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mixed feeding at nearly 3 weeks?
Hey
Can I ask what you girls think, I have been very lucky in the fact I have tons of breast milk and so breast feeding has been going well and Rose is gain weight and so on. The thing is she is feeding every 2-3 hours which is normal but in the night it once I have fed her and changed her it takes me well over an hour to get her back off to sleep and then before I can even close my eyes she is up again for a fed.
Hubby has gone back to work today and we have not got many people due over so it has been hard for me to get some sleep when Rose does as I have people over.
What we was thinking was maybe giving her a bottle F fed at night time just the one as she normally feds about 11 or 12ish and then breast feeding her the rest of the night and then all day. The reason is that I was thinking if she has a bottle of F that time she might sleep a little longer and then it's just one feed.
What do you girls think??
K xx
Can I ask what you girls think, I have been very lucky in the fact I have tons of breast milk and so breast feeding has been going well and Rose is gain weight and so on. The thing is she is feeding every 2-3 hours which is normal but in the night it once I have fed her and changed her it takes me well over an hour to get her back off to sleep and then before I can even close my eyes she is up again for a fed.
Hubby has gone back to work today and we have not got many people due over so it has been hard for me to get some sleep when Rose does as I have people over.
What we was thinking was maybe giving her a bottle F fed at night time just the one as she normally feds about 11 or 12ish and then breast feeding her the rest of the night and then all day. The reason is that I was thinking if she has a bottle of F that time she might sleep a little longer and then it's just one feed.
What do you girls think??
K xx
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Replies
We still give him a bottle of formula and that is to give me a break. So oh does the first night feed with a bottle of formula and I do the second night feed with a breastfeed.
Michael started to sleep longer when he was about 5 or 6 weeks old. He than slept 4 hours from the moment we put him down, after that he went back into the 2 hour routine he had for himself. (he never went longer than 2 hours at that time) Slowly it increased to 6 hours first time we put him down, than 3 hours and than back to 2 hours during the day. (this was at about 9 weeks)
Last couple of days (he is 17 weeks) he goes down at 7/7.30 and sleeps till sometimes about 3am. He wakes up before but we try to settle him with a dummy. Than he wakes up at 5.30 where again I settle him with a dummy and he keeps waking up for about an hour. Than he goes back down till about 7.30/8am. We hope we soon don't have to settle him anymore with a dummy, but till than we are happy is stopped feeding so much during the night.
I know it is hard, but don't give up. If you want to give formula do it for another reason than wanting him to sleep longer, because it is not a garentee. (and you might feel quilty that you stopped for that reason even though it did not help) If you want to stop to give yourself some sleep and oh can do a feed, I would say try it. But I would suggest getting something like a ready made carton, if you buy the powder you kinda have to use within 4 weeks and a carton will tell you if it works or not in a couple of days. It will get better.
I will keep trying with the breast feds , it;s hard bless her as she has no idea the whole day and night thing so when she is awake she is awake but it's not fun as you all know at 2am or 3am in the morning when she wants to be helped or rocked for a good hours and I am falling asleep.
Thanks again for your feedback though
K xx
It does get easier it's hard but you just need to stick with it if you can hon. I found it really hard at first, weeks 3-6 were probably the hardest as with growth spurts, oh going back to work and my nipples still being sensitive I really did feel like throwing the towel in. But Jack is nearly 10 weeks now and it has got alot better. He does have the odd ff now but that is because I have to attend college once a month and haven't got on very well with expressing. I can honestly say he doesn't sleep any more with formula than breastfeeding. He has just started going 4-5 hours at night and it's bliss but it's taken us a while to get here but I can honestly say nights are now easier than days to be honest!
It's worth sticking with it if you can hon but remember it's important that mummy and baby are happy so you have to do what's best for you and don't feel guilty.
Hugs
Sarah + Jack x
I think I will keep with it though it is so important to me to try and BF as long as I can, esp as I have been lucky enough to have a lot of milk. I really thought FF would make her sleep a little longer and hubby to help out with a fed but if it does not then I wont bother.
K xx
What I did when it became to difficult is going to bed at about 9, oh did the 11 o'clock feed and i would pick up at 1 again. That way I still had about 4 hours sleep, oh had enough sleep for his day of work and I could deal with it all a bit easier. Maybe that is an idea for you?
Or oh is getting up a bit earlier and does one of the morning feeds whilst you can have a rest. Looking after a baby is hard work as well, so you need your sleep as well.
I am still getting use to BFing really she still plays about at times and bobs on and off for a bit and as I have SO much milk I leak all over her so it's mad.
Michael tends to not feed as well if my milk just comes out. He is on and off, moving his arms around etc. What I tend to do if I know it is gonna happen (early morning times) is expressing a little bit at the start so the pressure is off, than latch him on and letting him feed. It only takes about 2 minutes extra and it does help Michael to feed better and not fuss around. I tend to not sterilise the pump for it, just cleaning it and having it next to the bed. I am not saving the milk, I trow it out straigh away.
i just wanted to say like the other ladies, formula may not help Rose sleep any longer, so prob isnt worth missing the breast feed for it! i totally know where you're at needing the sleep, i was a complete mess for about 6-8 weeks, seriuosly the broken sleep and feeding every 2-3 hours through the night was awful! i knew though and kept telling myself it wouldnt last forever. her sleep will start to stretch out as her tummy gets bigger and she takes more of your milk at a time.
i used to go up to bed at about 9pm and dh would rock ruby downstairs til she cried for a feed but at least i would get a couple of hours before he came to bed.
i would recommend feeding lying down ( i realise not everyone fancies this or worried about squashing lo etc) but it can be a lifesaver for you if you're shattered, i used to lie ruby by me with a pillow behind her so she couldnt roll out then latch her on and doze while she fed. i did this for the first few weeks til she slept for longer.
just keep telling yourself while you're up in the small hours- theyre are million of women up with me right now feeding, and it wont last forever!
having said that, if you want to try ff, and you think it will work for you, go for it. lots of people do!
let us know how you go x
xx bailey b
Just to say my Lo was just like that up for at least an hour in the night for the first few weeks (I felt like i was sleep walking) and most nights i had to change his nappy as he had poo'd! Then he was wide awake!!
but at about 8 weeks he started feeding for only 10mins and going straight back to sleep and not needing his nappy done!!
Then at about 12 weeks he started sleeping through most nights!! He is now 16 weeks and sleeps from 9pm til about 6.30am!
So hang in there it does get easier.
xx
My lo was the same as yours, feeding every 2-3 hours for the first 3 months! It is tiring, and we did what you are thinking of doing with great success. Hubby gave lo his last feed as a bottle (of formula) at 11ish so i could get to bed early, then i picked up the feeds all day and any other night feeds. It worked great, gave me a rest and also meant that lo had no trouble taking a bottle when i needed him to, which i would totally recommend you doing, it's such a pain to leave them with anyone else if you have to otherwise.
With regards to getting her back off to sleep, when you give her the 11pm feed make sure she's properly awake for at least half an hour when you get her up (don't dream feed her she's too young), but keep it dark and quiet, that way she'll be tired when you put her back down, and she should get a good solid block of sleep after that.
Don't feel bad about giving formula either, or a bottle. Everyone's different, and what works for some might not work for others. It worked great for us, and lo slept 11-6 regularly from an early age. try it, if it doesn't work, stop! You can't know unless you try