10week old, breastfed only until introduction of formula 2 weeks ago

[Eme1]

10 week old, breastfed only until itroduction of formula 2 weeks ago. E would not settle through day and only going max 50mins through the night! I got mastitis and hv suggested a top up of formula before bed. She is now getting 7oz before bed and we have also intorduced another bottle of fomula during day at about 12noon. Goes to bed at 7.30 after her bottle and sleeps till 1.30 then continually gets up hourly after that to be fed by me. She weighed 14lb 3oz (that was 2 weeks ago on only breast). People keep saying give her baby rice she is hungry. Don't know what to do and am getting more and more tired by the day - help please!

That was my thought to about the baby rice. I really don't want to go back to the exclusive breast feeding only. we have not had a single good night for about 6 weeks now
She is def a hungry baby I would say

Eme1 - you're right in wanting to avoid baby rice. Your baby is much, much too young for anything other than milk. It will be easier to change your own routines of sleeping and napping, than to change the needs of a young baby.

If you are keen to continue breastfeeding, then you might want to consider dropping the midday bottle - 2 large formula feeds a day instead of a breastfeed is more than most breastmilk supply 'systems' can cope with, when the baby is still young.

Hope you find a way to catch up on rest and sleep - can you go to bed for a couple of hours at 7.30??

Have just spoken to hv again who thinks i should offer a top up of formula after every breast feed! I can go to bed at 7.30 about once a week as partner works shifts and i ave an 8 year old too!

To give a top up after every breastfeed is to make the following more likely, Eme1:

• your day will be fuller of the more 'boring' bits of babycare ie the washing of bottles etc and the preparing of feeds
• you'll have to buy more formula and bottles
• feeding times will be longer and more fiddly
• your breastmilk will diminish, and your baby will be more unsettled more often, as she will come to the breast and fuss when she discovers the breast is less productive
• you will end up fully formula feeding as a result of this
• there will be health effects of reduced and then no breastfeeding

It is strange your HV doesn't want to share any of this with you

My HV seemed to think this would keep my milk supply! I have not as yet given a top up! She did not tell me any of what you have mentioned - a lot of good points - thank you.

Do ask her how topping up with formula would maintain your milk supply - seriously, ask her

I will, because she made me believe that this would work!

Sounds like the HV doesn't know much about how supply and demand works with breastfeeding!

I can't claim to know it all myself but what I remember from my NCT breastfeeding workshop is that it is largely hormonal - your brain produces a hormone which stimulates the milk production. This hormone (prolactin, I think?) is produced when the baby suckles, which is why comfort sucking is important, but also why the more you feed, the more milk you will produce.

Could you recommend that your HV goes on the Unicef Breastfeeding Course, it's designed for health professionals and is great for HVs who have no idea what they're talking about.

The only way to increase your milk supply is to put the baby (or a pump) to the breast more often!! If you top up with formula, the baby will go longer before needing another feed, and so you will putting baby to the breast less often, this will DECREASE your milk supply! And the baby will get LESS breastmilk and so you and the baby will suffer from tiktok's list of outcomes!

I would try to drop the daytime one too, and just feed as much as possible during the day. It is your job to sit on the sofa, with remote, water, snack, enjoy hours of daytime tv and give your baby the best start in life that you can!

Plenty of good advice on here.
I just want to say that maybe your expectations of just how much sleep you would be getting with a newborn in the house is perhaps a little too high. Sorry

I don't think introducing formula can ever really give you more sleep at this stage, unless you sleep and someone else gets up and feeds the baby every night...

Thanks everyone for all your help. We have had 2 brilliant nights and E been much more settled through the day yesterday and today. Have not introduced the top ups have just been feeding and feeding.... In future I will be double checking everything my HV tells me

Glad things have settled down a bit for you, I rememebr the first 10 weeks being hellish as there are a lot of growth spurts until that point, by 3 months with both of mine (excl BF) everything was a lot more settled.