Sleep
deprivation is tough for everyone and if your little one wakes several times a
night you can soon find yourself desperate for answers. Parents of breastfed
babies sometimes wonder if switching to formula, or formula at bedtime, would
get them a good night's sleep.
Formula
milk is digested more slowly than breast milk so in the very early days a
formula fed baby might sleep a little longer between feeds. Having said that,
after the first few weeks breastfed babies can sleep just as well, and many
formula fed babies have trouble sleeping all night. I believe that mums should
be supported in achieving their feeding choices, whatever those are, and there
are many reasons why you might choose to use formula. Having said that,
breastfeeding is great for you and your baby and I always feel very sad when I
speak to a mum who has given up breastfeeding (even though she wanted to
continue) just because she hoped her baby would sleep better. Please do seek advice regarding breastfeeding problems if you’re in this situation.
An older
baby who is genuinely waking from hunger in the night might not be getting the
milk they need during the day. In this case formula might help, but so would
more breast milk. Try taking a few days to rest as much as you can, eat well,
stay hydrated and feed the baby as often and for as long as you can during the
day, or express extra milk between feeds. This should boost your milk supply
and reassure you that hunger is not the problem.
Frequent
night waking is not normally due to hunger. Many mothers are happy to feed
their baby once or twice during the night, just not every half an hour! If that
is your aim it is a perfectly good one and you can encourage your baby to sleep
well in between feeds without giving up breastfeeding. When the baby is
sleeping well between feeds you should find that feeds are dropped naturally
when they are no longer needed.
The problem
is most likely to be with the way your baby falls asleep. If they always fall
asleep while at the breast (or being rocked, or whatever it is you do to get
them to sleep) then the baby will expect to be at the breast whenever they come
into a light sleep or need to resettle. Imagine falling asleep in your bed and
waking up on the kitchen floor, you wouldn't be able to go back to sleep until
you went back to bed. The same is true for a baby. They fall asleep sucking at
the breast, in dim light, held in arms. These are the things they associate
with sleep. So they are surprised to wake in a bed in the dark and cry out to
have "normality" restored.
The
solution is to teach your baby the sleep associations you want them to have.
For most people this will be sleeping in a bed, without any artificial aids.
Even things like music should be avoided unless you want to have it playing all
night, and remember to take it with you when you travel. There are lots of ways
to help your baby form new sleep habits, and different methods suit different
babies and families.
For
personalised advice for your family contact Lorna at Greatvine.