You may have been advised to switch to formula feeding to help your baby sleep longer. Your friends may claim to have found the “magical formula” that helps them sleep through the night.
But, unfortunately there is no evidence that it will help. Some babies will sleep worse, due to reactions to the formula or solids (tummy ache, etc. are not uncommon), particularly if baby is younger than around 6 months.
And in fact, according to research about one in five parents of 6-month-olds report sleep problems.
Moreoever the abundance of information on how long babies should sleep is probably not helping. First of all, I must say babies were meant to feed frequently during the day and the night. I’m sorry, but that’s simply how we are built.
Night-nursing is important to help build your milk supply and to establish a strong breastfeeding relationship that supports proper weight gain.
Most importantly despite what expensive sleep experts claim, sleep training is not a one time definitive magical solution. You will have to go back to ground zero every time your baby teeths or gets a stuffy nose..
Moreover studies show that nearly 80% of them awoke at least once at night and there was no difference between formula-fed and breastfed babies in the number of times they awoke.
