Hello Sleep

We finally gave in.

Alex had his first taste of formula last week.

I had to do a real convincing job on the hubby but I think my rationale of "wouldn't you rather he try a little formula than having to listen to him cry out it?" worked wonders!

Night one's results weren't so amazing, but night two yielded two 5 hour sleep batches. Woohoo! The 11pm/12am bottle of 4oz of formula has been going strong all week and we've been getting 4 or 5 hour stretches which is a huge improvement over 2.5-3.

So I'm happy to be getting a bit more shut eye but know that there is plenty of room for improvement. And maybe with the introduction of peas today (cereals weren't getting a warm welcome) we can push it to 6 or 7 hours.

So from an ardent breast milk mom...if you're up all night giving formula a try isn't such a bad idea. It's one step in the right direction that may have just avoided a lot of crying for this family!

What's the Right Equation?

I'm rethinking formula once again.

Pumping seems to be a constant catch up game. Last night, I pumped anticipating needing a bottle for a lengthy trip to Vermont (which isn't happening thanks to lots of snow) and within a minute of taking off my pump he woke up hungry. So with only 2.5 oz frozen, I had to give him what I had just pumped.

And with a few outings planned this week I'm already worried about leaving enough milk for grandma to bottle feed.

So I'm back to considering formula. But I have no idea of where to start.

Organic? Cows milk? Powdered?

So you're input is now appreciated more than ever. What do you use?

To Supplement or Not to Supplement?

I take great pride in being able to say that I breastfed Hannah exclusively for 13 months. Actually, if you gave me a can of formula I wouldn't really know what to do with it.

And up until now, Alex has been also getting only breast milk. But I'm starting to think I want to give formula a try. But in my mind there is such a stigma attached to this idea.

Now please, moms who bottle-feed take no offence. I know there are plenty of moms who can't breastfeed or just don't want to...and that is totally cool. It's your choice...god knows raising a baby is hard enough so you have to pick what works best for you. But my track record with Hannah makes me think that Alex should get the same treatment. And that by not breastfeeding 24/7 I am being lazy.

I don't want to give him formula just for the heck of it. I actually want to do a little test to see if filling him up with 5-6 oz before bedtime will make him sleep longer. Because based on my recent pumping experiences I'm only getting 2-3 oz a pump. And I think my growing boy needs more to fill his tummy. But then again, he was doing 5 hour shifts before his 3 month (corrected) growth spurt.

Really don't know what to do. But then again, after re-reading this post it really isn't such a big deal to at least give it a try, right? I did just say, that moms should do whatever makes their lives easier, did I not? So I'm not exception to the rule...

What do you think? Will more milk make a difference or do you think at four months old I should still be accepting wake up calls every 2-3 hours?

Maybe if I have enough of your encouragement I'll give it a try...