Weaning a Five Week Old

I would start off with a ottle at night and go from there. Maybe do half breast milk half formula. Or gradually dd formula to the breast milk.

Sleeping through the night is developmental.. nto based on food..

young babyies are not meant to sleep for long periods at a time.. they wake to eat and then go back to sleep.

if you want to wean.. introduce one bottle of formula per day.. do this for 3 or 4 days then add another bottle of formula.. until you are totally on formula.. I would plan at least a month to wean so your milk supply will gradually diminish. and you will not be uncomforable.

I would highly recommend breastfeeding for longer. my son was breastfed for 2 years and has only had 1 ear infection in his life...

The best way to avoid mastitis is to nurse. It's very simple, really.

Introducing formula will not make him sleep through the night any better and in fact will make it harder on you. You'll have to mix formula and warm bottles. In the event that he does sleep better with formula in his tummy you might want to think about why: because it's harder to break down.

PS: I looked at your earlier posts and saw that your other kids have allergies. The best way, hands down, to protect your 5 week old from getting them as well is to exclusively breastfeed him for AT LEAST 6 months, then slowly introduce solid foods and continue to nurse for a year, ideally two. http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

I'm going to go ahead and echo what everyone else has said. Weaning to formula is not going to help either one of you sleep better or longer. One has nothing to do with the other. A baby is going to be hungry every 2-4 hours no matter what the food is. Their stomachs are just too small to hold anything that would sustain them for any longer than that.

Also, I didn't even really LIKE breastfeeding until around 6 weeks. I really enjoyed it after that and continued until around 14 months. I'm not saying you have to go that long, but give it a chance before you stop. The first couple of months are tough but after that it's like you've always done it. If you need any help with issues, I can help you out but I just can't help you to wean so early. It's not fair to the baby to be forced to switch it's diet completely for no reason.

Good luck and feel free to email me if you have any questions or need anything. I'm far from an expert but know of a lot of good sources of information on the subject and can point you in the direction of info if you need it.

Hi D.

Like your other non-nursing poster, i just wanted to assure you that you won't be doing something bad to your baby just because you may be weaning now at 5 weeks. I commend you for doing it, period :) I was unable to for a number of reasons, and I formula fed all three of mine. My youngest is only two, so the jury is still out on food allergies. My older two, however, never had a single allergy, and all three (thanks to God) are healthy. Also, all three of my kids "bonded" with me even though I didn't nurse...and my husband got to bond with them too. All three were extremely sweet, social babies from day one and are still the same today. Whatever you choose to do, it will be right if you listen to your own heart/instincts.
Just to let you know one thing, however, my first didn't sleep through the night until 8 mos. and was my most challenging at waking a few times a night (hungry boy!), my second slept through by 5 months, and my third just a bit sooner. So formula may not be a magic "sleeping cure", but my personal experience with my other two only getting up once a night to eat sure wasn't bad ;)

A word of (unwarranted :) advice to the future...also introduce that sippy cup as soon as possible so that getting rid of the bottle is easier (already can't remember, but think I introduced the Born Free sippy---much like a bottle---at 6 mos., and then the regular sippy a couple months later)
Good luck on whatever you decide to do, enjoy that little one!

I don't know if formula will necessarily make the baby sleep better at night. I personally found that breastfeeding at night was leaps and bounds easier than formula feeding.

Our son was breast fed for the first year, but our daughter had to be weaned at 3 months so I could start chemo. I'd take the breast feeding scenario at night any day over formula feedings again.

I'd almost recommend the reverse: introduce formula during the day. I guess it all depends on the consistency of your breast milk, though. Mine was very fatty and almost like whipping cream, so my kids did better on breast milk than formula.

I don't know if there's a greater likelihood of developing mastitis while you're weaning, but I know people swear by cabbage to help alleviate the soreness. I never had that problem, but I did still pump even after chemo started to wean myself slowly instead of going cold turkey. After a few weeks of not having the demand, my body dried-up on its own.

