4 month old breast feeding issues

[nicola2007]

i'll try and keep this short 

My LO was sleeping for 7/8 hour stretches from about 7 weeks, then we put him in his own cot in his own room and he started waking twice in the night (Once around 1.30 then about 4).  I started feeding him (Big mistake) now he always wants feeing at night, if not he screams.

In the day he seems really uninterested in breatfeeding.  He keeps popping on and of and looking around smiling at me etc. I feed him every 3 hours.

I am considering giving him a top up feed of formula with the last feed of the night. Oh yeah we have also started a DF as of 3 days ago, not working!

As formula milk has a higher fat content i'm wondering if this may last him longer.  Im also wondering if he's not interested in breastfeeding anymore?

He also becomes frustrated once the fast flow has gone ans won't work for the milk so i have to put him on the other side so he's never getting the creamy milk.

Not sure if formula will help but can't cope with these night waking anymore.  Whe i don't feed him at the 1.30-2am waking he wake every 1/2 hour after that.  When i do feed him he hardly takes any?

Can anyone help!!!

[EllenS]

Sounds like you could be dealing with several things: the 4 month growth spurt, plus increased alertness/engagement with his surroundings, and/or the need to move to a 4 hour schedule.  They do take larger feedings when on a 4 hour routine, some babies are ready at 4 months, some bf babies take a little longer.  Have you tried stretching his day feeds to 3.5 hours?  there is a thread on doing the transition in the Easy board.  If he is hungrier he may feed better.

He also could just be eating much more quickly.

I doubt formula will help as long as your supply is adequate, as BM has more calories than most formulas.

Try minimizing distractions when feeding in the day (I had to put dd's head under my shirt) or nurse in a dark/quiet room.  Some people also find a nursing necklace helps, to keep the baby focused on you/give them something to play with.

Sorry to ramble, it could be a lot of things, "lost interest in bf" is VERY unlikely.

[Samuel's mum]

Just to be 'statistics woman' for a moment. BM has both a higher calorie content and a higher fat content than commercial formulas - not by a huge amount but there's a slight difference.
Human milk 22cal per oz, 1.2 fat grams
Formula milk  20 cal, 1.06 fat grams
That's an 'average' so at some times of the day and during a feed milk will be obviously higher and lower in fat content.

I think if you are dealing with some patterns and behaviour at the breast you need to address those rather than change the milk. Plenty of bottlefeeding babies have night wakings and feeds.

I agree he might be ready for longer intervals in the day if he's not interested at the 3hr mark. Perhaps check out the EASY board for transitioning to 3.5 or even 4. You need to try and increase his feeding effectiveness in the day as you suggest. I'd also agree with trying to minimise distractions in the day.
If you feel he's not working hard enough at the breast you could use some breast compressions to help him reach the hindmilk: https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=88759.0
If you need to change sides to keep him going - you can always return to the first side again for the hindmilk. There will be a new letdown richer in hindmilk. Infact you can change several times if you really need to.

DFs can take a few days to kick in so don't give up on that just yet. You may need to play around with timing.

Babies at this age don't self-wean and 'lose interest' although the world does become very interesting and bfing can sometimes lose its status in all the excitement! It's not a phase that lasts forever but a different routine and trying things like breast compressions may help.