BF'ing vs. Formula Feeding - sleeping at night+

Richardsmom_817 · October 2014

Do BF babies wake up more frequently would you say? A friend of mine has a newborn (just a few days old) & she said he was getting up every hour to BF, but she switched to formula & he is getting up every 3 hrs at night now. Is it possible for BF babies to go longer than an hour?

kmos816 · October 2014

My ebf baby was up every 2-3 hours the first couple weeks (a couple nights up every hour) eventually we got to a 5 hour stretch at some point (maybe 5 weeks?) now at 5 months she can go 8 hours at night.
I believe breastmilk digests more quickly than formula.

sschwege · October 2014

As pp said BM does digest more quickly, though that's really only one piece of the puzzle. Both of my kids were EBF and DD didn't start consistently start STTN until 5 months, DS at 7w and never looked back.

TheBorg7of9 · October 2014

Both my bf babies started sleeping 5 hour stretches by 5-6 weeks. By 12 weeks they were sleeping 10-12 hours at night. I'm so glad I don't have to make bottles. Anyway, I think sleeping depends more on the baby and his age, rather than bf vs. ff.

Ju111310 · October 2014

Breast fed babies can sleep at night just as well as FF babies, as others said, it just depends on the baby. BM digests quicker but doesn't mean you're gonna be up every hour. My LO is 5 weeks and EBF, lots of MOTN feeds for the first 2 weeks. Started consistent 4.5-5 hour stretches followed by another 2-3 hrs around 3 weeks. Now he's sleeping 6 hour stretches and even had one 8 hour stretch!

surpriseaddition · October 2014

All 3 of my kids slept 3-4 hour stretches from day one on BM. I had to wake them at 3 hours until they were back to their birth weight, but sometimes I'd accidently sleep through and it went to 4 hours until they woke. It all depends on the baby. They slept 5-6 hour stretches by 6 weeks.

MrsLele · October 2014

My EBF 10 week old has been sleeping 8-10hr stretches since 4 weeks. Not sure how but I am not asking questions

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genmccarley · October 2014

Yes. Many BF babies STTN. Newborns don't typically sleep through as a general statement. My son was BF and he never woke more than once or twice a night to nurse. There are many other things to consider rather than just saying he is sleeping longer because she has switched to formula.

sunflwr2 · October 2014

I always heard if a baby is ebf that they may possibly be getting less then a formula fed baby. Theres no way of knowing how much they are getting. Im thinking this time around I may do bottled breast milk at night for a later feeding and see how it works.

73jewels · October 2014

I think it really depends on the babies. I EBF till we started solids around 5 months, then EBF with solids till about 8 months and now do formula while apart, BM while together and 3 good solid meals a day (he's 10.5 months).

By 5 weeks we was sleeping about 8-9 hours a night, waking up just once after about 5 1/2 hours to eat and fall right back asleep. By 8 weeks, he was sleeping about 10 hours, waking up about 6.5/7 hours to eat and fall right back to sleep. he kept increasing the time at night, with just that one wake up till about 8 months, when suddenly he started waking up 3-4 times a night! He did this for the past 2 months, finally getting back to normal a week or 2 ago.

So my baby slept better when exclusively breastfed in the beginning then he did once I started adding formula and more food - which everyone says makes them sleep better. It really depends on the baby.

MrsLele · October 2014

My EBF 11 week old sleeps anywhere from 8-10 hrs every night. Since I stopped waking her to nurse around 2 weeks, she hasn't woken up at all.

htk1113 · October 2014

I agree with pp. I've always read breast milk digests faster than formula. However, I think it's really baby to baby. I recall my lo being 2-3 hours between feedings during the day and at night was able to go 3-4 hours between feedings. He started really sleeping through the night between 5 and 6 months.

In the beginning I would encourage night feeding to ensure a good supply.

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BF'ing vs. Formula Feeding - sleeping at night+

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