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mixed feeding?

hi bit of advice ladies please roxie is 4 weeks old and bf we have been strugglng i havent found it too easy she doesnt latch on well and has alot of wind and colic esp at night we are awake alot at night last night was 6 hour stretch im exhausted we saw bf people yest which helped me latch her on better (she lazy and wont open mouth yet not lazy enough to bloody sleep!) im thinking of giving her a bottle of formula for night feed before bed? i dont want to quit bf but im quickly losing faith. i struggled at this stage with my son and gave up and regretted it. so im looking for some advice on this if it has worked for any of you and babes.
thanks in advance!
Hayley xx

ps tried infacol dentinox and gripe water the gripe water does help sometimes x

Replies

  • hi there sorry you are strugglong with bf.You could give the formula feed b4 bed if you wanted but its not guaranteed to help her sleep longer.Do you wind her well after a feed?also i know its not reccommended but i out grace down on her side at this age when she was very windy and sicky.How long does she usually feed for and how long does she go between feeds?She could also be going though a growth spurt at the moment which is always difficult.You should feel proud for giving her the best start in life xxx
  • hi honey!!

    before i start about mixed feeding, i should remind you that breast fed babies are not supposed to have dummies / teats before they are 6 weeks old. now i've done that bit.....

    apparently research will say that 1 bottle will not placate them any longer than what a breast feed will (in the short term), but from personal experience, i found it has with a number of people - including myself.

    my second used to cluster feed from about 4pm until eventually, at midnight, i "gave in" and gave him a bottle. the first night he took 4oz, so obviously, was starving!! (about 2 weeks old). he did then sleep until about 6-7am, and i felt wonderful from the sleep!!

    however, we did get into a routine of this, but then as he'd slept all night, he then wanted to feed all morning, so i ended up cluster feeding all morning, then all evening! in the end i stopped b/f, as i just couldnt do it anymore!! (also had 2 1/2 yr old)

    i do know of plenty of women who randomly "mix" feed, and it really does work well for them - the baby has no nipple / teat confusion, and the mum isnt stressed, as she is happy mixed feeding!

    when i had my third, she was more settled on the breast, and settled about 12mn, after cluster feeding from about 7-10pm, she woke 2-3 times overnight and that was that!

    i would say that you have to do what is best for YOU at the time you are making the decision. i think if the odd bottle feed gives you a desperately needed break, and helps you feed for longer, instead of just giving up totally, then i think it is fine!
  • im sorry to hear that you are having a hard time with bf'ing.
    if your Lo has a problem with wind then giving a bottle will probably just make your night time problems worse, as formula is much harder to digest and babies tend to swallow even more air when drinking form a bottle.
    Also introducing formula will decrease your supply especialy at night as this is when the most milk is made.
    This is the hardest stage that you are going through now, and i know it can seem like things are never going to change but trust me they really will and soon to. you have come this far if you can just stick it out for a few more weeks then things will just get easier and easier. in a few months you will lokk back at this time and be so glad that you stuck with it, you are giving your baby the best possible gift and you should be proud. xx
  • I caved after 1 week of stressful breastfeeding and gave my lo a bottle for his last feed at night, as recommended by my midwife. It did make him go longer (i know it doesnt for all babies), gave me a rest if i wanted an early night, and he took it just fine. We used tommy tippee closer to nature anti colic bottles (lo was also quite colicky in the early days) and it didn't seem to upset him any more than a breastfeed. It didn't confuse him - in fact i think that the fact he was given a bottle so early means that he now switches between the two easily when he is given a bottle (i know some babies who aren't given a bottle till they are older can refuse them). Once he was older, settled and breastfeeding well i switched back to giving him a breastfeed at night. It took a few nights of him being a bit frustrated and feeding for quite a long time whilst he brought my milk back in because i wasn't used to feeding him at that time of night, but we did and are now back to just breastfeeding. However if i do feel tired or go out etc, he will take a bottle of formula or EBM no problem, and i don't have a problem giving it to him xx
  • thanks for the advice ladies much appreciated! i havent done it yet but i may start to do so . she has a bf at 10pm and then at 1am usually and this is the worst time for us she tends to stay awake after this feed ie 6 hours last night and it leaves me exhausted, i have the tommy tippee ones and she point blank refuses at the moment also will not have a dummy as she does use me to fall asleep at night. it is hard going at the moment im determined to try and srick it out though xx
  • well i had bf facilitator visit me and she wasnt much help tbh (last day in the job for her so dont think her heart was in it) 2she didnt help with the latching on which is a major problem at the moment as she comes of as soon as the milk comes down. she advised to give a bottle at her 1am feed as this is the one causing so much trouble with wind from not feeding properly she said use expressed milk which is fine but i cant get enough expressed milk a day to use every night. asked if it would be ok to use formula for this one feed and she looked horrified. she said it would undo all the good work bf had done which i think is total crap. so took no notice and gave her a bottle of formula (2oz she took) at 12.30am feed and she slept until 4.15am no wind no screaming just blissful sleep. i then fed her myself and she did just great took a big feed and went back to sleep until 715am when i fed her again and she went back to sleep until 8am when we all got up. she is very stuffed up with a cold at mo which doesnt help but i feel so much better for decent sleep. no gripe water required last night. she seems a bit more settled this morning and is swinging away in swing. we also gave her a normal teat on a dr brown bottle which she took no prob. so will carry on with this for the time being until she settles more in the night. xx
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