Want to continue Bfeeding but introduce a bottle of formula at night... any advice plse..

[mumeroo]

Hello, I'd really like some advice on this. I Bfed my DS1 for ten or so months and my DS2 is now 9 weeks but I'm finding bedtime feeds really tough. He's only little but is doing a lot of screaming...I"m not sure if he's getting enough and it's exhausting me trying to get him off to sleep and at the same time look after and get to bed my older (toddler) son who has taken to yelling at the stairgate. If I knew DS1 had definitely had enough milk it would help. Anyone know how much a baby should have for one formula feed and if it will interrupt breastfeeding during the day?

Will I need to express in the evening/morning to create enough supply still. Thanks so much... shattered and can't go on like this... was feeling sad that couldn't just Bfeed like I did first time round but realize being a martyr is just dam silly.

Ah I get you now. cheers.

The reason replacing night time feeds can have a big effect on your supply is that prolactin levels are higher at night, your baby knows that so wants to feed more at night. Take that demand out and you are taking out a big whack of the demand.

Some babies will happily mix and you'll nurse them till they go to Uni ();
some will take one bottle and decide it's much easier than the work mum makes him/her go to;
some will take a bottle for ages and then suddenly refuse to have any more breast;
and some will take a bottle for ages then refuse to have any more.

You have to take the decision for yourself if you want to spin that wheel, if you don't mind stopping quite young then go for it, if you really want to do it and nothing could be more important than allowing the child to wean themselves (etc) then don't do it.

I did this very early on (2-3 weeks) and am still only on the one bottle of formula at 6mo so in that sense it has worked well for us. However, it definitely impacted my supply early on (although that was a bit ropey from anaemia anyway - which was why I introduced the bottle - but dropping the feed really didn't help supply so it was a ll a bit of a vicious circle) and it took a lot of effort and determination and support on here not to introduce more formula. Things finally settled down at around 3 months - so it took a good 10 weeks or more for me to feel that bf wasn't at risk any more.

So yes it has worked well for me in the end (can get to bed early while dad does the 11pm feed, and I still bf for 5 feeds a day) but I'm not sure I would do this with a second DC.

If you want to do it, then it could work out just fine esp as your DS is a bit older than when I did this so your supply may be better established. So it might not impact bf at all, but you need to be aware that it also could cause problems and might lead to bf ending sooner than you expected if that causes your DC to fuss at other feeds and prefer a bottle, or your supply to dwindle. So make sure you're happy to take that risk before you go ahead, but hopefully it would then work out just fine.

Could an alternative be just to use formula a couple of nights per week or every other night at first? That may not impact supply quite so much but could give you an occasional break which it sounds like you need and you may then find that that is enough for you to continue the rest of the time or pick that feed up again fully later.

Meant to say - I introduced the bottle at 11pmish feed rather than during the evening cluster feed. I felt it was important to go with the cluster feed if possible but then allow myself to get to bed after that and recover. As Moonlight McKenzie says, I can see why replacing the cluster feed might be more damaging to breastfeeding.

Just like to add that the greatest protection for your child not to have any allergies is to only BF for 17 weeks and not give one drop of formula. Does not guarantee no allergies but offers the most protection.

Introducing FF at night is generally the slippery slope, not a problem if you want to FF completely soon.