Switching to formula

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Hi,
I'm new to mumsnet. My DD is 16 weeks and I'm thinking of switching to formula feeding as I'm struggling to get her into a routine on breast
milk. Has anyone done this? Do you think it will help?

Are you thinking a routine with feeding will help her sleep better? The advice with formula is the same as breastfeeding to feed on demand...not sure why a bottle would help if baby isn't ready for/keen on routine?

Dd is bottle fed and 18 weeks and still has not even a hint of a routine.

Hi OP. I started giving my ebf baby a bottle of formula at bedtime at exactly 4 months. It didn't help him sleep better but it gave me a bit of a break as I was starting on the slippery slope of PND.

After about 3 weeks I also started giving him a bottle at lunch time.
I found this helped get into more of a pattern (which I knew wasn't important but did mean his naps started falling into place...)

7am wake and bf
9am bf to Sleep (1.5hr nap approx)
12pm bottle of formula and 45 min nap
3pm bf to sleep (approx 1 hour)
5.30 top up bf
7.30pm bottle of formula and bed. I also often end up offering my boob after this to get him to dose off.

I actually was ready to wean him off bf completely for various reasons and was very happy to achieve what I have....but my boy has other ideas he just will not settle unless he's fed to sleep. He doesn't have to actually feed... more like suckle.

Don't get too hung up on not having a routine. It's hard because I'm the same and when out days pan out differently to the norm I get stressed. But I'm slowly learning that as long as I can get a few naps in and he is not hungry, the most important thing to me is that he goes to bed at his usual time

i don't think it will help. Stick with breastfeeding for as long as you possibly can, it really is the best thing for your LO and, if you've got this far with it, breastfeeding should be much easier now. Far less hassle than faffing around with bottles.

I used to write down times of feeds and naps when my LO was younger, and after a little while, a pattern started to emerge. 16 weeks is still pretty little.

I didn't find adding formula made any difference to DDs sleep/routine, but it made a massive difference to my wellbeing as others were able to feed her and I managed to get some sleep. I still fed her myself mist of the time. Why not try adding one bottle and seeing how it goes? It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

You've done great to 16 weeks. Some things are different with formula feeding, some the same. I always combination feed from 6 weeks with mine but by 6mths I must admit I see the benefits of going more formula than breastfeeding. I find the formula bottles do give you better routine as you know exactly how much they are taking and once they get to 4 months or so all they do is pull on and off the breast to look at everything so I am not sure how much they are taking it if I should be sitting longer to make sure they take what they need despite to pulling on and off. Another massive benefit is you can go to sleep at 9 or 10 and leave dp/dh to do an 11pm meaning that you suddenly get a decent stretch of sleep at the beginning of the night even if you are solely responsible for all night feeds. Also, they do seem to sleep better on formula, if only marginally. But the biggest reason I find formula helps routine is that you start to give them a proper feed because it's a bottle rather than bf on and off all night because it's handy. This in my experience (3 babies) suddenly means they stop waking for comfort feeds (because you are not giving them) And next thing you know, they don't wake for a bottle either. That's what has happened with all mine. Yours might be different but it's worth a shot!

My ff DD didn't sleep through until she was one. Whoever says ff babies sleep better want dragging out into the road and shot

I transitioned from breast to formula at 7.5 months due to ds biting very badly. He still didn't sleep. It did get better in time but formula made no difference. I find Gina Ford's schedules suit ds, as soon as we tried them he magically started sleeping much better. I didn't use her methods but her routines worked a treat.