Supplementing with formula

tinkerbell09

My LO is 1month today and is feeding like a mad man!
Day times he is amazing. Feeds great off the breast, feeds regularily.
Then night time comes and he turns into a feeding monster!

I started pumping after feeds so DH can feed from 8-midnight and I can get some sleep in between. I usually can get about 8oz throughout the whole day for him to eat at night. At first it worked great, but now that he is going through this feeding frenzy it does not tied him over.
He will eat all 8oz and still be hungry. DH tries everything and LO screams until he gets more milk. Then DH has to come get me up to BF.
Last night he just ate too much in the end and we were up till 5am with him spitting up, bad gas and then wanting more food.
Doctor has told us to feed on demand. I always give him the breast and look to see if he is just suckling or actually eatting and 9 times out of 10 he is eatting.

The doctor suggested to supplement with formula at night to make him fuller for longer and to help him sleep better. Has anybody done this before?
I was told to breast feed all the way up till bed time then give him a bottle of formula at the next feed.
If so what formula have you used? I am afraid it is going to be too hard on the LO's tummy.

I was ready to throw in the towel with BFing this morning, but I am in the state of mind now that if I have to give him formula at night at least it is just 1 bottle and he is still getting breast milk the rest of the time instead of none at all.

 Opinions or thoughts?

ShadowsRainFalls

Sorry you're so frustrated. I have just started supplementing with formula. I first tried Gentlease..and my LO HATED it. He would refuse it or spit it all out. I then tried similac sensitive and he gulped it down. My issue is my supply during the day dropped drastically because my LO doesn't ever get a good latch so he never gets enough. I just pump and give breastmilk most of the day, and formula once during the day and once right before bed. In the AM, I give him my breast, as I am full then. Good luck!

laurenhankey

I feel for you!!  It'll get easier.  It's possible he's going through a growth spurt.  My LO use to cluster feed before bed and it drove me nuts because she never seemed satisfied.  We use Similac Sensitive formula and she also gets BM.  We tried the Enfamil Infant and it was just too hard on her belly.  She threw up like crazy and her belly was a mess. 

Laur7

I started doing this a few weeks ago. My husband gave our LO (who will be 6 weeks tomorrow) a bottle of formula at the last feeding of the day- usually between 9 and 10 at night. Then, while he was doing that, I would pump and store in the freezer. We just added a second bottle of formula in before the last feed, just to give myself a break. He usually goes at least 4 hours after his last feeding, sometimes 5 or 6. We started using the Enfamil newborn, but found he had gas problems, so we switched to Enfamil Gentelease and he's been okay since. I was also told that giving him the formula warm settles them down and makes it easier on his tummy.

tinkerbell09

He is going through a growth spurt for sure. At 2 weeks he weighed 7.5 and at appt on monday he was 8.12. All the eating is paying off for sure for him but not for me lol

Jimmerz

I notice with my 4 week old that sometimes she wants to suck. Instead of offering the breast I give her a soothie. She usually falls asleep. I know you said he is eating the whole time, but is it possible he is overheating? I don't know that answer, but good luck.

terri_doula2010

My unprofessional opinion: Maybe try to figure out another span of time for you to get solid sleep and feed on demand between 8-midnight? This sounds a lot like DD...she has always been such a chill baby, but wanted to eat/snack constantly in the evenings. It is a phase and it will pass. At 3 months she doesn't do that anymore.

It is hard...I feel for ya. I think supplementing with formula in this case will just create more problems, though. 

jennygirlmt

It sounds like your baby is completely normal, why would you start supplementing with formula? I agree with pp that that will make things worse, especially for your supply, you should be pumping during every bottle feed anyway. DD cluster feeds from 7-11 every night, which is what many babies do, so you are sleeping during the most important time that LO needs you. I would cluster feed till 11-12, then sleep during that long stretch you get afterwards.

Formula fills them up longer because it's harder to digest, honestly, that doesn't seem necessary at all in this situation.  I would keep nursing your baby on demand when he needs it most. 

mccain

Hello, my LO was in the NICU for 72 days and I would give her BM. It was amazing how much milk I was able to freeze, it was like I was a fountain of BM and I had freezer loads of it. However, when she was released from the hospital my biggest fear, I was not producing as much milk and she was eating more. Someone mention giving her formula and I didn't want to do that because I wanted her to get all the nutrients from BM, but my breast wasn't enough and my frozen supply was running low. They someone talked to me about supplementing. She was already getting 1/4 of formula 22cal in her EBM at the hospital, so I tried giving her that. It beat pumping every two hr which is hard when u have a newborn. However she was so gas and she had reflux. Then my pedatrican suggested putting oatmeal in her milk to help the milk stay down and infant gas relief. This helped a bit, but she was still gas and fussy. Then someone suggested Simalc sensitive and grip water. So, now I BF first thing in the morning, second feeding give her EBM with oatmeal and the remainder of the day is formula and oatmeal and I put grip water in the formula. She is stil a bit gas but I burp her throughout the feeding. Going to try and give her breast milk until the spring if it still comes or at least until 6 months. Do what u can, supplement and BM, LO still gets the benefit and mommy is guilt free.