Is everyone supplementing with formula??
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With our first, we supplemented with a formula once a day to help him gain weight. He lost 13% of hist birth weight so we really needed his weight to increase. But we did find it helped him sleep through the night. My second, my milk came straight in, i was so proud of myself 😅 so we never formula fed. BUT when it came to getting him on to bottles, he was such a nightmare. It took months. Absolutely months. Ended up putting some milkshake powder into a bottle with the formula to get him to take it! Our third, we have done one bottle feed from the start. He is 13 weeks now but still waking 2-3 times a night for a feed, despite the bedtime formula.
Just to say I am ebf with no formula, we still get up maybe once in the night? I definitely think it's baby dependent. I've done nothing different and have just fallen lucky. We do tend to give a bottle in the evening but again this is just breast milk. The rest of the time he has the boob. Xx
Still EBF my 12 week old - no real intention to introduce formula. I have to wake up at around 3am to feed (we both fall straight to sleep as we usually bed share from that time) and then usually 6am when he’s got wind. I think some parents worry if their baby is small, even if they’re roughly following their centile, so give them formula. I definitely think it’s a rumour about formula helping them to sleep through the night - sleeping habits are baby-dependent 🤷♀️
I EBF, my baby is up 1-2 times in the night, usually the once at 3/4am and then back down. I did the same with my daughter and she woke more often, I think it depends on the baby and what works for each family x
I EBF and my son must wake up about 5-6 times in the night and hardly naps in the day. It's definitely just baby dependent and my son has always hated his sleep as he doesn't want to miss out
I’m EBF and my baby wakes up typically 1-2 times a night but slept through one night last week
I suppliment with one formula bottle before bed it always seems to have helped him settle for a long stretch.
I EBF my first until 4m, my second until he was 16m (obviously he was also eating solids) and I’m currently still EBF my 3rd. My first only had formula at 4m because I fell pregnant and lost my supply - he also started purées at this age but he was still waking overnight. My second was waking multiple times throughout the night until I stopped bf despite definitely getting enough food/water/milk throughout the day. My 3rd is only 8wks but wakes up twice overnight.
EBF my 12wk old LB. Weighing up whether to introduce a bottle so my husband can help out but think it’s more convenient for me to continue EBF due to his shift work. Also heard that I can be difficult to introduce a bottle later down the line and would like to avoid that in case we introduce a bottle when I go back to work when he is 9m old.
I EBF and pump I breastfeed at night maybe 3 times we bed share after she wakes up the 2nd time when Dad goes to work. And then I pump first thing when I wake up and throughout the day to build my stash and so my husband can fed her in the evenings and I can go shower and relax for a little.
We try and give a bottle, not to make her sleep (we do it any time) but just to get her used to the bottle for when I return to work. It is sometimes formula, sometimes expressed milk. But many days she doesn't have a bottle at all.
Nope, just boob here. We are trying to do pumping for bottle for dad once a day but he’s so hit and miss if he’ll take it
@Amy this is our routine too!
I swapped to formula due to having a low supply & im up more in the night now than I was when I was EBF! It’s definitely dependent on your baby and doesn’t always make them sleep longer xx
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No need to introduce formula unless it suits you to, formula fed babies don’t all sleep well, depends on the baby! My baby is EBF at 13 weeks and usually only wakes twice x
I’m pumping and giving via a bottle as he wouldn’t latch and unless he NEEDS a formula top up he doesn’t have it, I get up 2/3times over night still. It’s all up to you of course and formula does make them sleep longer because the body doesn’t digest it as quickly majority of the time but also that’s not always the case with all babies. X
https://www.swansea.ac.uk/health-social-care/research/lift/breastfeeding/baby-formula-sleep/#:~:text=No%2C%20despite%20what%20lots%20of,can%20read%20our%20research%20here