Can't keep up with dd... do I introduce a bottle? how?!

[phlossie]

OMG! I just went to Boots to buy a bottle for 4mo dd - what a choice! Can anyone recommend a good bottle that compliments breastfeeding (do any?)

I breastfed ds until he was 10 1/2 months (when I got pregnant with dd) so weaned him straight onto a cup and never used a bottle. It worked so well for us, that I planned to do the same this time...

...BUT dd is such a hungry baby! Where as ds went from 75th centile to 50th, dd has gone from 75th to 91st! She still feeds constantly - every 1 1/2 in the daytime and 3 hours at night. I was up from 1.30 until 4am with her this morning because I couldn't fill her up. (when's she's got a full tummy, she settles brilliantly on her own.) I'm so exhausted. I'm also thinking that my milk might not be so good because I'm so knackered.

I started baby rice today. I'm also thinking that if I give her formula for her 5pm feed, then I'll have more milk at 7pm to get her settled. Does that make sense?

So. How do I do it? Which bottle is best? Really worried that she'll go off breastfeeding if give her a bottle...

What are your experiences?

you need tiktok or hunker for advice on feeding. It is hard, and i remember my dd going through a mammoth growth spurt at 16 weeks. It does settle doiwn though.

I would speak to your hv re baby rice as it isn't recommended at such a young age. current guidelines are not before six months as their wee tummies aren't developed enough to cope with solids.

we do give the occasional bottle of ebm or formuka to my 8mo old dd. I got a Mam one free and she likes thsat best, but I also have tommee tippee closer to nature ones and avent as well that came with the pump and she takes to them all.

well done on the bfing though

Thanks LardyMardyDaisy.

HV said I could try baby rice now a bit at a time, but was thinking that I'd rather replace one of the first feeds that will go when weaning with a bottle. I want to breastfeed as long as I did the first time.

I love breastfeeding and feel a bit weird about giving a bottle!

phlossie - you' re going through a bad patch

First thing to do is to correct some myths

• Your milk will be fine, no matter how knackered you are - there is a ton of research on this, which shows breastmilk is pretty much the same quality no matter what the mother's diet or state of tiredness.

• Your baby is too young for anything but milk - giving rice is to substitute the 'good stuff' (your breastmilk) with something that is inferior nutritionally and which risks taking the place of it.

• Giving formula at 5 pm will not mean you have more milk at 7 pm!!! Truly - the opposite happens. Milk supply is driven by the frequency of milk removal, and longer gaps between feeds mean less milk.

Yes, your dd is feeding a lot, and this must be very demanding for you...but she is not that unusual or abnormal. The pattern you describe is normal. Are there ways to make life easier for you? Co-sleeping? Using a sling? Help with the toddler?

In just a couple of months she will be happy to start on finger foods which she can feed herself, and this will help a lot.

There are no bottles that are 'better' for bf babies than others - despite the marketing. Formula and bottles might have an impact on your bf....it is possible, yes. It is also possible there will be no effect and by this age, it is usually very hard for babies to be put off breastfeeding when there is an occasional bottle - the risk by now is probably mostly to your confidence, and the occasional bottle can become the more than occasional bottle, and start to take the place of bf, which I think from your post you don't want to happen.

Of course it is your choice how to balance these things in the way that give you and your baby the best outcome...hope you find a way to keep you both happy. No one should be pressurising you one way or the other - you have the information, and you can make your own decision