[Mummy-2-1boy]

I am currently bf my 2nd bub - she is a great feeder but the last feed before bed at 6pm has become a nightmare. I bf my first bub for only 3 months & it was a terrible experience for both of us with every feed ending in a screaming baby & me in tears. But this time round it has so far been lovely so I don't want to do anything that might jeopardise it.
Our 6pm feed obviously coincides with her fussy time of day & she just wants to feed constantly but seems to get frustrated within a few mins of being on. She ends up so upset. I have a feeling my supply is lacking by the afternoon & not coming out fast enough for her. So I am considering expressing a bottle for her throughout the day & giving that to her instead... But my worry is that she will prefer the bottle & thus we will just have issues the rest of the time.
What do u guys think?

[Red Cabbage]

My almost 8week old fusses around 7:00pm, until about 8:30pm.

During this time, I allow him to feed as he wishes. So basically, give him both sides, and then 30 mins later might give him both sides again, and so on, until he settles.

He then sleeps a minimum of 7 hours.

[Ella'n'alex]

Kellymom has a page about it, with suggestions if you don't want to give a bottle.

Having said that, I quite often did. It didn't interfere with BF in our case, other than he got to expect a top up at that time of day, and you probably wont be able to stop doing it for that one feed (which didn't bother me, but it might bother you?). I'm not the type who can sit endlessly feeding, so it worked for us.

ETA link: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html

We've used a medela calma teat since he's been at creche and having more bottles, and it seems to be quite good, if that might help. He's been at creche since 4 months, and still BF at nearly 12 months (so there's been a whole lotta bottles in there!) if that gives you some confidence if you decide to try it.

This post has been edited by Ella'n'alex: 10/03/2012, 06:30 PM

[Guest_Hoggle_*]

I did it with my first and it made the world of difference to our evenings. It didn't effect our breastfeeding at all or my supply. I did exactly what you were thinking and expressed through the day and had 1 bottle for him that I would give him after his bath and then I would BF him after as well (he always BF to sleep). I went from having a screaming cranky baby that was impatient waiting for a letdown to a content easily settled baby as he wasn't starving when I BF him and was happy to just suck away and wait for it to come after he had the bottle.

I only did it for about 4 weeks and then he didn't need it anymore.

[Jo-Anna]

From my memory, and the advice of my MCHN was that at 6 weeks they go through a growth spurt. The constant feeding is designed as a trigger to stimulate more milk production as your baby grows. A formula top up may interfere with the messages your body is getting from baby. Sitting and feeding throughout the evening fussy time is frustrating, but its necessary for you and your bub. I found by 8 weeks it got much easier and my milk supply 'caught up' to demand. Hang in there.

Good luck.

[lucky 2]

From a behavioural point of view I'd encourage you to hang in there with the evening cluster feeding/switch feeding because this unsettledness in newborns peaks at 6-8 weeks, so it may be at its worst. This is a normal pattern of behaviour and it does change as baby matures.
Can you get some more help until until bub settles down a bit, to help you get through the evenings?

[Guest_Hoggle_*]

From my memory, and the advice of my MCHN was that at 6 weeks they go through a growth spurt. The constant feeding is designed as a trigger to stimulate more milk production as your baby grows. A formula top up may interfere with the messages your body is getting from baby. Sitting and feeding throughout the evening fussy time is frustrating, but its necessary for you and your bub. I found by 8 weeks it got much easier and my milk supply 'caught up' to demand. Hang in there.

Good luck.

She was talking about giving her baby expressed milk at that time. And it is all good and well to say just keep feeding but when you have a baby fussy and screaming at you because they are too impatient and hungry to wait for the milk then it doesn't help anyone. A little bit of extra EBM to satisfy their hunger so you can then BF them peacefully is ok I think. Better than the baby just screaming at her and not feeding at all.