Good luck.

Hello D. ~

I breastfed both my kids for 11 months; my daughter is now 5 & my son is one. I had mastitis once w/my daughter & twice w/my son within 6 months....I had an easier time breastfeeding my daughter than w/my son & considered giving up as I was very discouraged and exhausted...w/a little encouragement I continued on...it does get better w/time there are good days and bad days once he figured it out it was all good. You mention that you have two other kids being limited w/things....my oldest is 16 & plays sports we are constantly on the go; my 5 year old goes to preschool has field trips and is also involved in sports/dance it always seemed like a challenge needing to nurse my son on the go....hubby & I tried to introduce to him to a bottle around 3-4 months (after we worked out the breastfeeding "kinks" ;0) I pumped for those really "busy" days when I knew I would be on the run all day it worked but he still liked mommy best at 6 months we introduced him to the Gerber Nuk sipppy cup & he loved it (only sippy cup he will drink from) started weaning him around Thanksgiving it was really smooth we were down to night feedings he was weaned by Christmas (his first bday)...as far as sleep goes I had to sleep w/my daughter on my chest in the recliner/couch for the first 4 months only way she would sleep she nursed every 2 hours...(she also had RSV) she cried at night for hours we called it her "witching hour" much later we figured/found out she was allergic to milk...my one year old...I would have to strip him down to wake him up to nurse he has been my sleeper (I feel very lucky) from day one; once he doubled his birth weight he was only interested in nursing every 3 hours... anyway long winded post...your little one is still very young & it does get better w/time if you stick w/it (there are local support groups & the womanly art of breastfeeding is a really good book) introducing formula won't make a difference w/sleep. Congratulations on your little one!

After reading your other very pro-breastfeeding replies, I felt that I had to respond to give a little added encouragement. I did not breastfeed my son and honestly, had no intention of doing it due to a prior surgery and heard so many negative comments from so many people. What you do is your decision, and your baby will be okay. My son was never sick as a baby, and even now, has a super strong immune system. He does have allergies, however, they are extremely mild and I had severe allergies as a child- even being hospitalized for pneumonia twice before the age of 2 so I'm surprised his allergies are as mild as they are just based on genetics. He is also smart and advanced for his age, and was speaking in full sentences before 2. Additionally, he was an AWESOME sleeper and I 100% know formula helped. He woke up one time a night, at 4:30-5 a.m, and this was right from the hospital. For those that say babies aren't made to sleep that long, that wasn't our experience. He ate when he wanted, slept when he needed to, and was happy and healthy always. He was sleeping completely through the night at 6 weeks.

What you do is your decision, and if you do add formula, go slow and add a little at a time to allow your baby to adjust. Breastfeeding is great and so is formula- do what's right for you and don't worry about what others say.

I guess I'm not understanding the need to do this, D.. Breastfeeding is by far the easiest, cheapest, and most relationship-building way to go. Having other children is even more reason to breastfeed from having done it with 4. I know a lot of formula-fed babies who awake during the night, so I'm not sure this will remedy that for you anyway. Are you really sure you want to do this so early?

When I did it, I skipped one feeding a day or every 2 days skipped another feeding. It took about 2 weeks to do it, but I didn't have any pain that way. I tried doing it faster and it hurt REALLY bad, but this way my milk supply just went away.
Good Luck!

I'm not sure about this one as I did not wean a five week old child, I did this with an 11 month old and it was a smooth transition.

But I would like to say that if you put a thought into your head, you may just attract the trouble you are trying to avoid.

Try not to worry about the mastitis (yes - I understand this is harder said than done). Honestly, I have no idea how it starts up as I never had an issue nursing - I LOVED nursing my son. But take all precautions and keep positive that you will stay well while nursing and weaning your child. Remember - right now, your baby does not understand why you want to take that 'bond' from it, and nursing it the strongest bond there is.

I would hate to see you stop if this is something you may want to keep up, if it is just because of a fear...

Good Luck and stay well~