Formula for bedtime only?

Question

My son is EBF and eats every 1.5-2hrs (about 2-3oz at a time). He gets up 4 times a night and I have to nurse him to get him to fall asleep again. (He will not take a pacifier, and sometimes just wants to pacify on mama.) I exclusively breastfed my 1st born for 10 months then supplemented a bit until 1 year, so I am alll about EBF as long as I can with this one. However, we did the cry it out method with my first and while it worked, it was awful. I'm considering giving LO formula for his bedtime feeding only, to see if he will sleep through the night since formula digests slower. Has anyone tried this? I would still pump after that feeding to keep my supply up and if I wanted to occasionally nurse him to sleep, I would still have that option.

Answer

There's nothing to say that formula keeps baby asleep longer in any studies I've seen or heard about. I personally wouldn't jeopardize my breastfeeding relationship by introducing formula if I didn't have to. 
We were sleep training which was going well but then lately my son has started waking every 1.5 to 2 hours again. It's rough, but it's worth it for me. They only stay little for so long and he will only need me for nourishment for a short while, it's a grain of sand for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Answer

Not every baby can sleep through the night at 4 months, but waking up 4 times is a lot. Formula might not change anything. If I were you I would try and get baby to eat more during the day. My pretty sure my LO takes around 4 ounces a feeding. She wakes up twice at night.

Answer

It sounds like you need to get him eating more at one time. My son is on formula and ate 3 oz every 1.5-2 hours, and I slowly added .5 more to his bottles until he started eating 6 oz at a time, every 3.5-4 hours and that made him sleep better

Answer

I gave formula (also tried adding rice cereal to breast milk) to my EBF baby that woke every 2-3 hours at night and he continued to wake the same amount until he was about 6 months. Thank goodness this baby is a better sleeper. I would still give it a try

Answer

Question for all those that do this - do you give a full formula feed? I breastfeed all day, but giving a whole 7oz of formula at bedtime seems like a lot after not knowing how much breast milk he takes in during the day. Don't want to over feed.

Answer

I supplement my ebf baby in the evening with formula. so this way she will take a bottle when someone else is looking after her. I found it does make a difference at night! and it helped us get over that 4 month sleep regression!

Answer

I breastfeed my daughter through the day every 3 hours and while she is in daycare she has has a couple of bottles of expressed milk, but for her last meal I give her formula. I didn't do it because I wanted her to sleep more, but because I was
going back to work and wanted  to increase my supply (I pump at night while her father feeds her). She usually takes 5.5 oz and sleeps from 12 to 6 am now, but when I started with this routine she would still eat every 3-4 hours. Hope this helps. Good luck :)🍀

Answer

For reference, my son is 4 months old and we recently had to have the option of formula supplement bottles as he was eating wayyyy more by bottle when I was at work compared to what I could pump and bring home. I had my husband give him the formula bottle before bed and it did it make a difference on his sleep length....

Answer

Pump breast milk if you can and add a half tablespoon baby cereal or do the formula option. I have to do exactly what you do every night with my baby too...if you need sleep to be healthy and happy do what works for your family

Answer

Following, thinking of doing the same.

Formula for bedtime only?

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