breastfeeding and bottle feeding??

[hayleylea]

hi my little boy is just over 2 months old and i feel like he is feeding off me ALL the time. He doest sleep a great deal during the day - he isnt a cry baby or anything just doesnt go down for big sleeps, just cat naps. I find that he is ALWAYS hungry during the day....at night he feeds on and off for 3 hours before he goes to bed (Awake the whole time) and i eventually get him down - sometimes he sleeps through the whole night or wakes after 5 hours which i have no complaints about. I just feel like he is on my boob the whole entire day and its sooo draining. I am thinking about giving him complimentary bottles of formular for a couple of feeds a day (so feed him with breast and formula) just wondering if anyone else has done this and what their routine was (ie when did they feed their babies the formula - what time of day etc)....Any help would be great. My little man is just perfect except the constant feeding off me, he gets so frustrated with me too like he is getting enough. I check my boobs and there is still milk coming out so if anyone has any ideas of suggestions that would be greatly appreciated!! I have posted this message in both the breast feeding and bottle feeding section...:o

[JanetF]

Your milk is more than sufficient for your son. If you start giving him a breastmilk substitute your supply will be affected and he won't stimulate your breast to make enough milk. You will end up weaning and that isn't optimal for either of you. Your son sounds like he's feeding normally to me so if you're finding it draining then perhaps you need to take better care of yourself? We are designed to make milk and we make milk with no more energy than we make blood so it's not normally draining. Perhaps you could top yourself up with an iron supplement and/or multivitamin designed for bfing mamas and make sure you're getting as much sleep as possible. Babies of his age are often having a growth spurt which means they need to feed very frequently to increase your supply and ensure that there's enough to feed them as they grow bigger and go into the next phase of your life. This is the last time when comping is a good idea as demand=supply with bf. Your son may well be trying to up your supply for this stage of his life.
This is a great page on growth spurts, when they can occur, and how to deal with the upped level of feeding. It won't be forever remember, it normally settles down after a week or so at most.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html
This is on frequent feeding:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/frequent-nursing.html

Stick with it. Your son couldn't get a better start in life which will last him his whole adult life as well! :)

[poshBecks]

Hi hayleylea....

I only b/f ds for the first month I ran out of milk (long story) but I did find that after I put him on the bottle he certainly stayed fuller for longer!! He slept right through the night 8-12 hours & both he & I were a whole lot happier as I wasn't streesed out anymore & he had a full tummy.

I have heard of ppl giving 1 or 2 bottles day to help them stay full... usually at night tho I think. You do what works best for you matey.... I learnt (the hard way) that a happy mummy = a happy baby!!:p

Good luck!!

[moonblossom]

I totally agree with Janet, I've breastfeed all mine till 6 months, not long but long enough for me. But I do admit, my husband gave the baby during the night time feed a bottle of forumla, this let me catch up on much needed sleep and gave him bonding time.

This may be the cheaters way but it never affected our breastfeeding routine during the day. and what was my routine you say? Stick em on whenever they want too...LOL

[Nickster]

Hayleylea,

I tried to give my little one a comp bottle of formula at bedtime in the hope she would stay fuller longer (misguided advice from CHN). It did not work. So after about a week, I gave up and followed mother nature.

Babies often "cluster feed" in the evenings, as

1) your supply is lower at the end of the dayand it helps build your supply for overnight
2) they are helping to fill themselves up for a long sleep (5 hours being average for your baby's age)

I would just like to second what JanetF said, and if you are still unsure contact ABA, they have a free helpline.

Apart from that, it just sounds like pretty normal baby booby behaviour to me. Just remember, it won't be like this forever - my DD is now on only 5 - 7 feeds a day at 12 months of age, although she was feeding every 2 hours for at least the first 5 months.

Let me say, that I say all the above with full respect to you and that it is only your decision to make. These are just the facts.:)

[JanetF]

ABA – Australian Breastfeeding Assoc.
http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/default.htm

ABA – helpline
Telephone Counselling
All capital cities and some other areas run a Breastfeeding Helpline on a roster system. You can also look under Australian Breastfeeding Association in your local White Pages (Some books may still have us listed as Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia). The Helplines are available 7 days a week. Counsellors are answering calls in their own homes so please take this into consideration when calling.

