is breastfeeding making my 4month old wake more often???

[Alexa's mummy]

hi there,

have posted before and had fab advice. tweaked routine which is generally working wonders. we had disrupted nights recently due to routine probs and teething but both those seems to be sorted atm.

my DD is textbook/touchy, 19 weeks and settles to sleep independently for naps and night time sleeps. she is now on 2h 15mins A time and doing (mostly) 2hr naps 

we are combination feeding, i had had problems with my supply before, but in the last few weeks it had improved due to BF'ing more frequently and eating oats so i have reduced to just 2 formula feeds at BT and the DF and the rest are BF's. i tend to BF her about twice in every A time as i think when she was 10weeks or so feeding every 3 hours was causing her to wake hungry every 2hrs n night. plus i think BF'ing less frequently caused in part my supply issues.

so, she is feeding well in the day (not frustrated anymore) and napping well (not OT) yet she still cannot go longer than 3hours between feeds at night.

yesterday was a pretty perfect day for us, she did:

Up: 6ish
A: 6-8.15
S: 8.20-10.30 (had to wake her)
A: 10.30- 12.45
S: 12.50-2.55
A: 2.55- 4.50 (seemed v tired)
S: 4.55-5.30 (in car)
A: 5.30-6.30 (BT routine incl BF at 5.30)
E: 6.30 -7oz formula
S: 7pm (self settled)

she then woke for DF at 10pm - took 7oz formula again
woke at 1am- BF at 1.20am
woke at 4.15am, i managed to settle her without feeding, but she was awake cooing in cot til 5am (when i fell asleep so could have been longer) then awake for day at 6/6.15.

is me feeding her more regularly than every 4hours causing her to expect more frequnt feeds? she has gone longer before... used to take DF at 10.45 and wake between 2-4am then up at 7. our mornings are getting earlier and earlier, and she's waking for DF hungry. if i wasnt giving FF at the BT feed and DF i would be less confident but she's taking 7 oz so cant be so hungry to not last 3 hours??

she was crying when woke at 4.15 but when i went and settled her she stayed awake cooing til at least 5am. is she having too much daytime sleep??

any ideas would be v helpful

Anna xx

[Alexa's mummy]

anyone any ideas?? again last night fed at 10.30, 1.45 and 5am. wakings arent habitual but seem habitually every 3.25hrs!! she seems genuinely hungry.... anyone had experience of introducing baby rice at this age (neary 19wks)?? i had really hoped to do more of a baby led weaning approach...

[Alexa's mummy]

thanks jane!! yes settling independently for all sleeps. i have to wake her for most naps!! very happy baby now too, its just i'm worried if these feeding carry on too long they'll become habitual.

thanks again xxx

[Alexa's mummy]

plus she's gone from 1 pooey nappy a day to 3 or 4 so def getting enough milk??!!

[Canwi]

Hi.  Looked at your routine and it looks pretty good to me.  Some LO's just don't STTN as early as their mothers would like them to and they feed o/night for longer than other babies.    And it's not BFing or FFing that necessarily makes the difference. 
Here are some links to some threads that touch on the subjects of NW, feeding o/night and STTN

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=98183.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=87815.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=53450.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=52878.0

HTH

[Alexa's mummy]

hi canwi,

thanks for your help. reassuring at least to know i'm not doing anything "wrong"!! strangely yesterday she was back to being pretty unsatisfied at BF's during the day so i'd topped her up with formula afer BF's and she was only up once in the night after DF. i think she's always reluctant to work for it lol and therefore tops up in the night!

i think i might just slowly increase the bottle feeds and mix with the EBM i've got stocked in freezer, and prob be down to all FF's by 6mo. its a shame in some ways as i was back to enjoying BF's (tho i know i could continue and just accept the NWs, i dont htink i can carry on with those for too much longer!  )

i guess this BF'ing lark just works better for some mums/bubs than others. i've got a friend who's excl BF'ing at 20weeks and he's down to 4feeds in day and sleeps 7pm-7.30am!!

thanks again for your help

Anna x

[Alexa's mummy]

ps is it possible my milk is less fatty/calorific than others and therefore less satisfying or is it more to do with how much my daughter takes at a time?

[Canwi]

ps is it possible my milk is less fatty/calorific than others and therefore less satisfying or is it more to do with how much my daughter takes at a time?

Very, very unlikely.  In all honesty I think you have mentioned the answer yourself in your previous post

i think she's always reluctant to work for it lol and therefore tops up in the night!

You may have heard of the term 'nipple confusion' - usually used in reference to babies developing preference for bottle over breast.
What is a more accurate term to describe this is "flow preference".  LO quite literally doesn't have to work as hard to get milk from a bottle and so they start to prefer it and not BF as much or as well.

If you truly want to continue to BF, then stop feeding her any bottles for a period of time and make her have to work for her milk.  She will be grumpy and put out, but will come round to the idea.
If weaning off BF to FF works for you for this and/or other reasons be comforted that your LO has had a good start in life for the BFing you have done.

Just a word of caution, the NW may not stop for a while yet regardless of whether she is on formula or breastmilk.  What a child takes as their main source of nutrition is by no means a guarantee that there will be no NW.  eg I have a friend who couldn't BF (she'd had breast reduction surgery in her past & they nicked too many ducts).  Her FF LO still has NW at 18 mths old.  My DS1 was exclusively BF until he was 6mths and then after introducing solids I continue to BF until he was almost 2.  He decided one day around 4mths old that he didn't need to BF overnight anymore and that was it. 

[Alexa's mummy]

hi canwi,

thanks again  . i think you're probably right, maybe some days she's happier to work for it than others meaning better BF'ing days. also i am feeling v run down (not sure if sleep dep or getting  cold) so perhaps this cld affect my supply. i think i am just going to continue BF'ing and topping up with formula which will result in it winding down sooner rather than later, and like u said, be happy with how much we managed to do. its certainly been harder than i expected it to be but she's had a good start 

i am due back at work soon so would really like good nights before then if possible!

thanks again for the info,

Anna x

[Canwi]

Glad I could help put your mind at ease Anna.  You have done a really good job to BF for this long.
If you decide to have more LO's you know you can do it and you know what kinds of hurdles may occur.

[Alexa's mummy]

i thought the very same thing today! i will not introduce bottles til 6months, and eat porridge everyday from day one!!