Can we stop formula top-ups at 4 months?

[Kaw12345]

Hi all

DD has been on formula top ups since week 2 because I had a low milk supply due to her jaundice affecting feeding. I tried all the techniques I could for the first few weeks to increase my supply to catch up but we always had to add a little. At her peak she was on 450ml per day, but with more frequent BF (every 2 hrs, on advice from the GP because the formula made her constipated) it dropped to 350ml, then 250ml, and even only 150ml some days. Now 4 months old. She's had her first cold this week and started refusing the bottle so has become exclusively BF. Does anyone have any experience weaning off formula top ups so late? I'm worried she's going to go hungry and it will impact her sleep, but not sure if BF only makes her sleep worse anyway? She makes feeding cues at me a lot of the time but still refusing the bottle. Also 4 month sleep regression might be happening to confuse everything further. Any help is much appreciated!x

Food source is only one part of sleep. My daughter has had poor sleep when breastfeed, formula fed, oatmilk overnight and nothing overnight. It's a long list of other things she wakes for.

It sounds like she made huge progress in breastfeeding. How is her weight now?
My daughter had a bottle aversion on and off from 3 weeks to 10 months when we made the move to formula. For her it was reflux and allergy based. One time I got her back accepting a bottle by offering her an Oz in a bottle after each breastfeeding and after a few days she started to accept the bottle again. If you did want to try to get her back on the bottle again you could try something like that.

I think I would be inclined to see how you go on just breastfeeding, keep an eye on weight and sleep. It might go south due to development anyway. Everything is a phase they say ... Only its usually said about the bad days and people forget that the good days can be a phase too! Fingers crossed it's a storm that is easily weathered.

So - update. Yesterday she started getting really upset at the breast and I could see that the milk left was really watery. I offered a bottle and she drank 90ml. I've been back and forth about dropping the top ups since day 1 and it's a similar pattern. She's just a happier baby with both. I'm going to keep both and try to keep my BF supply up so hopefully we can cut the formula when she properly starts solids. Thanks for your advice though!