Bottle of formula before bed for breast fed baby. Anyone tryed it to help sleep?

[hayleybop]

Hi,
I have a 2 week DD2. Up all night feeding whilst DD1 is jealous as hell and keeping me up 4 times a night wanting attention or maybe she is teething, or to hot, or to cold dont know but I am absolutley knackered.
I was considering a bottle of formula to make DD2 sleep for a longer period. I dont mind getting up in the night for her but not DD1. Maybe tonight may be different who knows but I do feel guilty if I was to give her a bottle of formula, should I feel this way or should I just go ahead and see if it gives me the rest bite I need. Happy mum = happy babies, tierd grumpy mum = grumpy babies ect.....

BoffinMum - its called co-sleeping and its actually perfectly safe if you follow a few simple guidlines

• never co-sleep if you're a smoker or are taking any medication that will prevent you waking
• be aware that your baby will need less layers in your bed as its warmer snuggled against you
• put your baby on top of your covers (e.g. duvet) in their own bedding (sleeping bags are great for this - but your baby might need dressing more lightly underneath it.
• keep pillows well away from baby - most people do this by having baby further down the bed than the pillows

You do have to be careful about baby falling out of bed, and there's some disagreement about the best way of doing this. The safest is probably to have a mattress on the floor while you're co-sleeping - we had DS in between us as DH was always very aware of DS and DS always slept in the crook of my arm so wasn't going anywhere without me knowing (plus he didn't roll reliably till about 8.5mo -well after he was crawling!)

The last thing is that they say not to co-sleep if you are exhausted. I was permanently exhausted with DS but never to the point where I slept so deeply that I didn't immediately wake (lightly) at the first sound/movement. The danger here is if you're not waking.

HTH

Yes, I was really knackered, but a bit of me was apparently alert enough to keep him in the crook of my arm and my knees underneath him. It has always seemed instinctive to do that. I must have been like this on the night in question or he wouldn't have been able to latch on by himself because they wouldn't have been at the right level. I half remember being a bit stiff when I woke up, so that suggests I hardly moved all night.

We don't have much bedding anyway so that would have helped with temperature control.

I wonder if cavewomen slept like this all the time and avoided disturbed nights as a result?

Moondog, that was really bitchy and unnecessary. Just because you are anti-formula does not mean that anyone who uses it does not care about their children. And having a toddler and a new baby is bloody hard work.

Op, for what it's worth DD1 was totally breastfed and slept through at 7 months. DD2 was mixed fed (no wet nappies for days and could have died, NCT said she was an ineffective sucker) until 5 months and then formula fed. At 2 she still only sleeps through about half the time so I think it depends on the individual. If you want to give a bottle to get more sleep go for it but it may not work. You could get your partner to give it so you could sleep from the previous feed until the next breastfeed. Please do be aware of the implications for your supply though.

Best of luck!

I am an avid bf and spend a great deal of time informally helping other people do this successfully, but I honestly can't see the problem with very occasional bottles of formula if parents are totally knackered or if the mother is sore and tearful and struggling to pump. In the absence of wet nurses and personally feeding each others' children it's very helpful sometimes.

However in my experience there is nothing that you can stuff into a baby to make it sleep when it's not ready to, apart from giving it a quick feed when you go to bed yourself in the hope that it lasts a bit longer before waking up again.

PS I have thought a bit more and this might be a plan. See what other MN people think. Express some milk early evening. Let boobs fill up again. Give quick feed to sleepy baby at midnight. Go to bed, planning to sleep until 6am with ear plugs in. Put on good solid bra on with breast pads. Get dp or willing volunteer to sleep in a different room or living room with baby and give night feeds via bottles, leaving you alone as far as possible. Aim to get to 6am without waking up if you can. Feed and express like mad as soon as you wake up to prevent mastitis, because boobs will be very full.

You will probably feel much more rested the next day and manage a bit better from then on.