Formula feeding

[poochielove]

I tried Teddy on a bottle of formula last night to see if he would sleep for a bit longer. I fed him at 10pm and he ended up demolishing 7oz with what seemed like ease! Iburped and burped him as i know bottle fed babies bring more back up and nothing but a few burps. He got drowsy so i put him in his moses basket and tucked him up, 2 minutes later he puked everywhere and it seemed to be loads! So out he came and i cleaned him up and changed his basket sheets, blanket, baby grow...by which point he was wide awake i had him on my chest trying to get him to sleep for about a hour when he did a really loud burp and puked all over me, again loads! So i spent another half an hour changing him, sheets, blankets and myself. He finally fell asleep around 1am and slept till almost 5! So he went 10.30-5 with no feeds! In a way it worked.
So i need some advice 1. i want to minimalise the puking 2. how many ozs should i be giving so he doesnt over feed? 3. my boobs had leaked everywhere through my breastpads and bra and were very hard by 5am, when should i express? Straight after he has a bottle?
Thanks in advance

 

[ninjawomble]

Ive sent you a pm on facebook hun, but the advice I could give on the puke front that have worked for me are:-
She usually pukes coz shes full of wind, she guzzles her milk like mad, sounds like Teddy does the same. So I aim to burp her after each ounce she drinks.
Sometimes it coz her eyes are bigger than her belly and shes guzzled her milk but had too much and theres no room left...resulting in a projectile display! So I usually give her a break in the middle of the bottle..change her nappy or just have a cuddle until she starts whinging for the rest of the bottle. It sounds a faff but it honestly doesnt take that long.
Sleeping 1am-5am is really good hun!
Isla did exactly the same last night, and I never thought Id be so excited at having 5 hours sleep! I remember the days where Id have 10 hours!

As for how many ounces, Isla has up to 5 oz a feed (but usually takes 4), and I now do the same at night, coz if she does puke and make room, Ive got the extra there, without having to go make extra.

 

[beanie]

I don't know the first thing about bottle feeding amounts but 7oz sounds a heck of a lot for a little tummy. This was probably why he was sick as he was so full. When a breastfed baby has a bottle they look as though they are gulping it down, as they are not used to it. With boob they have to use their jaw muscles to squeeze the milk out whereas the bottle fills their mouth with milk, so they swallow it then their mouth is full of milk again etc etc. I would give him only a few ounces at a time and see if he settles then give another ounce or so if he still wants some. I remember giving Seren a bottle and her throwing the whole lot up - it was like the exorcist only white not green and without the two priests in the room.

Whether to express depends on whether you will be feeding a bottle at that time all the time. If it just a temporary thing then I would still express (you could use that milk for the bottle feed the next night??) so you still produce milk at that time. however you were going to permanantly give a bottle at the same time I would perhaps only express a bit off to relieve any discomfort but not more then that so your body gets the message milk is not needed at that time.

 

[kalia]

At that age we had to burp her after every ounce or else she would be sick. That was with expressed breast milk so the problem was the bottle not the contents. If she was grumpy about being burper we would give her a dummy as we did it as air seemed to come out easier if she was calm.

 

[mibiuk]

Hi there,

Not sure if what i am about to say is going to make much sense so please bear with me.

I would start giving you baby about a 5oz bottle and as Kalia said try burping after every oz given it does help, I had the same experience with my first son puked up loads and it frightened me that I to call my husband home to help me get our son fed. If you are really unsure about what to do your Health Visitor is the best person to speak to, mine had great advice but varies from mother & baby to how best to fed your baby. If you need to express do it, it may give you an idea of what you can get off your breast thats what my health visitor told me, I could only get 3oz off not a drop more and knew with my babies weight that bottle feeding was my only option.

Sorry for being so vague but im not an experienced breast feeder and don't want to give you the wrong advice.

Take care and good luck in what you decide to do
Kathy

 

[keelie_b]

hiya, I give my baby a formula top up at night as well to try and get a few hours and have to say its been very successfull. The recommendation on the box says 4oz for babies up to 2 months old. This is how much we give Dylan, but then again he always leaves about half an ounce so sounds like your little one has a much bigger appetite. Maybe try giving him 5oz and see how he gets on with that? that really should fill him so after that try and distract him with rocking or cuddling so that he realises he actually is full and doesnt need any more than that. hopefully then should fall asleep. We get about 4 hours after the bottle and its bliss because he only lasts about an hour between BF's. I was lazy and didnt express any milk through the night even though they were ready to burst but seem to find that once the bottled milk had passed through Dylan would just empty my boobs through the night anyway. Just stock up and breast pads!! If your planning to use a top up as a long term thing, after a while your boobs should start making less at that time of night. thats how i understand it someone please correct me if im wrong but now when i wake up to feed Dylan through the night my boobs arent uncomfortably full anymore so my body has realised that i dont need that much anymore. And deffinately wind reguarly throughout the bottle Dylan brings loads up. He is quite a sicky baby so still throws up a bit but settles shortly after. Also takes a while for babies to get used to the different milk. If this is what you want to do though, persist with it we've found it really works for us hopefully you'll get some kip as well xx

 

[Steelgoddess]

I have skimmed the other posts so will try not to rehash but summerise. I agree 7 is quite alot I would start with about 4 and if baby seems to be rinsing the bottle then yes have short breaks by burping.

Hope you are feeling a bit better now hon

 

[ASD123456]

I'd say the amount is the problem. Rudy drinks 7oz a time and is just about 6 months and a very big baby. I'd give him a max of 4oz per bottle at this stage although I'm not sure as I was BF too at 1 month.

Hope that helps.

x

 

[kalia]

I think if he wants 7oz you should give him 7oz. But do burp every oz. Remember he has little tummy etc. As he drinks the air is trapped underneath but because he's little the milk gets pushed out with the air. Getting the air out more often should stop this. After a month or so you can reduce to burping every other oz, then later to twice a feed. Now DD is only burped at the end of her feed but that has only been since around 6 months.

 

[emmie]

Blake is only 3 weeks and a bit old and he is having 6oz bottles and drinking 5 and a bit of it, the amount your giving him isnt the problem, but you do need to burp hima few times during the feed this will stop the puking, if he has had more than he wants he will bring it back up so the amount isnt a problem in my eyes, this is what my health visitor has been telling me.

 

[lea m]

I agree with Kalia! If he drinks 7oz then offer that to him but make sure you get up some good burps! Ive never needed to get wind up with every ounce but all babies are different and as Kalia said, her LO needed that so might Teddy!
Lola-Mae drank 8 oz the other day (a one off but still...) she generally has 6 and has since about 6 weeks!

 

[poochielove]

Thanks for the fab advice as usual girls! Esp. keelie_b as your are doing pretty much exactly as i plan to. I gave him 2oz last night and burped him for ages lol (also i covered myself in towels! ) then gave him boob...and he slept for almost 5 hours!!! So i got a good chunk of sleep. I plan to up the oz until he doesnt need boob aswell so i can get a good run of sleep each night. Doing it slowly i am hoping his stomach will get a little more used to the formula.
I feel soooo much better for some kip!

 

[lea m]

Yay on getting a bit extra sleep hun! Really makes a difference doesnt it!