Weight gain slowing -time to top up?

[duffster]

After 5 roller coaster months of exclusive bf, I am now considering what comes next. DS weight gain has slowed to about 4 oz a week, and he is waking a lot at night and distracted in the day.
I would like him to be a bit bigger before starting solids, so thinking about a top up of formula to supplement bf, until I am ready to stop completely.
No chance of being able to express enough for a feed, I am too knackered!
Any advice on how I manage this 'transition' ?

If you want to offer formula, do so - but his weight gain slowing now is normal, imo. Ditto him being distracted and waking more.

And formula (sterilising, bottles, yadda yadda) is a big pointless faff.

If you want to offer formula, just let him have a bottle (you can try giving it, your DH/DP can try, whatever) - do it once a day maybe?

Hiya, by 5 months I was totally knackered too (moved house at 4 months - totally insane!) and gave a bottle of formula once a day, usually at the 11pm feed so DH could give it and I could go to bed a bit earlier. Not everybody's choice and there is always a risk that it can affect your milk supply overall but I honestly didn't experience any problems with it. I know you're keen to wait a bit longer to start solids but I found around 21 weeks DD was starving all the time and afer 10 days of feeding every 2 hours or so I tried her with solids and saw a real improvement. I know it goes against the current advice but it made a real difference to our DD and I was glad we did it.

as NQC says, all the things you mention are normal around this age, but what I don't quite get is why you're still having him weighed every week.

If you didn't know his gain had slowed down would you still be worried?
Is he bright, alert, weeing and pooing lots, growing out of his clothes etc?

Maybe it's time to take a break from the clinic...

duffster, but what you're describing is perfectly physiological - exactly what should happen....a slowing of the weight gain from about four months coupled with an interest in lots of other things in the day. This stage often goes with increased waking at night - it's a developmental thing. Babies do not need to be weighed every week, and deffo not at 5 mths. To give formula merely to get his weight up is to interfere with a normal, natiral and healthy pattern, with no benefits at all to you or him ('cos it won't necessarily help with the night waking either).

Sounds like a no-brainer to me

Thanks - and especially for giving me a virtual kick up the backside, if this is normal and developmental then I will keep on as I am. DS had a couple of health niggles and was at baby clinic every fortnight for a bit. All babies get weighed in, so that is how I know about his weight gain.
MrsB yes he is a delightful, squealy, giggly little man with plenty of venyful nappy changes!

hi - i am no health care professiuonal but my hv said that around this age babies fall into their 'natural' build (bigger, slim, etc) so i wouldnt worry - i took my lo in to clinic last week and it was the first time since his 6 week appointment (he is nearly 7 months). He has dropped from the 75th centile to the 9th but she seemed unconcerned, encouraged me to carry on bfing not panic as he was alert and lively and crawling(eek) and was naturally slim like my dh.
Agree with the faff of sterilising etc - dh and i are going out tonight and my mum is babysitting at our house so i need to do bottles - i cant imagine how annoying that would be to do that everyday!!!