If you breastfed your first child did you breastfeed your next child? And why?

[Cleanqueennot]

I’m so exhausted with my baby at the moment. He is 6 months old and overnight he wakes every 1-2 hours, only breast feeding will settle him. Don’t want advice on settling techniques as have tried loads and not a fan of any training methods/theories. He is usually quite easy to settle back to sleep but the short bits of sleep are really not enough for me as I often can’t get back to sleep after settling him. During the day I am constantly on the go because he will only nap in his pram so I go for 1 long or 2 short walks a day to get him to nap but then by about 5pm he needs another nap but I just can’t do another walk! Im exhausted and talking to others it seems like they get to put their babies down for a nap and chill out for an hour or so during the day, I don’t even get a minute to myself as he will only nap on the move. Please don’t suggest a sling, like I said I’m not really looking for sleep methods for him I’ve tried them all. Husband recently has been working late and doesn’t get home until 6 or 7pm most nights and does what he can when he’s home but by the time he’s home I’m already at my wits end and exhausted. I honestly feel like I have nothing to look forward to. I just live for the weekend when husband can take over more! I feel guilty because it’s not how I thought I would be spending my maternity leave tbh.

All the other mums I meet at baby’s classes etc say their babies at a similar age are sleeping at least 3-4 hours at night and they can put them down for naps. All these babies are formula fed. Is it just coincidence that mine is breastfed and I’m going through all of this? I don’t want to quit breastfeeding him so please don’t suggest I do. Im more interested in hearing from mums that have actually breastfed as I don’t know anyone that has IRL. Im questioning whether to change my mindset and if I have another baby wondering whether formula would be better for them in that they would be a happier, more settled baby.

Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. Please be kind. One sleep deprived mama here! X

I breastfed for a year: my son woke hourly between months 6 and 8. Every. Single. Night. I don't know how I survived, but I did and you will too.

It gets so much easier. Better at 9 months, much better at 12 months. Now he's 18 mo and a very good sleeper.

Formula or breastmilk has absolutely no bearing on how "good" a sleeper the baby is. My sister also BF her two and they were and still are nightmares all night.

I don't have another on the horizon yet, but when I do I plan on BFing again. I found it really rewarding and a great bonding time. Not easy by any stretch, but I absolutey regret nothing.

I breastfed, and my son was a short napper. He slept better than that at night, though. I don't think this is all due to breats feeding

From what I understand, bottle feeding at night is a pain. You've got to make up the formula rather than just put the baby on the breast. I used to barely open my eyes and never turned on the light. I will definitely be breastfeeding again next time.

I'm sorry to hear it is so hard right now, but it sounds like a stage and will hopefully get easier

I BF both of mine up until around 16 to 18 months. They were both similar with sleep, waking fairly frequently at night but I co slept with them for 6 months plus so would barely wake up to feed and feed lying down. I would rather plan to co sleep than fall asleep unplanned due to tiredness. They both started to sleep for a long chunk at around 10 months or so. They have been pretty good sleepers since then.

For day time naps, mine would only sleep whilst being held or on the move for a good long while. I couldn't believe it when a mum at one of my NCT meet ups just put her sleeping baby down on a sheepskin and left him to sleep! Both of mine would have immediately woken up and screamed their heads off! But it's just personality, not feeding method in my experience. The mum in my NCT group who stopped bfeeding and weaned early had the worst sleeper of any of the babies.

Ill definitely be breastfeeding my second. I love it x

So this thread would indicate yes bf babies do sleep worse. It’s widely accepted that they do, apart from on here of course. That’s not to say you should switch, it’s up to you. But you sound knackered!

I breast all three of my babies for between a year and 2.5 years. They were all night weaned between 4 and 12 months. I did do some gentle sleep training with all of them but none of them were left alone to cry.

As for me, I bf DD for 8 months, preg again now and keeping an open mind. I think I was missold how great the benefits are to be honest, I’m not sure what I expected but I didn’t expect my daughter to be plague ridden for 2 years after starting nursery 😂 I’m not sure it’s worth the effort (for me) but will definitely do the first few weeks for colostrum.

I breastfed both of mine because it was lovely and free and super handy and I could quite literally do it in my sleep.

#2 was a much better sleeper than #1 anyway and still is. #1 was admittedly a horrible sleeper but we coslept in the early months and eventually sleep trained, and sticking a boob in his mouth was an almost 100% successful method of getting him back to sleep without waking me up

I thought that all the available research says that mothers get about the same amount of sleep overall regardless of feeding method.

