Formula

[stevetaylor20]

Hi all, we breastfeed out baby but also give him a formula when my wife isn't producing enough or he's really hungry with the aim of making him sleep longer throughout the night. We've figure out that formula is the thing that makes him annoyed and not sleep which obviously makes it difficult for us. We want to be able to give formula sometimes but unsure what the problem might be. We've tried 4 different ones and none help, same result. Fyi we're not slow it's just that he had an operation on his stomach at 2 weeks so things have been a little difficult at times.

Thank you
Steve

Describe what you mean by angry? Does he seem in discomfort after formula? Perhaps it's the dairy. Lots of my friends tried nanny milk formula and said it really helped alleviate symptoms of wind and discomfort. Also how old is your baby? It may just be that he finds more comfort from breast feeding, which is totally normal.

Why isn't your wife producing enough? Do you know what cluster feeding is?

How old is the baby?

Both my babies were constantly wanting milk hourly. It gradually reduced over the weeks and they slept longer. How is his weight gain? Is he getting plenty of wet and dirty nappies on breast milk?

Thanks. Yes discomfort I mean is the better word. And only after Forumula, he's 9 weeks old now

Nappies are all good and he's gaining weight perfectly

Don't think it's cluster feeding he's nit feeding that much. I don't know why she doesn't have enough milk

What's nanny formula? I'm living in Switzerland (from London) and we've tried a few formula already. Let me know what the technical jargon is about this formula please

All the standard formulas are pretty much the same, so changing brands would make minimal difference. If it was something like CMPA, you’d expect to see discomfort with BF too if your wife eats dairy. Are you making the bottles up properly and winding properly during and after?

As a side note - I’d be wary of saying “we breastfeed”, unless you are also lactating - someone will almost certainly pull you up on it on here!

If he’s gaining weight and having wet and dirty nappies why do you think she’s not producing the milk? If formula is making him grumpy it might just be easier to stick with breastfeeding for now.

Your baby may be sensitive to cow's milk. Most baby formulas are derived from cow's milk. The nanny formula referenced I believe is Nannycare which is derived from goat's milk - although I'll let that poster confirm that's what was meant.

I would suggest your wife work on building her milk supply by having the baby latch more frequently. If you need to have a bottle your wife can try to express. Given your baby had a stomach operation it's possible that formula, which is harder to digest than breast milk, is hard on his system. In such a case I'm not sure I would persist with formula especially as his weight is good and he's otherwise thriving.

The best way to get milk supply up is to keep putting baby to the breast. As much as possible.

Cool thanks so more breast (not mine lol) and a possible non cows milk forumla

Thanks so much
Steve

Sorry yes I meant nanny care! It's derived from goats milk and is meant to be easier to digest than cows milk. Otherwise as other people have said, encourage your wife to sit with your son on the breast constantly. The body is designed to increase supply as the baby demands it. 9 weeks is so early to be trying lots of different formulas as they have to get used to each one before things settle down. I struggled with my supply initially but persistence does pay off and I managed to bf exclusively for 6 months. It is tiring though, so try to help your wife as much as possible while she focuses on cluster feeding. Also wind, wind and wind some more...

Have you tried bottle feeding expresses breastmilk?

It’s easier to rule out the bottle feeding as an issue before moving on to whether it’s a dairy issue... it could be something fairly straightforward like feeding too fast, over feeding or taking in too much air.

Formula is much much harder for a baby to digest so that probably would make them grumpy if they’re used to breastmilk. It sounds like it’s not achieving the desired effect so I’d probably leave off it.

Have you tried different bottles? MAM anti colic. Paced feeding?

Not having a bit milk is rare. I did I had septic shock. If she wants to mix feed then that is fine but if she is worried about reduced supply then she need to feed, top up with formula and then use a breast pump to encourage her breasts to produce more milk.

We moved to formula only at 6 weeks for a number of reasons. My baby feed more on a night time than any breast feed baby I knew. Formula does not necessarily mean better sleep.

Contact LLL for advice on reduced supply.

Sorry to say but at this stage babies aren’t designed to sleep for extended periods. They need to feed frequently to fuel rapid growth; feeding them more won’t help them sleep more. Have a google about the fourth trimester: explains the transition that newborns have to make. Really good to help manage our expectations of normal newborn behaviour as people can be quick to medicalise and make it pathological when there is no need.

Congratulations on getting to 9 weeks! Its hard work eh 😉

Its sounding as though the formula isn't helping much and its a common misconception that formula feeding mothers receive more sleep at night. If your partner's breasts feel empty and soft this can appear worrisome, however it is better for her and baby as the quality milk she starts to produce as your baby attaches is packed full of all the good calorific, fatty milk which babies need to thrive upon. If you want to continue trying the formula, look at paced bottle feeding which is more similar to breastfeeding and gives your baby more control of what they need and is likely to reduce overfeeding and tummy aches