Hungry breastfed Baby!! Should I give formula or start Weaning??

[Purple04]

Hi my LB is 5 months old today and it seems like he’s growing a lot these days might be a growth spurt but I get the feeling that my breast milk might not be enough. He sucks fine for a while and then starts getting all fussy and frustrated.

At first I thought it was his teething bothering him so I put the gel on his gums, give him a moment to settle with his dummy then pop my breast back into his mouth, he goes for it every time like he’s still hungry but then gets all fussy and frustrated again. Sadly this happens a lot at night and with his last feed.

I feel like he gives up and then just dozes off half full and possibly hungry. It’s happened all week and it’s breaking my heart!!! I don’t know what to do.

So I also have a few bags left of frozen milk and have defrosted some and fed him, which he drank the whole bottle full - 180ml. But I wanted to save these to add to his food and if I was sick etc.

I’m thinking he needs topping up but I’m feeling really guilty about giving him formula as I know it’s so processed, he’s only 5 months and I’ve been told it’s best wait 6 months to start the weaning ...

Which would be better, formula and which one do you recommend or start weaning? Has anyone else been in a similar situation?

Thanks,

Love & peace!

[Cheekymonkey85]

Trust your body, it's gotten you this far hun. If it's a growth spurt these fussy periods are what helps him up your supply to meet his demand.

I remember going through weeks where I felt like I was feeding short feeds every half hour, that I couldn't possibly have anything left to feed my boy and felt sore because of the frequency of the feeds. but I persevered and got through it quickly enough.

These really are just little phases and there's no way your milk isn't enough, it's designed just for your baby. If you decide to give more bottles, look up pace feeding. It's easy for a breastfed baby to guzzle a bottle down because they deliver milk faster than they get it from the breast. it's easy to mistake draining a bottle for a hungry baby. They need to drink it slower so they have chance to register that they are full or you end up over feeding if your not careful x

We started weaning slightly earlier than 6months, but only because he started stealing food off my plate so I just started him on tiny bits of veg.

[Purple04 in reply to Cheekymonkey85]

Thank you so much, I feel relieved it’s something quite common then, especially during growth spurts so maybe it’s just that. I know 💯 by boob has run out of milk though as it goes all floppy and soft and super lightweight.

Good on you for persevering, you’ve really given me hope!!! I do hope this is just a short phase and not a new phase!!

I’ll look into pace feeding thanks, it does make sense as my LB Just guzzles down on the bottle I’ve expressed and is all fussy on me, I’ve wondered if it’s the teething but my gut is telling me my supply is running short, also this might be the case if I’m feeling stressed 🤷🏽‍♀️

I think to avoid the over eating I’ll give him the bottle first with a little milk maybe and pray he goes for my breast after 🤲🏽🙏🏽

Awww good to Hear you started weaning early too, do you feel this caused any issues later with your little ones digestive system development. Or am I just over worried and over thinking this?

Thanks.

[Cheekymonkey85 in reply to Purple04]

My opinion on weaning, and this is only my opinion, is that babies are individual and will be ready at different times. My daughter wasn't really fully interested in food until almost 7months, but my son was stealing food from my plate just after 5months.

Don't worry about your boobs going soft, that too is completely normal when your supply has settled & baby is getting what they need. They shouldn't feel hard & engorged all the time. My son has just turned 1, still feeds through the night. I've pretty much returned to my original bra size now he's not feeding in the day and very soft, I doubt I could pump anything. Yet he still manages to get something for a bed time feed & once or twice through the night xx

[Kempton]

I'm sure you are producing enough milk. You wouldn't have got as far as you have if you weren't. Your baby's frustration could be down to many things, wind maybe, perhaps the let down is too fast/slow.

Things you could try are stopping a feed to have a burp, expressing extra milk and topping up with that, switching breasts. I can't remember exactly what age it is, but around 5 months I'm sure they go through a cluster feeding period and it feels like they're permanently attached to you!

Hope it gets easier soon. It's probably just another phase but don't feel bad about whatever decision you make.

[Purple04 in reply to Kempton]

Thanks so much, I’ll try this, I do express and try to save it for the last night Fred before bed as that’s the biggest struggle st the moment.

Good to know about the 5 month mark, thanks so much for your encouragement!!

[Kempton in reply to Purple04]

If you can (if baby isn't a kicker) pump whilstyou feed. It's such a time saver and the baby sucking is the best for stimulating let down.. plus no soggy breast pad or wasted milk!

[Purple04 in reply to Kempton]

Great idea I’ll try this. Although he only feeds on my left side as there’s hardly 20/30ml I get from pumping on the right side sadly 😔

[MissEd]

Its your choice. I weaned my lo at 5 and a half months. What i would say is dont feel guilty about giving him formula, my baby has been on it the whole time and i dont feel guilty at all, i didnt want to breast feed

[Purple04 in reply to MissEd]

Thanks for the advice really appreciate it!!

[Joey89]

My little man is 11 weeks I had to start introducing formula two to three times a day my breast milk just isn’t enough for him alone nothing wrong with doing both

[Purple04 in reply to Joey89]

Thank you that’s so good to hear and a big relief!!

[Ellstar87]

I had low supply and was told by countless midwives and health visitors it was just cluster feeding. My baby plummeted from 25th centile to 1.8 before they took me seriously. We are now at 10 months and breastfeeding with one bottle of formula a day. Get LO weighed, if weight is tracking fine then don’t worry, if he’s slipping then there is nothing wrong with offering a top up. We started solids the day ours turned 6 months. He was ready at about 5 but I waited as he was 5 weeks premature.

[Purple04 in reply to Ellstar87]

Really good advice thanks so much, I can understand why you wait to Wean. Ok that makes sense I’ve got to track his weight better, think I’ll go this week to get weighed, thanks.

[cmitcham]

My little girl went through a stage of doing this at about 4/5 months old. From newborn she would feed every 2/3 hours, she was 9.2 born and has always been a big chunk of a baby 😊 I used to worry all the time about not producing enough but at weigh in she always gains well.It was with her last feed before bed at about 4/5 months and she would latch normally and then get really frustrated and upset when the milk wasn’t there, or if it took to long to come through.It used to stress me out and get me and her so upset. What worked with her was making sure she didn’t feed for 2/3 hours before that final feed as she was in the habit of wanting to bf every hour in the evening also making sure in that time I drank a lot of water and ate something. I think it just gave my body chance to build up a good amount and when she had her last feed the milk would come through pretty quick. If she did fuss and cry I would put her on the other side and that would help. It was like she was tired and just wanted the milk there and then and didn’t want to work it through for a minute 😂She has since grown out of this and now happily latches of an evening and doesn’t make any fuss she’s 8 months now and still bf. Also we started weaning at 5 months she was ready and I just think trust your instincts you no your baby best.

[Purple04 in reply to cmitcham]

Thank you so much, this makes So much sense! I think because I had a few busy weeks I did t drink enough water and maybe my supply was going down, but due to this hot weather i remembered and I started to drink lots of water again which is helping. But this sounds exactly similar he’s too tired to drink the milk from me and would rather a bottle, I’m sooooo happy to hear this phase will go away.... great advice to not bf for a few hours at night that’s why I decided to start weaning last week too and I think it’s a good decision!! Thanks so much, I feel much better to hear this!!