on and they all bottlefeed now and said they didn't produce enough milk...

I know the night feeds seem endless, but they're little for such a short time that the protection breastfeeding offers far outweighs the need for sleep (though I do appreciate this can seem overwhelming - I know how tired I was to begin with). Try to get as much rest as you can (feed lying down if it works for you) and accept as many offers of help as you can too (and if there are no offers then ask people!).

HM xxx

Hi, i understand that by breast feeding it does the following, first part of milk quenches thirst, the the real meal comes through and it is finished with richer milk that encourages sleep. Dont know if that help

My baby was jaundiced at birth and was started on formula in the hospital for fluids before my milk came in. After that I was constantly convinced that I wasn't feeding him enough (even took him back to the hospital to get weighed!) and so ended up supplementing by about 250ml a day of formula.

I really wanted to breastfeed and was worried about my milk supply and so I cut out the bottles at around 6 weeks. I have loads of milk and I have to say BF is sooo much more convenient. I did not notice any difference in how long he slept between breast or bottle (in fact he was going for 5 hours in the evening until recently!)

I have friends that have done it - usually the late evening feed (I didn't). They said it was useful because the baby always accepted a botttle when needed.

I mixed fed my twins because they wouldn't breastfeed (expressed and formula). Many twin mums end up mix feeding too.

I breastfed my first ok and so when I had me second (eight years later) I presumed the same would happen. Exclusively breastfed for 2 wks in which time he lost almost 2lbs!!!! kept on trying to resist giving him a bottle as I believed this would mean I could no longer bfeed. In the end I relented as he was not filling up and never slept more than 1 hr. he is now 9wks old and I am mixed feeding him successfully, still producing milk and he takes to bottle and breast with no problem. I know how important it is to bfeed but there is a lot of pressure to 'succeed' and this can be counterproductive during a very precious and shortlived time. I must admit he sleeps much better since he's had a bottle but the actual reasons for this will not neccessarily be the same for everyone. The point is you must do what is right for you and your baby or it will be a miserable time because you will never please everyone.
sorry to go on but feel quite strongly about this.

We mix fed DD2 after 6 weeks, and she was a really difficult baby to breastfeed because of reflux and she just wouldn't open her mouth. To be honest, it made DD2 even more tricky to breastfeed, and caused total nipple confusion, which then led to bleeding etc. A week or so later, I ended up going over to formula completely, because I found it really did make it tricky to establish proper breastfeeding. DD2 did sleep a lot better than DD1 who was completely breastfed for 6 months, but then they are different babies, and looking back, I used to pick her up the minute she made a noise at night. With DD2 we established a good feeding and sleeping routine during the day, and this had a good effect on her night time sleep.

I should have said that it was DD1 that I used to pick up the minute she made a noise at night, not DD2, hence DD1 not sleeping very well.

I agree with mumlots, you should do what you think is right for you and your baby. For what it's worth I fed dd1 with no problems whatsoever. When dd2 came along 6 years later I was really looking forward to all the lovely feeding time spent with my new baby.

I ended up doing mixed feeding. Not because it would help dd2 sleep better but because she was feeding almost every hour on the hour during the day and I was so sore by 11pm, usually her last feed of the day, that I couldn't face feeding her again so dh would give her a bottle of formula. She was always a good sleeper through the night from birth, mainly because she fed all day then would sleep from midnight until 6am, which was bliss. But as I said I was so sore by the last feed of the day that I couldn't face the pain, tears etc.

Because it was just one feed a day we only had to sterilise one bottle and we used ready made formula.

It is also much easier to breastfeed at night when baby is still waking, than it is to bottle feed so IMO a very good reason to continue