Switching from breastfeeding to formula.. ?

[Lunalovegod]

Morning all,

Baby is only 11 days and so far has been ebf but I'm not coping well with the nights. He wants to feed on me practically all night and it's taking its toll. I dread nights and just keep checking the time waiting for morning. I have an almost 8 year old who was ebf for 18 months, and I wanted to do it again but I'm older now, already tired and just simply not dealing with it well. Obviously I feel guilty though after what I managed with my daughter, so I'm not sure if I'm definitely making the right decision. How do you go about making the switch, and how do I convince myself it's okay to do so?

Morning! Congratulations on your little one. I was told by my health visitor that if it’s tricky to try introducing some formula to the evening feeds which should help with rest for you and helping baby go a bit longer as it can take 6 weeks to establish breastfeeding.

I haven’t tried this but just wanted to share, I’m currently overdue with baby number 3 and I ebf my first for 4 weeks (second I just formula fed) then went straight to formula and in hindsight wish I had done a bit of combi feeding just to see what difference it made.

wishing you all the best and remember a happy mum is a happy baby so don’t feel pressure to do anything you don’t want to!

You shouldn’t feel any guilt in switching to formula. My DC’s had formula from day one and they are perfectly healthy. It’s so much easier when you can share feeding and get plenty of sleep. Friends and family (especially dotting grandparents) love giving bottles.

Do you want to combi feed so husband does nights or just ff compeltely?

If combi i think ebf longer will be needed
If formula just go buy a tin and some bottles start combi feeding then switch to formula.

The guilt / pressure is real.
I ruined my mental health trying to ebf then formula feed a baby that wouldnt breast feed and when i finally switched to formula after months?!?! I was so cross i didnt do it sooner.

I had this… My health visitor advised me to get a dummy. I got a lot more sleep

Try giving a bottle before your bed, to see if baby sleeps a bit longer.
But if you want to swap over completely, I just replaced one more breast feed with a bottle every day until it was all formula feeds.

Why do you need to give up breastfeeding altogether? You could BF during the day and do formula at night.

Sorry you're feeling rubbish. No doubt sleep deprivation is peaking.

It doesn't have to be one or the other. Buy a couple of bottles of instant formula today and try it out tonight but continue as you are breastfeeding in the day. Chop and change as suits you both. Good luck with it all.

Babies, especially newborns, will cluster feed at night to increase your supply. So it's a temporary (if regular) occurrence that they'll feed a lot in the evening.

If you choose to switch to formula specifically at night this will then lead to supply dropping overall as that's when they're 'putting the orders in'.

It's your choice, of course, but just pointing out the mechanisms, that formula at night is quite likely to mean the tapering and end of BF, especially this early on when you're still establishing supply.

As for convincing yourself - it's your decision. Everyone's situation is different. Either way will be okay.

If you want to EBF but have more sleep/flexibility, you could get a breast pump so someone else can do atleast one feed overnight. I don’t think they recommend until breast feeding is established about 6 weeks though, as the use of the bottle I guess disrupts that.

I have found a good balance with combi-feeding. So one feed overnight is just formula given by my husband and usually if I’m out I give just formula up to once a day. Other times I breastfeed first and then give a bottle. It does mean their latch is not as good I think and over time we’re moving to more formula than breastfeeding. Also, if I wanted to move towards breastfeeding more I’d have to find time to pump in order to increase supply.

I did formula exclusively with my other child from a few weeks old because that’s what worked best for us. So, don’t feel bad if the best balance for your mental health (sleep is so important for that) is moving away from breastfeeding. I personally didn’t want to have the metaphorical fight to EBF with either of mine but obviously others feel it is 100% worth it and it does get easier over time.

Hey OP. It sounds like you need to give yourself a bit of a break - you are doing so well, a new born and 8 year old will be tough!

In terms of convincing yourself - just trust your instincts, whatever decision you make is the right one. Someone suggested a dummy and I would also agree, it was a game changer for me. I got the tommee tippee ones, she was on mam bottles but didn't like the dummies. The dummy saved my sleep massively.

If you decide to use formula instead of a dummy then that is also ok. Whatever you decide is fine. I used the instant formula for a while just to make my life easier. It was money well spent.

Yes, around 6 weeks for bfing to be established, usually. Which is another reason women in some cultures have 40 days post birth of being taken care of!

Thanks for all your replies, you've helped me feel much better about making this decision.

@renthead that's what I'd prefer to do, how does it work exactly? How would I deal with the engorgement I expect I'd get overnight.. does a morning feed eliminate this? I don't want to pump so would combi-feeding still be an option?

Not in the middle of the night they don’t! And often if mum is at home and dad working, it will be mum doing the night feeds.
If you’re EBF just now I wouldn’t stop completely, I’d look to introduce a bedtime bottle of formula (or pumped milk in a few weeks would be fine too) which dad could give- so you do a BF at 8.30 say, then go to bed… dad does the care and bedtime routine for 8 year old from 8.30 til baby needs changed and fed and gives bottle at that point 10.30? 11? And gets them to sleep- and then goes to bed also. By the time baby needs fed overnight (1?2?) You could have had a decent 5 hours of sleep which then you can surely manage even if they do want and on-off feeding session overnight. Remember supply is often stimulated overnight and if you EBF before you can surely appreciate the difference between sticking them on the boob overnight and getting out of bed to boil kettle and make up formula whilst baby cries?
Also you make get mastitis if you just stop- so a mixed feed approach may be a win win for baby and you. The benefits of BF with the “rest” from formula.

We have DT’s - DH and I did night feeds between us and family did when they visited. My MIL stayed for a few weeks and my DM came for weekends - they looked after nights.

It's recommended to wait until bfing is well established before introducing a bottle if you are aiming to mix feed or continue to bf at all. Breastfeeding depends on demand to produce supply.

If you try to drop nightfeeds before bfing is established, you will very likely reduce your supply.

I completely understand where you're coming from, and this point in BF I found the hardest. As others have said - they're cluster feeding to try and increase your supply - like 'putting in an order' so your future body knows but.. knowing that doesn't mean it's any easier mentally / physically!!

As others have said a good compromise is likely introducing one bottle given by your partner at 10/11pm so you can get a good batch of sleep - I found anything over four hours and I felt a hundred times better.

I would say.. get the smallest teat you can - usually they say size 0 or slow flow, and get your partner to look up paced feeding. Otherwise they tend to find the bottle a lot easier than breast and would rather stick to that!

You have to do what works for you - mental health and sleep are important!