[lucky 2]

She was talking about giving her baby expressed milk at that time. And it is all good and well to say just keep feeding but when you have a baby fussy and screaming at you because they are too impatient and hungry to wait for the milk then it doesn't help anyone. A little bit of extra EBM to satisfy their hunger so you can then BF them peacefully is ok I think. Better than the baby just screaming at her and not feeding at all.

Putting the formula issue aside, I suppose I'd encourage women (and men) to see this unsettledness and cluster feeding as normal and not an indication that baby is suffering or that something is wrong with baby or breast feeding.
It's true a baby may take an extra bit of ebm if offered but that doesn't mean the baby "needs" that extra bit of milk.
There is always milk being produced in the breasts, even as baby cries or is on the breast.
This is the design and function of the breasts.
The periods of unsettledness do pass and during this time the breasts are getting lots of stimulation and the baby is rewarded with lots of milk early the next morning.
It is very tiring and stressful, I remember having up to 8 hours of unsettledness at one stage, most babies peak at around 5 hours at this age.
There are other things that can be tried in addition to sucking on the breast, just to let a bit of milk build up, ie cuddling, warm bath, wrapping, walking, someone elses arms etc.
The "purple crying" website has lots of research based information of ways to soothe unsettled babies.
It really is ok to keep feeding or stopping if bub is upset and do something else and return to the breast later, this is what can naturally occur when exclusively bfing a young infant.

An unsettled babies can be quite a shock for a new mum who is not expecting it or who may be a little unsure about breast feeding. Partners and families can also question breast feeding when they are faced with not only an unsettled baby but also an upset mum.

OP another great resource for you could be calling the ABA 24 hour help line to discuss how you are feeling about the unsettled times and how to manage yourself and baby.
All the best.

[trishalishous]

DD spent every night 7-10pm in the sling, on my boob, until 12 weeks old, and we went with it. The first bottle we did introduce was in the evenings, when we started to mix feed

[Guest_Hoggle_*]

Putting the formula issue aside, I suppose I'd encourage women (and men) to see this unsettledness and cluster feeding as normal and not an indication that baby is suffering or that something is wrong with baby or breast feeding.
It's true a baby may take an extra bit of ebm if offered but that doesn't mean the baby "needs" that extra bit of milk.
There is always milk being produced in the breasts, even as baby cries or is on the breast.
This is the design and function of the breasts.
The periods of unsettledness do pass and during this time the breasts are getting lots of stimulation and the baby is rewarded with lots of milk early the next morning.
It is very tiring and stressful, I remember having up to 8 hours of unsettledness at one stage, most babies peak at around 5 hours at this age.
There are other things that can be tried in addition to sucking on the breast, just to let a bit of milk build up, ie cuddling, warm bath, wrapping, walking, someone elses arms etc.
The "purple crying" website has lots of research based information of ways to soothe unsettled babies.
It really is ok to keep feeding or stopping if bub is upset and do something else and return to the breast later, this is what can naturally occur when exclusively bfing a young infant.

An unsettled babies can be quite a shock for a new mum who is not expecting it or who may be a little unsure about breast feeding. Partners and families can also question breast feeding when they are faced with not only an unsettled baby but also an upset mum.

OP another great resource for you could be calling the ABA 24 hour help line to discuss how you are feeling about the unsettled times and how to manage yourself and baby.
All the best.

I have quite an understanding of how breastfeeding works, thanks. In my situation it really didn't matter how much milk was in my breasts, my letdown took too long at the end of the day when I was exhausted and my baby just would not wait and would scream at me after every suck. Giving him that little bit in a bottle first prevented this. Giving him the little bit in the bottle first meant he was then patient enough to keep sucking and wait for the letdown because he wasn't so hungry and he would just keep going for as long as he pleased then. I didn't replace a feed, just calmed him down a bit before his feed.

I breastfed him well past his first birthday and have never used a drop of formula with any of my babies, so it certainly wasn't the end of the world that I gave him some EBM and kept us all sane in the evening. It went from hours of stress, to instant pleasant bedtimes and a relaxed baby.

What the OP described sounded similar, so I gave her my experience.