BREASTFEEDING HELPLINES
ACT/Southern New South Wales (02) 6258 8928
New South Wales (02) 8853 4999
Queensland (07) 3844 8977 or (07) 3844 8166
Townsville (07) 47235566
South Australia and NT (08) 8411 0050
Northern Territory counsellor contact line (08) 8411 0301
Tasmania (03) 6223 2609
Tasmania - North (03) 6331 2799
Victoria (03) 9885 0653
Western Australia (08) 9340 1200

[bubbles28]

I agree 100% with JanetF on the Bf issues.
I fully BF my DS untill he was 6mths.
I took him to the CHN when he was six mths and found that he acually weighed 50grms less than when he was 4 mths.
The CHN told me to start him on a bottle of formula to help him put on weight.
I followed her advice and gave him a bottle at night. From that point he started wean himself as he preferred the bottle because he didn't have to work as hard for it.
He is now 10 1/2 mths and is only on one BF a day(and thats a struggle). I wanted to BF untill he was at least 12mths.
The extra bottle didn't make him sleep any better at night at all.
So if you want to continue with the BF I would be carefull about introducing that bottle.
You sound like you are a great mum whose doing a great job. Stick in there, the whole BF gets easier.

[Goosie22]

Babies have lots of growth spurts untill they are around six months and it is normal for them to feed frequently during these times like the previous girls said the cluster feeding. Have you tried any bed time routine like play /bath /massage feeding in a dark room with the same nursery ryhmn on softly(later replace by story /then bed?:)
A wise old midwife told me this once when I was complaining about night feeds:- Always Remember that in 6months your baby will crawl away from you and in 12 months he will walk away never to return as your little baby please cherish the special times you have with him.( I know it spoapy but it really hit home)

[JanetF]

I completely agree. Catering to your child's needs to this degree only lasts such a short time in their lives and it's so worthwhile to set them up for the rest of their lives :)

[hayleylea]

He sleeps through all night and has been for about 2 weeks we do have a routine and it works great (obviously), it wasnt a night time thing just during the day where he feeds alot, I was just wondering if it was normal or not. I cherish my boy very much and catering to his every need is in no way an effort i love doing it - i was just after some advice. He has been gonig down for a few sleeps the past week i think it was just a big growth spurt and due to hot weather

Thanks for replying.

[JanetF]

If he's not feeding at all at night then no wonder he's catching up in the day. At his age he needs to be fed around the clock. Sleeping through is not actually a good thing for little babies as they need constant hydration and nourishment. At most he should go about 4 hours between feeds on a 24 hour basis and that's only if *he's* deciding when to feed, not being fed to a routine which is an inappropriate way to breastfeed and an especially inappropriate way to nurture a young baby. You really need him close at night so you can continue to parent after dark. He is probably struggling to increase your supply with all those hours when you're not giving him unfettered access to the breast. He will be unable to build your supply if you don't feed him at night, then you'll give him formula and your supply will dwindle even faster leading very quickly to weaning. I hope you will start feeding your baby at night which is what he needs. He's too little to go for very long without feeding. I bet that if you start feeding him at night his demand for the breast during the day will lessen as he is more able to maintain your supply at a level appropriate to his needs.
This is about routinised feeding.
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bf-links-concerns.html#schedule

[hayleylea]

Thanks janet for your advice but things are going good for me and my boy. He feeds when he wants to feed and he is growing and is a healthy little boy! We dont have a problem with day time feeds anymore either - all has been good there too. i have heard of waking them up for feeds - but if he doesnt want to feed he doesnt want to feed. Im not getting into any debates on this subject though, each to their own i say and its working fine with me and my little boy and thats all that matters. Everyone is entittled to their own opinions though.

[hayleylea]

janet, also i didnt mean that i made this routine so he sleeps through all night, he made the routine himself, i have no problem getting up when he is hungry and needs to be fed. I take offence to you saying that the way i care for my baby is an inappropriate way to nurture a young baby - i give my baby all the nurturing and caring he needs. He is healthy and happy. If you have any more negative comments to throw my way i would appreciate you just keep it to yourself. I was after some advice which i do appreciate but saying that the way i care for my baby is inappropriate and the rest of it isnt for you to say.

Thank you everyone else who has replied i really appreciate it.