Formula feed at night - advice please!

[Pamelap]

My DS is 12 weeks old and I've bf him so far, he goes down well at night and sometimes goes until 4am before he wants a feed, but during this time he makes a lot of grunting noises and moves around his cot. He has just started teething and is back to being up about every 2 hours, he seems to want food, but it could just be comfort and he wakes himself up with his grunting or snoring. Someone suggested I give him a formula feed as his last one before bed as it would fill him up more and he might sleep better.

Any thoughts??????

I'm desperate for some decent sleep and don't know how long I can survive only getting 1-2 hours 3 or 4 times a night. He doesn't sleep for longer than 45 -60 min stretches during the day so I can't catch up that way.

no guarantee formula will help him sleep better

12 weeks is classic growth spurt time so it will settle down soon - just offer him plenty of milk as that is what he needs

also, can you express? That way your DP can give a feed to let you have a stretch of sleep ...

A friend told me to give DD (11 wks) formula before bed to make her sleep more at night. I gave it a go but it actually seemed to have the opposite effect and wake her up. I think she gets more wind from the bottle than from the breast so it's harder to settle her. I've given up on it tbh! Might work for you though. I know a lot of people who swear by it.

thanks ladies

it is a bit hard at the minute, my 12 week old is acting like he was at 3 weeks with terrible colic as well as the extra feeding!

there was thread like this other day will find link! it didnt help my dd made her worse if its just for comfort are you giving him a dummy? using teething stuff?

Hi there,

I have been giving my 12 week old son a 6 ounce bottle of formula for his last feed at night and he has been sleeping through from 4 weeks old. The reason I initially did it is because my milk supply has always been really low in the evenings and we have just fallen into the habit now as he seems so much more settled with it. He will sleep through from 10.00 pm until 7.00 a.m.

Hi there
I am pregnant with number 6 and have bf last 3 for at least a year each time. All babies are different and i have heard of some people giving a bottle at night and it working. My last baby was the only one that did not sleep through and I learned a lot the hard way. i found that breast before bed is more settling and does give less wind. However, at the 12 wk mark when babies do get a bit unsettled it is important not to just bf for the sake of it during the night. it can just become a habit and the baby will learn that if they wake mum will bf....if baby is dry and well then try to reassure without picking up or talking and no light.... pat them gently and shh....did this work for me? Ha! Not always and it is easier said than done but when it did work it was brill.... just give it a try...

remember though it wont last forever...they are little for such a short time... GOD!!...I sound like my mum!! Good luck!

I think I am going to give the bottle a go and see what happens, he is breast feeding very well so I am not worried about that. I am a bit concerned he might get more wind as he is suffering with colic anyway, but a trip to the chiropractor helped that last time so I think we will be visiting him again very soon!

He was sleeping from 10pm - 4am which is why this regression seems so hard. I know it will all change again soon...

good look couldnt find the other thread sorry then net went down!
hoping it work for you!
i did baby massage found it helped with the colic loads!

Well I tried, but he wasn't interested in it at all. However today I tried giving him an expressed bottle - something which he has been fine about before - and he refused that as well. So think he may have "forgotten" how to bottle feed.... some work required I think.

However, he did go just over 4 hours between feeds during the night which is an improvement on the last few days.

Might try the formula again when I've re-trained him in bottle feeding.