Breastfeeding Q Again

Updated on January 29, 2013
H.P. asks from Lynchburg, VA
8 answers

As of now, my LO usually goes back to sleep well at night b/c I can BF him in the dark, quiet room and not talk to him, so he barely wakes up and even has eyes closed while feeding, then he goes right back to bed. However, when my husband begins feeding him in the night (when I start my night shift job), what is a good way to keep the baby asleep while he is heating the breast milk bottle (and we know not to microwave it) or making the bottle of formula?...Does dad let LO cry until he has made it, or should he get LO and have him become more awake while waiting on the bottle to be ready?

Yes, I am paranoid that his sleep schedule will get messed up when I start work again :/

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all the suggestions! Right now, since LO is only 5 weeks and I breastfeed, I tend to let him wake when he's hungry. I don't wake him up to feed. Generally, the first stretch of sleep is 4 hrs, then after that 3, but some nights it can be 2 hrs here and there or once it was 5 hrs, so it's hard to tell exactly when he will be hungry. If I was using formula, it would be easy to have it ready for dad to feed him, but with breast milk I can't let it sit out too long...It may be that the 3 nights I work, dad will have to use formula. Anyway, thanks again for the help.

More Answers

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D.C.

answers from Pittsburgh on

If he will take the formula room temp, then it's easy. Just keep the water already in the bottle in the room, and the powder already measured out. All your husband has to do it dump it in, shake, and feed. Super quick and not to much waiting.

If he needs it warm to take it - then is he on a schedule at all? If you know he's going to wake between 3 and 3:30 to eat, then your husband should set an alarm and get up to warm the bottle at 2:45. Again, I would put the pre-measured water in the bottle in the bottle warmer in your bedroom so at 2:45 all he has to do it hit the on button. When it's warm, dump in the pre-measured formula powder and go in the nursery and do the "dream feed" without the baby waking much. He doesn't need to wait for the baby to wake up and cry, just do it at the right approximate time.

2 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Do you feed him at approx. the same time every night? Your husband could have it ready for him before he would generally wake up.

2 moms found this helpful
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B.M.

answers from Chicago on

I had the bottle ready...... i found that my daughter like her bottle of formula room temperature. Also you CAN microwave it.... as long as you are just warming it up and then you shake it to "mix" the temperatures evenly. If you warm for like 20-30 secs in the microwave you won't get the "hot" sections that will burn the baby. What is dangerous is if you take a bottle from the fridge and microwave for a minute..... that can be very dangerous.

Also daddy needs to feed baby with his shirt off. OR you can wear one of his tee shirts that daddy puts on to feed baby. This way baby gets skin to skin contact and/or YOUR smell which will calm baby.

Also - are you letting your son wake up and tell you he has to feed? Or are you feeding him on a schedule? You might try stretching the feedings out so that he goes 4-5 hours at a stretch???

1 mom found this helpful
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E.E.

answers from Washington DC on

How old is your little one? How many times is he waking up at night?
I've found that my little ones don't really miss nursing at night when I'm not available. My husband will go in and rock them back to sleep without giving them milk. When I go in, and they smell the milk, they'll drink it but don't seem to have a problem when I'm not there. The plus side is that after a few nights of my husband going in to rock them, they've slept through the night.
Another option might be for your husband to go in 15 minutes or so before the baby typically wakes up and give him the bottle (or always go in at 10 or 11 before he goes to bed).

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J.Y.

answers from Chicago on

I wouldn't leave the baby to cry. If daddy keeps the lights low and doesn't interact much, then I'm sure the couple of mins it takes to warm a bottle shouldn't disturb him too much, especially if he goes back to the dark room to feed him as usual. You might that he cries either way though because he is used to being fed instantly.

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C.D.

answers from Washington DC on

My husband watched/watches both my kids during the day while I'm at work since he works from home. I would leave a fresh bottle for him to give the baby in the morning that I pumped that morning but as soon as she was done that bottle he would go upstairs take the next bottle out of the fridge so that when she was ready for the next one it was room temp already. That would probably work at night too. Breast milk can if I remember correctly be at room temp for 4 hours, but at the very least two hours which at that age was about the length of time she slept anyway.

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

I think they'll work it out. If you know that baby normally wakes around x time, then DH can set an alarm and "dream feed" baby around that time with a warm bottle. I would premeasure the nightly bottle so all Daddy has to do is grab it and put it in a bottle warmer. I would put the warmer in baby's room, out of his reach, and Daddy can snuggle him until it's ready. As baby gets bigger, these nighttime feeds will pass and it won't be an issue anymore. Please remind him not to shake breastmilk. It should be warmed in hot water and swirled only, if necessary. You might also help DH get fast on the draw with a baby carrier if he needs to hold baby close while handling the bottle.

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D.T.

answers from Muncie on

Both my babies were self scheduled, they awoke and fed at pretty set times. Depending on when you have to start work, you can start keeping track of your LO's feedings. If they appear to have a pattern then your Husband can predict when baby is due to wake and get the bottle ready before hand then go get baby when it's done. Even if baby hasn't woken on his own it shouldn't mess things up to be picked up a bit before his natural wake-up.

Good luck!

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