Formula Top Up pressure...

[allibaba]

Hi there

DS is 5 weeks old and BF exclusively feeding every 2 hours through the day and night. HV is happy with him although he is a little under weight but I'm trying to eat and rest more in the day to sort that out.

My mum isutting huge pressure on to get me to top formula feed as she soesn't think DS is getting enough but I'm reluctant to do so.

Me and DH thought if we got to 6/7 weeks the feeding might sort itself out so DS might go a bit longer between feeds so I can get a bit more sleep at night.

Any advice opinions on top up feeding with formula? Have you done it, did it work by filling baby up a bit more?

Thanks x

The HV would be letting you know if his weight gain isn't adequate. If he is gaining enough weight to be healthy, I would just let your mum know the HV is happy with him and leave it at that- while it is very tiring, the 2 hourly feeding at this age is very normal and healthy.

I tried top ups for the same reason with DD and found it led to breastfeeding finishing early, she was FF from 13 weeks. In hindsight, I wouldn't have topped her up, she was gaining weight fine but was permanently unsettled. She remained unsettled and still didn't sleep through til over 12months even though she was FF.

If you want to try it can I suggest trying a top up of expressed breast milk? It avoids most of the risks associated with bottle feeding but will enable you to see if more milk helps? It is an extra job to do though and expressing can be tiring too. Lots of sympathy, these early weeks are hard work and there can be a growth spurt around 6 weeks with lots of feeds, it does honestly get a lot easier.

I also have a DS who I am still feeding at 16 months, I would say after about 14/16 weeks I was starting to get more breaks between feeds and less worried about it all.

You are doing a fab job

I started to give my DS a bottle of formula as his last feed before bed at 5 weeks old. I did this as I wanted to know if it'd help him sleep longer (like your DC he woke every 2 hours)

He's almost 9 weeks old now, and I have to say that he does sleep for longer periods during the night. He sleeps from around 10pm to 4am, which is great! However, in the past week we've not given him formula at night every night, and to be honest, he is still sleeping for a similar length.

That means that a) the ff was helping him sleep longer, or, b) he is now in a pattern of sleeping longer regardless of whether his bedtime feed is bf or ff.

Hi allibaba,
how do you know your lo is underweight? Is your DS losing weight?

Eating well and resting won't have any effect on your milk supply or your ability to breastfeed. (contrary to popular opinion )

There's no more calories in formula than in breast milk - it's about the quantity they have, so don't cave in to your Mum's pressure.

Expressing and topping up could be a good option as moaningminnnie suggests, but only if really necessary as it will add extra work in to your day when you could be resting.

Like you say, 2 hourly feeding is normal. Do you swap breasts after DS has fed from one side?

Stick with it, you are still in the early days remember.

Hi Allibaba,

My advice to you is not to top-up. I have a 15 week old, who lost 'too much' weight in the first few days. As a result, I was required to give her a 'top-up' from day 3, and she never got used to BF only, so despite expressing as well, my milk started to dry up at 7 weeks and now she is completely formula fed.

If the HV is happy with her weight gain, do try to avoid topping her up - I'm not sure quite how it happens, but the more you top-up, the less they'll breast feed and that's according to all breast feeding advisors.

One of my friends has a 20 week old baby who is exclusively BF and she has only just started sleeping from 8pm to 5am(ish), with a dream feed around 10pm.

Sorry not to be more help.

Donna

You sound like you and your ds are doing well. And it's excellent that you have a supportive HV. A baby does not need to be roly-poly to be healthy. Far more important are the contents of their nappies and their overall development.

Eating and resting won't affect the quality of your milk -it's already excellent. You may find that being rested and well-hydrated help you to produce more*, but if your ds is already drinking to his appetite, increasing your supply won't make any difference to his weght gain.

*The secret to increasing supply is simply to feed more often. Drinking and resting support this, but are not enough on their own.

Have you tried Babymooning? You can do this at any age. All you have to do is get into bed with your baby, both of you as near naked as possible, and just stay there cuddling and feeding as long and as often as he likes. Someone else brings you food and drink. You just rest, feed, cuddle and relax. A day or two of this can make a significant difference. But if itdoes'nt then all it means is that your ds is probabably a littl-and-often feeder. And you've had a nice rest.

Things change throughout a breastfeeding relationship. You may find that in 3wk's time his feeding and sleeping patterns are completely different - or you may not. All normal.

Thanks for the messages everyone. Its really reafirmed what me and DH were thinking anyway.

I think we both need to remember that DS is only 5 weeks and it is early days. The whole "after the birth" experience has just been so overwhelming and even well meant advice from my mum starts me doubting whether all is ok with DS.

The HV is coming over tomorrow for another weigh in so hopefully DS has had some decent weight gain. We're determined to persevere and will all the advice on board so thank you