Feel selfish for wanting to switch to formula

[babyfromgod]

I feel so selfish for wanting to formula feed because my only reasons are more sleep and i want to go on a diet that i can't do while bfing and i also just want my body back. I have no reason to stop bfing as it is going reasonably well. I also know i would feel guilty if i stopped but i can't make up my mind what to do, i think about it daily

 

[Noelle610]

If you do stop, you want to be 100% sure you're making the right choice for you and your baby... it's a tough one!

I understand how difficult it is to go without sleep. In fact, I got in a big fight with DH today when he woke me up Have you considered expressing a bit and allowing your OH to give baby a bottle once in the evening?

There's also the option of combination feeding. There's no reason you can't nurse your baby and give formula. Your supply will drop, but if you're okay with supplementing with formula, I don't think it would be much of an issue.

 

[beatnick]

Don't feel bad but make sure you are100%as I wasn't and thn had to relactate. However I've just give up combination feeding as iri has grown to love formula. However now we are on bottles he goes to be about730 and wakes only once in the night so is clearly more settled!

 

[kat2504]

Formula will not necessarily give you more sleep. There are plenty of breastfed babies who sleep longer earlier and plenty of formula fed babies that have their mummies up all night. If you gave up for getting sleep and it didn't happen you might feel bad. Also getting up in the night to prepare and warm bottles means that LO gets more wound up from being hungry and you have to get out of bed and you both could take longer to get back to sleep. As for the diet, it is safe to lose weight on a sensible healthy diet if you are breastfeeding. Many organizations such as weight watchers and slimming world have plans for breastfeeding mothers.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You could get your OH to feed a bottle of formula or expressed milk late in the evening or for the first nightfeed so you can go to bed early and get more sleep. then you can breastfeed the rest of the time

 

[babyfromgod]

Thanks for the nice responses, i thought i would get attacked for posting this. I have been thinking a lot about it and i think i am just going to continue breastfeeding until at least 6 months. I know i would get so guilty if i gave up breastfeeding to lose weight and get more sleep as there is plenty of time for that and they are only little once.

I am going to write myself out a healthy eating plan and go for walks to help me lose weight and as for sleep, i like the idea of getting OH to give an expressed bottle of milk, i could even try giving a bottle of formula before bed to help him sleep that little bit longer so i can get extra sleep. I can't really complain though as he goes 3 1/2-4hrs between feeds in the night

 

[kat2504]

Here is how expressing works best for me:
If I wake up before the baby in the morning, I express a bit from one breast then. If not I do it after feeding
Then I do a little bit more during his mid morning nap (unless he insists on sleeping in sling or i have somewhere to go)
If he only feeds from one breast I pump a bit from the other unless I am not at home.

If I want to go to bed early I pump as much as i can at 9pm and up to bed I go, along with the morning expressing this is usually enough to make a decent bottle, OH does a feed sometime between 10 and 11 and changes nappy and gets LO ready for bed and brings him up and settles him (he is still in our room at night). So I can sleep from 9.20 till about 3.30am. In return for this, if LO is wanting to get up at 6 to feed, I take him downstairs so that OH can sleep in peace until he needs to get up for work.

 

[DukesAngel]

I agree with the others that switching from breast to formula won't mean that the LO will sleep through the night. My LO just NOW started sleeping through the night and she is 18 weeks old! Sometimes the babies just gotta work it all out on their own

 

[bumpin2012]

My lo is up every 2 hours these days. I got more sleep when he was 3 weeks old!

 

[bumpin2012]

Double post

 

[Bumblebee117]

My daughter is exclusively breastfed and has slept through a few times in the past week! My son has about 4oz of expressed breast milk a day and the rest is formula! He only slept through once... when his sister woke twice of course!

I think you can just try what kat suggested and either express so OH can do a night feed or give one formula bottle. whatever you prefer!

I am upset that my son refuses the breast since he was about 3 months old... I would have loved to breastfeed them both til 6 months.

I will continue as long as I can with the expressing for both my babies after the 6 months but want my daughter to start taking some formula too once she is 6 months old so "I" can sleep one night through! that would be A - MA - ZING!

 

[Arisa]

hey there babyfromgod, well to be honest if your LO is sleeping 3-3.5 hours in between feeds then that is brilliant, its the same as my girl who is formula fed so if sleep was a reason then i think you are lucky as I know tons of BFeeding mothers who only get about an hour or so of sleep in between feeds so your boy is getting a good supply each time by the sound of things

and through the day our girl is fussing and crying just like any hungry baby breastfed or otherwise so its not really any different in terms of keeping them calmer or more "Full" because being full and knowing how much they are getting each feed does not always mean they are instantly satisfied, i wish it did though

 

[lozzy21]

Of your wanting to loose weight you can do slimming world when BF.