Feeling guilty about introducing formula?!

[JulieHanlon12]

So my wee boy is just over 4 months and has been EBF up until now. I never thought I'd get this far so am quite chuffed with all we have achieved. He is nearly 18lbs so a very healthy chunky boy all on my milk. I am thinking of introducing a bottle of formula at bedtime, so Dad can do bedtime on alternate nights as with 4 month regression it's sometimes over an hour to get him down and im drained. However, I feel extremely guilty about giving him it as I feel like I'd be depriving him!! Ideally I was going to just hang on and keep feeding and gradually wean him off it when weaning started. But if he could take formula I feel I'd have a bit more freedom. I express well and he takes this fine from my partner or his two grans. Just looking to see if anyone else has done this around this stage and if baby has been okay with it? I also don't want to upset his wee tummy!!

Ive done one bottle of formula since 1 month old but now my boys nearly 4 months old he’s up to 3 bottles of formula and the rest BF. It’s not upset his tummy at any point and it’s made me happier too ☺️ I did pump for a while but it became more hassle than it’s worth
You’ve done amazing to EBF for this long so if one bottle a day gives you a break then go for it! We did have to switch formula at one point as the first one was too frothy and made him gassy though

In two months he’ll be eating solid food. Many sophisticated nations start weaning onto solids at four months anyway. I know it’s an emotive issue, and you can be very proud to have achieved your feeding ambitions so far, but when you’re watching your son eat a baby bel cheese or a packet of Pom bears or whatever it is the idea of a bottle of (incredibly nutritious, expertly produced) formula every other night is not going to seem like a big deal!

You’ve done an amazing job!

It sounds like a great idea - good for bonding with Dad and good to give you a rest. It’s all a balance. No reason it should bother his tummy but you can try a couple of you need to.