Combi fed baby 1 slept through at 5 months, fed 1-2 times a night until then. Super chilled

Combi fed baby 2, woke frequently until night weaned at 2 1/2 and still is hard work at 4. Never can be put down

research suggests it’s just personality not feeding and that seems to be true for us

I breastfed first until 3YO, combi fed toddler and newborn, I am still feeding my 1 year old. 6 months is tough, it does get easier!

I bf all 11 of mine. All parented the same but with a variety of sleeping outcomes!
2 slept from a fortnight old. As in from last feed about 8 until about 6!! One horror was about 4 yo before he stopped shouting for me about something or other!!
Last dc I night weaned at 9 months after I was on my knees with lack of sleep! Slept 7 til 7 on the third night.
So ime it's pot bloody luck op!!

I bf our first for 9 months and second for 12 months.

Both got into good daytime sleep routines at about 3 months old and that seemed to help their night time sleep too. We weaned at 6 months and from 8ish months their night time sleep periods got longer too.

BF is tiring, both of mine were in the top few centiles for weight but the daytime sleep routines really seemed to help everything else fall into place.

I had one unsettled baby and one placid sleepy easy baby. Both breastfed.

Breastfed babies don't sleep worse. It's not down to what they eat to how well they sleep. It's down to the baby. They're all different. My son slept through the night at 11 weeks. And goes down for all naps with no issues. Loves his sleep just like his mam.

I think science shows that there's not much difference - and in fact breastfeeding mothers get slightly more sleep. Can't find the link to research just now but I think Professor Amy Brown shared it (worth reading her stuff about breastfeeding)
My first breastfed baby slept terribly (unless touching me) but my second sleeps better. It's a lot to do with different babies not feeding method. I would never choose to formula feed because it sounds like a faff with bottles and the health risks of formula don't seem worth it.

But hope you manage to get some more rest soon. Sleep deprivation is awful.

I breastfed my first for a year and second due any day and hoping to do the same.

I genuinely found it more convenient at night time to breastfeed as I didn't really have to fully wake up or get out of bed.
Baby did first 7hr stretch of sleep at 8 weeks old and aside from the regular sleep regressions I never really struggled with night time sleep.

I think it really depends on the baby.

Yes, this was my understanding too. I breastfed my two kids, first to 18 months, second to 3yrs 3 months. Both shit sleepers. My sister formula fed both of hers and they too are terrible sleepers.

I bf all three of mine (still bf dc3 - he's 1yo).
Ds1 - terrible sleeper, dreadful. wouldn't sleep at night, wouldn't nap. Turned a corner after his first birthday and was sleeping through consistently by 2yo. Not had any trouble since.
Ds2 - dream sleeper. Napped anywhere. Slept through. So easy! Couldn't believe it.
Ds3 - terrible napper, pretty good at night. He does still wake up what with bugs and teething and such, but on the whole he's a decent night sleeper. Won't nap but I'm not that bothered as long as a I sleep at night!
I enjoy bf, I've found it very easy (purely luck) and was happy to bf all of mine.

I BF my first, 18 months by the time I finally managed to stop. He was a terrible sleeper and it nearly killed me, but he refused a bottle. I found bf very hard and it made me quite depressed. I FF my second (bf for the first week), and I loved it. It made it much easier for me to be a good mam. He was a much better sleeper, no idea if that was anything to do with FF, but when he WAS bad I had the option of other people seeing to him overnight. I felt much less trapped, but it's a very personal decision.

@BlueDiamondGlow what are the health risks of formula? Not being sarcy, I’ve done both breast and bottle. Didn’t know there were any risks?

I bf both my DC until they were 2.5 years old.

Both were different in terms of sleep, we went through good periods and awful periods. Sometimes felt like we had turned a corner but then they would be back up overnight multiple times.

However, generally I think they slept around 3-4 hours at a time overnight.

You aren’t looking for advice - but in my experience, cracking the daytime naps helped the nighttime sleeps in our house. I found that the case for both babies.

Couple of things to consider:

• are you feeding enough during the day?
• have you had your iron levels checked? My dd2 fed constantly for a period early on and it turns out I was anaemic and it impacts supply / quality of milk.

Your baba will get there. My sons breastfed and started sleeping through at 11 weeks. Its not down to what they eat how well they sleep. Its down to the baby. Some love sleep. Some don't.

What's the awake time like before putting down for a nap? X

Yes because it's best for your baby, easy and free

Just to add - dd2 was given formula at our childminder from around 9/10 months as I couldn’t express enough for her. It didn’t make her sleep any better or worse.