I want to introduce a formula eve feed for my EBF 9 wk old - how much to give?

[eddy26]

My DD is 9 weeks old and to date has been EBF. She has been going to bed at 9.30/10 though last night settled herself to sleep at 8.30 (joy of joys - long may it continue). She then wakes twice before 7am normally at 2ish and then 4ish. I am now considering giving her a botle of formula to help her reduce this from 2 to 1 (and then to the magical 0) nightime feeds but am not sure how to go about it. Is the formula best given at 7ish? or at 10ish? and how much should I offer her?

All advice much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

PS She is about 11lbs now....

You'd probably find the early morning feeds drop away by themselves in a week or two anyway. And do be aware that you might find your breastfeeding gets 'out of sync' if you mix the two because the more baby eats, the more you produce... and if you're supplementing with formula it can mess that up a little. My baby was seriously ill at 3 weeks and because he couldn't feed for several days my milk supply went all over the place. Long story short - it never got back to normal and we ff after that. With no ill-effects, I hasten to add - but it's worth knowing.

However, if you do want to give formula a go then try a full bottle at 7pm. Babies won't usually drink more than they need so, if there's some left, offer less next time. You may find your baby needs more winding after formula before they'll settle and their nappy contents will be different. Good luck

Should add... no guarantee that formula results in them skipping feeds :)

I doubt a formula feed will make her drop a nightfeed to be honest. My 5.5 month old still has two nightfeeds, and one of those is formula.

interesting. thank you. in light of both comments i might hold off for a few more weeks and see what happens. just desperate for some sleep :) but dont want to rush her... will see how it goes.

chil1234 i hope your LO is better now. horrid to think of them ill so young.

Horrid was definitely the word for pyloric stenosis. Don't recommend it on the nerves. But post-op he never looked back & has been in disgustingly rude health!

I remember the early days being 'challenging' but, one morning & quite soon, you'll wake up thinking something awful's happened because they've slept a lot longer than normal! What I used to do was make the final feed between 7pm and 8pm and then go to bed myself... When he woke at 2am at least I'd had five or six hours straight and I could just about survive on that. Keep smiling.

We introduced a bottle feed at 11pm because I was desperate for more sleep when DD was the same age. It worked a treat. Originally, I expressed and DH gave it to DD (usually not that much, certainly no more than 100 ml). Then one night I got nothing (???), so he gave her 125 ml of formula. It disappeared and thereafter I stopped expressing. I BFed the rest of the time and the formula feed did not mess up my supply. You might need to do it for a week or so before you see results, but we were very happy with it, and it gave DH some 'special' time with DD (she was always wide awake for the feed, or else wouldn't take much). I know it doesn't work for everyone, but it can't hurt to try. Good luck!

I'm watching this with interest
My ds2 is 8.5w and we're thinking of trying this too, possibly starting this weekend. DS1 was ff from 2w for various reasons, and slept 8hrs a night by now. It may be a coincidence, I know.

Chil1234, afaik, once the milk is properly established, at around 6w, your body will adapt and produce as much/little as the baby needs, but before then - ie in your case - production can be affected if you supplement. I have heard of people who didn't bf for a few weeks after feeding for a few months, but then successfully started bfeeding again

My friend's first dd had formula at 11, and slept through from 3 months. Her second had exactly the same feed (both otherwise bf) and she was still waking for night feed at 8 months.

Try waiting till 12 weeks and see how you are all doing.

Eddy26, just to update u, after two hard nights we decided to try formula. We've done it teo nights in a row, at around 1030pm. Both nights ds has slept longer. Last night he slept from 1130-0520. Bliss! The formula seems to be working.

vmcd. ah. combination feeding. i like the sound of that. and the 6 hours sleep you got :) did you use powder or ready made and had your LO had a bottle previously? DD has had a bottle of EBM about 3 or 4 times over the past few weeks so i am hoping she will still take one.

chil1234 - i would love to go to bed at7. or 8. or even 9. DD simply wont go to sleep until 10/11. how can she stay awake so long? do you think that will settle by itslef too? normally she gets up at 7. has a mid morning nap of 1 hr. a lunchtime nap of 2/3 hours and an afternoon nap of 1 hr. then howls/fusses most of the evening and wont sleep till 10 at night. then wakes every 2/3 hours till 7. do you think a longer stretch in the night and a sleep filled evening both together are too much to hope for? ps just looked up PS. awful. glad to hear it is resolved.

Eddy26, we used ready-made cartons of Aptamil, but have a tub of SMA in the cupboard, and will start that tonight. He's had a bottle of ebm three or four times previously. He doesn't have a problem so far with nipple confusion. The bottle takes longer as he's not used to it, but he's happy to take it. And last night was quicker than the previous night, so he's getting the hang of it.
Your evenings sound identical to mine - cluster feeding (or constant feeding) from around 7pm til 1030 or 11, then it usually takes til midnight to settle him down. I am assured they will grow out of this soon...

Reading with interest. Ds 9 weeks old, goes to bed around 7.30, wakes up 12.00, 2.00, 4.00, 6.00!!!! He used to sleep longer between feeds , and now getting shorter. He used to skip for 5 hours occasionally in his first month but doesn't do that anymore. so far, I know the body produces enough for baby but he seems ravenous every time he wakes up.

Dh and I exhausted. Will try a big formula feed At midnight and see how it goes...

Sleep for 5 hours, not skip... Sleep deprivation wrecks havoc with spelling

Choclover, give it a go, it's certainly working for us, touch wood. Although ds doesn't go to bed til 1130pm most nights, so you're lucky you have evenings to yourselves! He was the same as yours - used to wake once but now wakes up a few times (mainly with trapped wind, to be fair)
This will pass soon!

VMCD - baby went to sleep at 8.30pm downstairs, MIL fed baby hungry baby formula at 12.45. 6 ounces. Woke up at 3am. Made no difference to how long he sleeps at all! BF him at 3am, 5am, 6.30am... sigh

Keep trying! Also try giving him 5oz then you top him up. If he's used to comforting from you, he may not settle well without that.
And another thing to try - give him the formula at 3am instead, when he's already been settled for the night.

If he's like my ds, he may not actually be hungry each time he wakes up. 6oz is a lot for him to be hungry less than 3hrs later. My ds is often sore with trapped wind (I swear he's windier than a grown man) and sometimes settles himself back down after fussing and grunting/whining.
Don't give up - it is a fact that formula takes longer to digest than breast milk, so something is bound to work. It's just a matter of working it out (I know, easier said than done)

Good luck tonight x

Thanks vcmd!

Might be better to use normal formula rather than hungry baby - hungry baby is especially hard to digest so could upset their system more.

I would stay away from the hungry baby formula aswell. It can add a whole different problem as mentioned before.

Ah I see. Will switch and try regular. Last night he went to sleep at 7.30, woke up 9.30, 11.30 1.30 2.30,3.30 and4.30. Arghhh....