Hungry baby?

[Hullabalooobs]

I give baby (5 months) a bottle of formula as part of her bedtime routine. Other than this she is breastfed, although does have bottles of formula if I am away and she is being fed by Dad. We started this as I had difficulties expressing.

Every night, she seems so hungry when it comes to her bottle! She grabs it and gulps it down so fast. I'm worried she's not getting enough milk from me in the day... She is growing ok, albeit on a lower percentile. Lots of wet and dirty nappies in the day.

She seems much more satisfied by formula, starting to wonder if I should feed her this way exclusively. Anyone have any experience with similar?

Well your breastmilk works on a demand and supply basis, so if you supplement with formula then you will naturally make less.
Don’t forget that the bottle tests usually come out a lot faster and easier than nipples so they will be able to drink it quicker.

I'm old and aware guidelines have changed but at 5 months I'd suggest she's getting ready for solids, so rather than take away her breast milk, which is obviously best for her, wouldn't it be better to keep going until your ready to introduce real food. My three all started on food at 10 weeks but never had formula/bottles. All on three meals a day by 12 weeks plus as much breast milk as they wanted (yes I know, before anyone starts shouting that milk only recommended now until 6 months but there is no way my boys would have waited that long, they were snatching food out of my hands😂 they were big lads and loved their food which was healthy, natural and often organic) and are all perfectly healthy adults now.

Don’t listen to Mossstich, you’re doing fine, feed breast or formula on demand. Does she sleep through after the bedtime bottle?

I wouldn’t stop giving breast milk it is best for baby, a bottle won’t hurt now and then or even each night. Baby may be just going through a growth spurt and may not be so keen to finish bottle in a weeks time.
A bottle before bed doesn’t help mine sleep any better and I only give it due to tongue tie issues and bad weight gain early on. Some days I don’t bother and he’s happy with breast milk. They do like something to grab at that age...mine grabs at breasts as much as bottle! Keep going your milk is great!

As long as they're gaining weight you're doing fine. My LO wasn't getting enough milk (younger) and was miserable, crying all the time, awake at all hours. It was a lot more than just grabbing a bottle.

Is your baby happy and settled between feeds generally op? If so, then it sounds like you're both doing great and you don't need to worry about her bottle enthusiasm! Milk flows more quickly from bottles than from the breast, so it probably just seems in comparison like she's gulping it down. Babies at 5 months are very very good at extracting milk from bottle or breast!

Thanks all for your replies.

I have been giving her this evening bottle for some time now. She is quite unsettled before the bottle, even if I have breastfed her not that long before. It's almost like she knows it's coming and is desperate to have it. Tonight for example she was quite tearful before the bottle and attacked it ferociously when it appeared.

The rest of the time she is relatively settled though, so perhaps it is just that it comes out more easily from the bottle so less work.

She does not sleep well and is very unsettled over night, which has been the pattern for some time.

I just worry she's not getting enough and that might be why the slower growth (hv seems to think this is fine). However am reassured that if she was very hungry I'd see more distress at other times.

I think she'll be ready to start weaning soon which I am excited about.

I would follow your instinct. There's no right answer to the question you're asking. It's up to you to judge and decide. Formula, breast milk or food. Up to you.