Formula Feeding Mothers get less sleep

[Phteven]

It's not just the quantity of sleep that maters it's the quality.
I don't think that this study looked into sleep quality but I remember one of the midwives who visited me at home telling me that breastfeeding stimulates a bio-chemical reaction that makes it faster to fall into deep sleep. So even if the quanities are not so differant I would think that getting more deep sleep would have quite an impact.

[Erin_25]

I will admitt I have never found it hard to fall asleep after feeding bubs. When DH works night shift & I watch bubs 24/7, feed, bath, play, clean house & so on I am that tired I am dying to get back into bed!! before bubs was born I couldn't sleep when DH worked the night shift, I was a whimp - watched telly all night. Now I'm in bed & out in 5mins until bubs wakes up for a feed. So can't say I feel I lose any sleep FF, but again I can certainly see what the study is saying.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

The trouble I would have filling out this study is that some nights I wake up with DS in bed with me and I simpley cannot remember getting out of bed, picking him up, lying down, pulling my top open and latching DS on - so I am thinking I also cannot remember night feeds when he's already in bed (I have to check with DH to see if he recalls any more wake-ups). So can other mummies who co-sleep and BF?

But I am very rested and wouldn't be if I did formula because you have to be awake for that. But not all FF mummies get up - remember my mum's SiL who told me formula was easier because you sleep with the made-up bottle of formula next to your skin all night to keep it the correct temperature?

(BTW, DH and I agreed he did 6ish hours last night, we feel great now!)

[Leigh22]

I wonder if the reason that some of these mums had their bubs on formula in the first place was because they were already unsettled/sleeping poorly? So then it stands to reason that they would continue to be unsettled/sleep poorly even when ff is introduced? Just a thought. I found that when I conducted a study on popular parenting practices that only a very small percentage of mums actually choose to ff from day 1.

[Trish]

Can you tell I've never had to use formula before. LOL. Ask me about breastfeeding and I can answer you though.

[paradise lost]

I dunno really Ryn but DD never had FF at night because it was such a hassle. By the time i weaned her at 7months onto FF only she wasn't waking in the night for a feed anymore. I remember the first week or 2 being a hassle at night - having to wake up, sit up latch and re-latch her until we got it right and then it took sometimes an hour for her to feed because it's a tiring business when they're tiny. But when she was like a month old we'd gotten into the groove and when she was 2 months old XP and i split and he moved himself to the spare room so we could co-sleep more then (he wouldn't let me before then). From then on i slept in no bra and to be honest i was only aware the next day that i'd fed because there was milk on the towel i slept on (to catch leaks from the non-suckled boob when i got let down). Very occasionally i'd wake to roll me and her onto he other side so she could access the other side, but hardly ever.

I was always grateful that my milk lasted in the nights until she didn't need it anymore.


Bx

[*Efjay*]

I think one of the reasons a BF baby *may* sleep better (or appear to sleep better) if a bottle of artifical infant milk is given is because the baby has to work so hard to digest it. BM is easily digested & is so with in 2 hours. Where AIM takes much longer and is harder work on the digestive system of a BF baby.
So while they may appear to be having a better nights sleep it may actually be because their little body is working so hard to digest the concret in their gut that it shuts down so it can work on that & that alone. But you may also end up with a very unsettled baby that just doesn't know how to deal with sucha heavy tummy.

[Erin_25]

Isn't this about the Parents getting more sleep, not the bubs?? Think it's more to do with how you feed, do you have to get up & so on. Not sure that it was in regards to what you feed baby makes them sleep longer.

[*Efjay*]

Erin, your right its about the amount parents get. But the topic has got side tracked I think. Well I did anyway LOL

[Cherie]

Imagine those of us who do both.

I hear ya!! When I was breastfeeding and supplementing with formula, each night time feed took approx 1 - 1.5 hrs. Thankfully it was only 2 or 3 times per night, or I would never have gotten any sleep.

I wonder if the study took into account how the breastfeeding was occurring? I was never able to get the knack of bf lying down. For me, night feeds always involved getting out of bed, having to position myself correctly sitting upright before I could bf, so ff was only a minute or two longer (to heat the water in the microwave and add the powder).

[Liz]

In the early days I was feeding in the rocking chair in DS's room. But I still didn't feel the sleep deprivation.. like I said before, I reckon the sleepy hormones that come from breastfeeding were doing the trick with me.. which I believe would improve the quality of the sleep I did get.