Been to see GP - i "have" to give DD bottles as my milk is not enough

[rubyslippers]

But i need to do something as DD's wakings are turning me into a wreck

she is EBF - and on a good night going 3 hours between feeds

last night she was up at 9, 11.30, 1, 3 and 6

i am starting to not cope at all

co-sleeping makes her even more wakeful so i won't do it now (she would wake every 40 mins if in bed with me)

BUT she won't take a bottle - DH took her out for couple of hours over the weekend and she refused the bottle and practically leapt on me when she got back home

not sure if there is anything i can do, other than wait a few weeks and see if it improves

am not planning on starting weaning until 24/25 weeks either

oh, and she is biting on my nipples just to add to my woes

oh, we went to the GP because of her constant green poos and her frequent poos and her results weren't even back ...

is she having proper feeds during the night or is she using the breast to help her get back to sleep?

if it is the latter there are a range of techniques you can use depending on your feelings - from controlled crying to pick-up/put-down to the no-cry-sleep-solution.

you could also try encouraging her to take more milk in the day - offer the breast more often, and offer more than one 'side'.

waking frequently to feed doesn't in itself mean anything bad, or that you must give bottles. is she content after feeds, following a centile line (regardless of which one)?

likewise green poos don't necessarily mean anything either once a baby is past newborn stage.

a GP is good for identifying if there is a problem with a baby, but they don't receive much training in bf so their advice can be a bit hit and miss. if the GP is happy that your dd is healthy then there isn't anything to fix, just sleep issues that you may wish to tackle.

the biting is also normal too. both my 2 went through a mercifully brief nipping phase. i used to take them off the breast if they nipped and try again later. they soon stopped .

sleeplessness is ghastly but it will pass. be as kind to yourself as you can.

How old is your DD? My DS is 4mths and ff and is still waking 2 or 3 times a night (11pm, 1pm, 5am for example). Not sure bottles would help tbh .

If anyone has any suggestions I'm listening too.

DS1 is 20mths and a shocking sleeper too so totally relate to the barely coping thing .

thanks Chibi

at 1 am it was clear she wasn't really feeding so i gave her some teething gel and a cuddle and she went back down until 3 ish

she can settle herself - she goes down awake 90% of the time for naps and now at bedtime (she is 18 weeks) so she doesn't need feeding to get back to sleep (i don't think)

i offer both sides per feed and she feeds very regularly (2 hourly). I offer 3 - 4 sides before bed as well

BFN volunteer has checked her latch and all seems fine

she is on 25th centile and has been on it since birth - she seems content (although think teething is making her grouchy)

sponge - DD is 18 weeks so a similar age

GP seems to think she is hungry and a bottle will help her settle

am not convinced but i am really struggling

i have been moaning on these threads for 5 months now

unless the gp identifies an actual problem/diagnoses her with something she is fine!

they do have a growth spurt around 4-5 months, maybe it is this. you are v lucky that she self settles!

I think it is just a matter of riding it out, you are doing v well. again, be kind to yourself, try to have an early night/ get your dh to settle her for one of her wakeups if she doesn't want/need feeding.

this will pass! good luck.

My Ds used to wake that often too. We coped by me feeding him about 9 and then going to bed. DS would sleep in the sling worn by Dh. I'd feed him agin arounf 12 before we put him to bed.

It would be worth contacting breast buddies or the NCT for advice.

Oh and for what it is worth - thinkgs improved hugely onc we gave him a dummy.

spongebrain do you have a dp? my dd went through a phase of waking up a lot in the night when she moved into a bed around age 2, while ds was a newborn. dh and i split it with me doing ds's wakeups (he is bf so only I could do it) and he settled dd.

it was impossible for one of us to do both as when one was settled the other would start

maybe you could do similar - your dp could do the night feeds and you could resettle your ds1?

my dd is now coming out of that phase and is up usually only once, and settled within 5 minutes. she has slept through 3 times in the last week which is more than she has done since leaving the cot [happy]

thanks Chibi -

i just starting to feel weary

i don't know anyone in real life who is/was breastfeeding so i am not feeling very confident about it

she had a spurt around 4 weeks ago - she was waking 2 hourly for 8 days

i mean

not heard of breastbuddies - thanks and am off to google

How about offering a dummy?
Both my DSs woke lots in the night, esp DS2 but giving them a dummy did help and meant that we all got more sleep...
Really not sure how giving bottles will help with the nights, some babies sleep well, some don't, bottles not the solution IMHO...

