Confused about sleep and formula

[neostarwcc]

@jimdubu If the baby takes a bottle, someone else can also take a shift with pumped milk. I get a 5-6 hour chunk every other night and we do no formula, all breast milk- my husband just gives her a bottle.

 

[oldfashiongal]

@nader1 I have had an awful sleeper, and we have started using huckleberry. I know some people have been against it, but since using it consistently the last month my awful sleeper has turned into a significantly better sleeper. He’s still not great, but I am getting significantly more sleep. Also on the formula vs breastmilk, I don’t see a difference in my own baby. He goes longer between feeds but he still wakes up a few times a night.

 

[shatteredparadigm]

@nader1 I formula fed and she never ever slept.

 

[christylovebug]

@nader1 I was still breastfeeding when my daughter started sleeping through the night at 4mo, even though I was having a lot of issues with it and started combo feeding soon after because of supply issues.

 

[raven00]

@nader1 Anecdotally I think the trick is the feeding routine, not the formula. If you’re already desperate and thinking of giving up feeding, consider putting baby on a routine first. If it affects your breastfeeding, it doesn’t matter because you were already considering moving to formula. At 10 weeks old a 3hr feeding routine is appropriate along with a feed/play/sleep routine.

I also think most babies can be taught to sleep well. I think it’s more rare that the good sleepers did it by accident. That’s my two cents, I hope you find some helpful advice!

 

[sanoy]

@raven00 Yeah I think it’s even easier than that - I bottle fed expressed milk with my first and am breastfeeding this one. The first one slept through the night early and stayed - this one slept longer stretches early but isn’t anymore (8 months). I think it’s that when the first fussed in his sleep I did anything I could to not have to go get another bottle - patting, shushing, singing, hugging - with this one if he cried I gave him the boob and he was immediately happy, so learning new ways to soothe have been hard since I didn’t realize I was shooting myself in the foot until he was older.

 

[raven00]

@sanoy Yes that could definitely be a contributing factor! It’s not that they’re hungry necessarily, but they rely on it for settling.

Some people don’t mind this so it’s fine! I however prefer sleep haha

 

[sanoy]

@raven00 I’m LOVING every cuddle! But I also could be convinced that sleeping more hours in a row would be nice…

 

[jjoy01]

@nader1 Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding without bedsharing is a great group on Facebook that’s evidence based

 

[seekerofthelivingword]

@nader1 We cosleep using this wedge pillow ,but we dont do the side sleeping . At night, she remains flat on her back in between each wedge. It provides me with a bumper. We sleep in a king size bed so everyone gets their own space. If i roll over in bed, she doesnt budge. But without it she tends to slide towards me, or worse roll into my breast if im still close enough from feeding her. This isnt a solution for everyone, just sharing what helped me get peaceful sleep. Like your friend, i wouldn't get good sleep without co sleeping

 

[stefany23]

@seekerofthelivingword Yeah umm. Just FYI for the OP — that definitely isn’t a safe way to co-sleep. Props and pillows aren’t safe for babies.

 

[ozark63]

@nader1 Formula increases SIDS risk,

But the idea of that increase being due to it increasing deep sleep is still just a theory, no one knows what causes SIDS

 

[katrina2017]

@ozark63 Can you share your sources on that?

 

[fenixar]

@ozark63 Breastfeeding causes a protective advantage to SIDS like offering a pacifier at bedtime. Formula doesn’t automatically increase the risk of SIDS

 

[angel_sword]

@fenixar you are saying the same thing. If you look at breastfeeding as the biological baseline norm, formula increases SIDS risk. If you look at formula as the baseline norm, breastfeeding is a protective advantage. It’s the same thing.