Cooper is breastfed, and from 8 weeks he slept through 12 hours without feed. Then 4 months started to have one in the night, and the other night had 2! He is on 3 big meals a day, but I am wondering now if maybe he is not getting enough of my milk to keep him satisfied.
So I am wondering if it may be worth trying formula just for before he goes to bed. Does anyone know whether this may also help him to sleep through the night?
Do you think it's your supply? Have you tried anything to increase it?
I have no experience with formula...but I probably wouldn't be giving him formula simply to get him sleeping through the night. What if he decides he suddenly prefers formula to breastmilk? Are you prepared to stop breastfeeding (worse case scenario?) just to get him sleeping through?
I have thought about whether I have enough milk too. Hard to monitor though! He has about 6 feeds in 24 hours. I would prefer to breastfeed, and I am mainly thinking of it just in case he isn't getting enough...and if it means that he sleeps through - even better.
Part of me wants to know if other mums out there had babies that preferred formula to breastmilk also when they did this. I would prefer him to have breastmilk though (even if it means he doesn't sleep through).
I have heard of it working for some - formula is harder to digest and so sits in their tummy for longer. I've also heard of it not making any difference. TBH I don't know what I would do in that situation, but I wish you all the best as you make your decision... and sending some sleepy vibes to Cooper :)
Hi.. my little man is 6 months and about 1 month ago i started to give him a bottle of formula in the hope that he would sleep though.. well it worked for about 1 week and then he went back to waking at 3am for a booby!!! So i have stopped giving the formula top up and just let him guide me at night.. and the last 3 nights he has slept thru!!!! Yes!! finally a booby at 8-8.30 and then 1st feed of the day around 6am..
Although it does work for some, others ( like my little man) just like to have that early morning feed.. i felt that my milk supply did start to dwindle.. and i guess this was a reason that i decided to cut the bottle out.
Good luck for what ever you decide.. you have done wonderful to feed to for 7 months!
Same as snacks, I have heard it can go either way.
Perhaps your supply is less towards the end of the day, this is a really common problem. I've had this and I found that a couple of days of taking fenugreek made a huuuuge difference and I could actually feel that my boobs were still fullish at the end of the day. I was hell-bent that DS wasn't having any formula so I tried quite a few things and that's what worked for us - maybe worth a shot, it can't hurt ;)
Oh and I also started offering him both boobs for that last feed - and the same week I started doing that he started sleeping through the night and has been doing it for two weeks straight now!
Hi mads
I take it in capsule form. The ones I have are 1000mg and I usually take one 2-3 times a day when my supply is a bit low. I usually only need to take it for three days or so and then I'm right again. It's magic :)
Alexzander was formula fed from 3 days old & he didn't sleep through the night until 18 months old. Formula definitely does not guarantee a longer sleep overnight.
As your little man grows, he's going to go through periods of needing more feeds, and the best way to increase your supply is to feed him more. The more you feed, the more milk you produce.
Formula does take longer to digest and this can have the effect of making him sleep longer, or it could upset his little tummy. A lot of the time, it makes no difference whatsoever.
Unfortunately being unable to self settle doesn't necessarily have to do wtih being hungry, so you may put him on the bottle, and he still wakes during the night. As a mum who sometimes gets a whole night's sleep, and at other times, has to wake 2-4 times a night, I have found the easiest way to get through it is to go with the flow. Babies literally change from month to month.
Heres another idea.. do you think he could be waking up at night because he's teething and just having a booby feed as it is a comfort for him? Reason being, Jesse has just started waking of a night too.. his first tooth came up abuot 3 weeks ago and his second has just shown itself yesterday. Before that he would sleep from 7.30am until 6.30am sometimes even 7.30am but over the past month or so he has woken once or twice at night. I usually just give him his dummy and he moans for a bit and goes back to sleep.
Thats just an idea.. if he use to sleep through fine and he is now having big meals each day and is satisfied from them, maybe its just teething?
But in saying all that if you wanted to try a formula feed, normally it will satisfy them for longer than booby. Jess has been formula fed since 1.5 weeks old and the first night we gave him formula he slept 6 hours straight. Prior to that he was only sleeping half hour lots. So sure maybe give that a try, but if hes still waking up then maybe it isnt because hes hungry?
Best of luck!
There could be heaps of reasons he is waking. Cooper is just 8 months and his sleep is all over the place at the moment! He normally sleeps from 6.30 pm to 5.00 am but he's had weeks of waking at 10.00 pm. Then a week where he woke at 1.00 am. Then the last few nights he's been almost making it to 5.00 am... either 3.30 am or 4.00 am. He's definitely going through something at the moment because he's off his solids too.
So perhaps your Cooper is just going through a developmental stage, teething or a growth spurt?
Hi again mads
You can get them at either a chemist (vitamin section) or a healthfood store.
Good luck I hope it helps you out :)
All of my kids have been bottle fed and the formula definitely did not help them sleep through the night. My two older ones did not sleep through until they were around 6 months or older and Matilda is still waking up at night for a feed.