or atleast remember something about it. A friend of mine is due in Dec. and is planning on breastfeeding. In order for the baby to sleep better through the night she is planning on feeding her a bottle of formula before bed. My suggestion to her was to wait a couple of weeks before introducing formula so her milk supply will be built up. My daughter refused to take a bottle until she was 7 months old so I don't know all that much about this. Let me know what you think. Thank you. -Leigha
[This message has been edited by kneadedone (edited 09-10-2003).]
HI! I breastfed my daughter for 3 months. When it was time for bed, I would put her to sleep in her basinet next to the bed. When she woke up to eat at night, I would just bring her into the bed with me. Sometimes I would fall back asleep while she was eating! It just seemed easier to have her sleep either right next to me or in the bed, rather then get up & go to her room whenever she would wake up!! When she was 3 months old, I had to go back to work so I tried to pump the milk for a little while, but that didn't really work for me so we switched to formula then. That was about 2 years ago & if I remember correctly, she didn't really have a problem with it. She drank the formula from the bottle till she was around 9 or 10 months old I think. One day I went to give her a bottle of formula & she just wouldn't drink it, so I tried milk & that is what she wanted!
Hello I breastfed my daughter for 1 year. Some of her best feedings were at night. I, too, would take her to bed with me and let her nurse. No matter what, a newborn is going to need to eat in the middle of the night. From what I have read, feeding your baby formula, or even cereal mixed in with the formula, does not promise anything. If your friend pumped a bottle before bedtime, it would not hurt her supply at all, and it would make it possible for her partner to take a turn feeding the baby sometimes. Also, please remind her that it is a good thing when babies wake to feed. Their tummies are little and need to be filled often, especially during growth spurts. I also read (can't remember where) that babies who wake frequently in the night are less likely to suffer from SIDS.
oh, I almost forgot. Yes, nipple confusion could happen. I waited 6 weeks before introducing breastmilk in a bottle AND a pacifier, since both can cause confusion or preference. My daughter had no trouble and would happily suck on anything, but some babies develop a preference.
[This message has been edited by Stenosis Mommy (edited 09-10-2003).]
Don't give the bottle until after a few weeks of breastfeeding. Hence why my new son likes the bottle more. The bottle takes no work for a baby and the breast does. If they get the bottle then the breast well the breast will likely fade out and they will adapt to the bottle only. She should wait about 3-4 weeks before introducing the bottle. The other reason for this is nipple confusion. It happened to me so trust me!!!
------------------
Marie
Mommy of Julia, Grace and our brand new son Benjamin!
I breastfed my first son for a year and a half and am now breastfeeding my second child. You do not need formula to help them sleep through the night. For the first few months it will not matter what they are getting, their tummys are just too small to go through the night without eating. I found that letting the baby come into our bed and nurse when they wake up is the least disturbing for any of us - I can rest while the baby eats. My son has just turned 4 months and he is now sleeping 9 - 10 hours in a stretch at night.
Hello! I breastfed my son and I introduced the bottel to him and he had no troubles with takeing it for bed.He did how ever prefer the breast milk over the formula. What she can do is pump and give the baby half breastmilk and half formula and gradually move to formula only. Best of luck
I breastfed my son for 5 months when due to personal issues I had to wean him....but now he is almost 7 months old and on formula.....he STILL does not sleep through the night so in my opionion the whole formula fed babies sleeping through the night ealier thing is a big fat MYTH.
I breastfed my son for 5 months when due to personal issues I had to wean him....but now he is almost 7 months old and on formula.....he STILL does not sleep through the night so in my opionion the whole formula fed babies sleeping through the night ealier thing is a big fat MYTH.
I breastfed my baby for 4 months. After about 1 month I also introduced formula once a day so that she would know what it was like and also because I was worried she wasn't getting enough breastmilk (new mom
She was sleeping through the night at 1 month old while breastfeeding.
She didn't experience nipple confusion and liked breastmilk better for awhile. When I weaned her we didn't have any problems. She liked the formula and also liked the idea of less work for her!!
We also gave her a passifier in the early weeks and last month she spit it out and never wanted it back again...
I guess every baby is different. Let the baby tell her what he/she wants.
But pumping while suplimenting with formula is always a good idea too keep up milk production.
------------------
Take Care All,
Tam
Mother to a beautiful baby girl.
London Belanger
born March 12 @ 9lbs 6oz
__________________
Take Care All,
Tam
Mother to a beautiful baby girl.
London Belanger
born March 12 @ 9lbs 6oz
My daughter is almost 3 months old, I'm breastfeeding but I've gone back to work so I'm pumping and storing.
Since I was going back to work, we needed to make sure she would drink from a bottle and that she would drink formula. At 3 weeks, I mixed a little formula into the breastmilk and gradually increased it until she was getting one bottle of formula before bed. This didn't make a bit of difference in how long she slept, but my husband got to feed her and I could pump.
This gives me some "me" time when I'm awake enough to enjoy it.
He wouldn't have minded giving her a bottle in the middle of the night, but I would have needed to pump anyway.
I started with a hand pump, when I got the electric pump it took more than a week to really get used to it.
So far I've been able to pump more each day than she drinks while in day care.
Question for woman who have breastfed 
