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supplement last feeding of the day with formula?
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Anonymous
| would supplementing the last breast feeding of the day with formula help the baby sleep longer at night? if so, what do I do--1/2 bottle of breast milk mixed with 1/2 formula? |
Anonymous
| I started feeding the baby before he goes to bed at 7:30 and then we give a bottle of formula as a "dream feed" around 11. I think this is what led him to finally start sleeping through the night. |
Anonymous
| sleeping through the night is a developmental milestone that happens in the brain not the belly. |
Anonymous
| I supplement that feeding sometimes, but only b/c my supply is so low at that time of day. When I bottle-feed (BM or formula), my DD takes anywhere from 3 oz. to 6 oz. at that feeding, and can sleep through w/o eating until morning regardless of how much she ate. I agree with 9:56 that this is a developmental, not a belly, issue. |
Anonymous
| No. In my experience, formula at night has made absolutely no difference in how long my baby sleeps. |
Anonymous
| Are you trying to help yourself or your baby? If yourself, supplement. If your baby, don't supplement. |
Anonymous
Keep in mind, mama, that sometimes helping yourself does help your baby, especially if it means you are better rested and happier in the morning. |
Anonymous
Totally agree! You should not be making OP feel guilty for wanting to be well-rested and healthy. She may be an even better mom if she gets some rest! You should not condemn just because you are anti-formula. OP- I have found the difference to be marginal- like an extra 45 min- or an hour. But it might be worth it to try. GL! |
Anonymous
|
i also think the difference is marginal, but I occasionally supplement a bit at the last feed since baby sometimes sucks me dry and still seems hungry. That of course leads to better sleep, since he's finally full. This only happens once a week or so.
Interestingly, my ped told me that breastmilk actually has a few more calories in it in the morning, so formula has more calories oz for oz at night. He also said that cluster feeding before bedtime achieves the same caloric intake if you are breastfeeding. That's what works best for us - my baby started sleeping through the night consistently (9-10 hours) around 4 months of age. |
Anonymous
I wish this were true. DS slept thru the night from weeks 9-16, then started waking at night again to feed, coinciding with his growth spurt. Even Weissbluth, who says that sleeping thru the night is a brain thing, admits that many babies need to eat at night until around month 9 or so. I have found that more calories at bedtime = more sleep. And yes, that is good for mom and baby. |
Anonymous
|
Sleeping through the night is definitely a developmental thing but being hungry certainly plays a role in it. With my second, I was so tired from taking care of the baby and her older sister that at night, I had no milk left (I realized that when I tried to pump), and as a result the baby was hungry and couldn't sleep for more than 2 hours before she needed to get up again. I started pumping in the morning, first thing, and using that milk to give her a bottle of EBM before bed. Once she had access to all the milk she wanted, she started sleeping through the night. Literally, in one week, she went from waking up every two hours to sleeping 12 hours. Then because I was getting more sleep, I had more milk, and eventually was able to nurse her at night or give her a bottle and there was no difference.
So for us, it wasn't formula vs BM that made the difference, it was the sheer amount. If you are pumping, you could try giving the baby a bottle of EBM before bed; if you'd rather not pump, then you can try formula. Either way, GOOD LUCK!! |
Anonymous
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I second PP--it is less about formula v. breast milk than it is about amount. I had a tongue tied baby who didn't take much at each nursing session. Pumping and giving her a bottle at night helped her sleep longer because she was able to eat more.
But, if you need to supplement with formula, you should NOT feel guilty. Yes, it's good for mom. But, it is good for baby, too--my DD was a much happier baby when she got a good night's sleep. |
Anonymous
| If you decide to supplement with formula, be sure and pump or you risk creating supply problems. Each ounce of formula the baby drinks is an ounce of breast milk that she's not drinking, so your body will produce less. If you don't want that, you'll have to send a supply message through pumping. |
Anonymous
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Agree with PPs that it is an amount thing. And I love the suggestion of pumping in the morning and then using that in the evening!
My LO has gotten used to mom having more milk in the morning and less at night. DC consequently won't eat any more at night than I can produce (so when others try to do expressed BM when I'm away, he takes a lot less at night than during the day). FWIW, he sleeps around 12 hours per night. |
Anonymous
| I always fed my BF baby a bottle of formula in the evening before he went to bed. He definitely didn't start sleeping through the night due to that but I felt a lot better. I had low supply issues and evening was a terrible time for me, he would cluster feed and I would be anxious and my 2 year old would be wondering why mommy was sitting on the couch with her brother for two hours. We solved that issue with the bottle. I pumped to keep up supply but it made me a whole lot less stressed! good luck |