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Supplementing at night help

MrsStangerMrsStanger member
in Babies: 3 - 6 Months

I am looking to start supplementing at night. I EP and either DH or I will get up with DS once a night to feed him. That being said we are coming into DH really busy time of the year and I am feeling a bit selfish. With DD she was FF and sleeping through the night at 3 months. If I were to supplement at night with formula how much do I give? will it mess with his day time feedings? I know that Formula typically fills babies tummies more than BM. Im worried about making things worse but at this point im beyond exhausted!

Does anyone else do BM during the day and then FF at night? How did the switch go for you?

I know parents suggest not to mix but I want to try and see if this works better for us. I (in my head) can already here the negatives. I just need to try something else. what we are currently doing isn't working for me.

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Re: Supplementing at night help

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    PrimRoseMamaPrimRoseMama member
    Sorry you are tired, but that's part of parenting. It's unfair to everyone to compare babies. If you don't pump at night you could negatively affect your supply. If you FF at night then pump to simulate the full feeding for your breasts.

    Formula won't necessarily keep baby fuller longer. It's just a little more involved to digest. It's unreasonable to expect this child to behave as your other child did. Formula or breast milk has no effect on the needs of this individual baby.

    Babies wake in the night. It's just a part of the deal. I'm sorry & I know that sleep deprivation is a pain in the butt.


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    SlapdashaliceSlapdashalice member
    We mix :) She is always starving at night so I breastfeed her as much as she wants and then offer some formula. Sometimes she isn't interested, sometimes she takes an ounce or two and sometimes she drinks four ounces and still wants more. She sleeps through the night and it doesn't seem to have affected my supply although as I said I do breastfeed her first. I am not an expert on breastfeeding but it seems like if you drop a feed and then start doing it again your body catches up. When she stopped waking in the night at first I would wake up with sore breasts then after a while that stopped. Then I needed to collect a bunch of milk because I had to work and the only time that I could do that when she didn't need to feed was at 3am so I set my alarm and pumped. After a few days when I wanted to stop my breasts got full and sore at that time again so they were clearly keeping up with the new demand.
    Yes part of parenting is being tired but if something isn't working then of course you can try something else. So long as your baby has a full tummy he/she won't care if there is a little formula in the mix especially if the extra sleep makes you able to be a better (and safer) mom during the day. Exhaustion is no joke and at some point being able to be patient, kind and involved with BOTH of your children might outweigh the benefits of exclusively breastfeeding for your family.  
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    MrsStangerMrsStanger member

    Thank you guys! We have been trying different things. (once we spoke to the pedi) we realized there was more going on. He had RSV which is why the time he was waking was so terrible. We are back to normal and doing things "normally". Ive noticed that if I fluctuate when I pump ill get sore, but my supply has not altered at all. Im still on track thankfully! What made you supplement formula after a feeding? Since I exclusively pump I know ill be getting up through the night regardless. I think the screams from little man are what sent me into a panic.

    I don't think I intentionally compare my children, but as a parent its just going to happen. They are polar opposites and I suppose its harder for me to accept at this time. That being said I don't favor nor will I push one to be like the other. I come from a family of 8 and we are all so much alike that to have 2 of my own nothing alike has been shocking.

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    SlapdashaliceSlapdashalice member
    Poor little thing!  Well it's good you figured out what the problem was. I supplement at night because she is always starving at that time.  It's almost like she wants to "tank up" before her long stretch of sleep. She was on my boob from 6pm until 10pm until I started giving her something extra.  At first I gave her frozen BM but I couldn't keep up with the demand. I have never had a great supply though, it took two weeks and lots of lactation consultant visits to get my milk to come in at all and during that time we had to do the tube taped to the nipple thing with formula (I wanted to hang myself with that stupid tube lol!).  The she was exclusively breastfed until about 3 months when she seemed to need some extra again. I could wake up at 3am and pump to make that extra bottle but I have to work (and drive safely on the freeway!) and she sometimes wakes up in the night and needs feeding/comforting anyway so I cut myself a little slack and give her a bit of formula now. 
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    PrimRoseMamaPrimRoseMama member
    Slapdashalice said:

    Poor little thing!  Well it's good you figured out what the problem was. I supplement at night because she is always starving at that time.  It's almost like she wants to "tank up" before her long stretch of sleep. She was on my boob from 6pm until 10pm until I started giving her something extra.  At first I gave her frozen BM but I couldn't keep up with the demand. I have never had a great supply though, it took two weeks and lots of lactation consultant visits to get my milk to come in at all and during that time we had to do the tube taped to the nipple thing with formula (I wanted to hang myself with that stupid tube lol!).  The she was exclusively breastfed until about 3 months when she seemed to need some extra again. I could wake up at 3am and pump to make that extra bottle but I have to work (and drive safely on the freeway!) and she sometimes wakes up in the night and needs feeding/comforting anyway so I cut myself a little slack and give her a bit of formula now. 

    I am not anti-formula by any means-- but it's normal for BF babies to fill up before bed as you describe. It helps you regulate your supply that way.


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