Can you ask your DH to help settle her in the nights? To give you a bit of a break...

hi ruby,
i am sooooooooo tired - ds up all night 9,12,2,4,6:40. had 2 nights of sleeping 6-4 ish and then, alas, no more... my mum said it won't last forever. have been abit weepy today as am soooo tired. if your dd is on 25thcentile ad has been since birth there is no need for bottle, surely!
ruby

if your milk was not enough she would not be gaining weight ! she would not be happy and content between feeds, she is a super hungry baby and likes the breast and hates bottles

when will the results be back?

deffo try the doidy cup

hey just want to sympathise, i found bf v hard and just managed my 6 months but was v proud of myself for not giving up. you should be proud of yourself too for sticking with it. do you express? i had too to increase my supply and fennel tea and all that in an effort to continue. i did give expressed bottle feeds, first feed of the day when they are hungriest i found to be the best. i felt that anything that kept me bf just one more day was the way to look at it. hang in there they don't stay small for long.

thanks for the cyber support everyone

not sure when results are back - we sent her poo off 2 weeks ago

have an image of it mouldering away in a lab somewhere

I assume she is gaining weight and weeing and she's obnviously pooing? So you don't have to give formula at all - if you choose to to make the nights easier then that is another matter.
What do you want to do?

OP - do you want to give her a bottle?

I do sympathise, it's so very, very difficult. I had a super hungry bottle refuser who didn't go more than 2hrs between feeds until older than this, was often hourly feeds.

We crossed paths on another thread a little while ago so I'm repeating myself I know, but nothing worked. My dd was the way she was and all I could do was change what I was doing. Now is the time to call in all favours, all help, all support and get through this. There are things to try and other people will be better at suggesting them, but if -like with my dd- none of that works, you have to find a way through it with minimum damage to you.

I know how hard it is when you're on your knees with exhaustion. You are doing brilliantly and have done brilliantly. It may not seem like it to you sometimes, but it feels like you only gave birth a couple of weeks ago. Time is passing and time will help. Oh I wish I could help you, it feels so enormous doesn't it and neverending?

why do so many gps just assume night waking is hunger. It so rarely is and is more to do with comfort etc
This thread is soo confusing with all the Rubys
I hope you all find the answers you need but I'm sure from reading its not just giving formula

As you know my DD is 21 weeks (thanks for the putting down help!) and even though it's only a couple or so of weeks older than yours I really feel as though we're on the home stretch to the magical 6 month mark (whether that will change anything I don't know )
So what I suppose I'm saying is maybe see if you can give it a couple more weeks then see how you are.
Obviously if you are really not coping with those nights (understandably, you're up every couple of hours or more) then you might want to give a bottle.

When I took my dd to the doc about green poo, he said it was a sign of poor nutrition. Actually he said 'starvation' which scared me half to death of course. She was feeding quite a lot but not getting enough hind milk turned out to be the issue. I had not realised she wasn't really latched well, just sort of sucking the end of my nipple but not so bad as to really hurt me so I didn't really notice. She was a couple of months old.

Hope it gets sorted soon you must be concerned. Don't mean to worry you further but I posted this as someone here said green poo doesn't mean anything and I don't think that is true. Just passing on facts as I was told them by my doctor.

dh=GP know nothing of bf, other than the stuff I tell him.
He may know more about green poos though

i don't want to give formula

i want to EBF until she is 6 months. DS has allergies, eczema and i want to minimise DD's chances of having the same

but i do need to sleep

am turning into a shouty, grumpy mummy and poor old DS is having many a PJ and Cbeebies day

SOH - your advice on the other thread was brill and i am not re-posting because i didn't agree or think it was helpful it is more that after a truly awful night i am seeking something IYSWIM

stealth - DS turned a corner at 6 months IIRC but he was bottle fed and a much better sleeper at this age - at least a 6/7 hour stretch at this age

he was my PFB so i kept a log of all his sleeps (poos etc )

thanks again to everyone for their input

sunshiney - i am reluctant to give formula because the green poo may, and it is a small possibility, indicate a lactose intolerance/sensitivity so breast milk would be the best thing for her

am grrrrr that the results weren't available ...

yes i did that
7am wake
7.02 start feed
7.36 stop feed
7.36 poo (small)
....
found a notepad with columns & columns the other day

If yu want to ebf then is there anyone who can help so you cvan sleep during the day, an hour or so?
think green poo indicates foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, might be worth not switching as much. I think it';s only a problem if lack of weight gain but please double check if you dont already know all this anyway, which you probably do!