Are breastfed babies more fussy?

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Infants

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amother

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 5:48 pm

Do you think BF babies are more fussy, in general?
I find that formula fed babies seem a lot more calm the majority of the time. They cry less, they're more calm and happy after a feeding, etc.
I'm wondering if others have also noticed this, or if this has just been my experience?

Please note:
I want to start off by saying that I do NOT mean this in an insulting way, whatsoever. I am pro nursing and think it is wonderful. I have kids whom I nursed and kids whom I did not nurse. But this has been my observation based on my children and children of friends.

Raisin

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 5:53 pm

I know at least two women who discovered that them eating certain foods made their baby fussy. And they eliminated those foods.

I've never bottlefed any of my babies. Some were calm and peaceful and some were colicy.

The Happy Wife

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 6:06 pm

Nope, never noticed this.

amother

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 6:30 pm

They're hungry less often and sleep better ime.

amother

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 8:35 pm

My formula fed baby was extremely fussy.
And my breastfed baby was very calm.
It's definitely their personalities, not the food they were fed. They are still like this today.
FYI my formula fed baby was also fussy when I breastfed her for a few weeks before switching to formula.

manhattanmom

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 9:02 pm

amother wrote:

They're hungry less often and sleep better ime.

Please don't bash me for saying this--that also varies from child to child. Two of my exclusively breastfed babies slept 7-8 hour nights at 5 weeks old--No sleep training involved. and yes, they were right next to me in a bassinet and I definitely would have picked them up and fed them if they cried at night....

It's all personality, I think. Maybe also the quality of mother's breastmilk. Some babies gain A LOT of weight and are just very satisfied and others aren't. Also, mother's diet matters. I've had to eliminate some foods from my diet (different foods for different kids.)

morah

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 9:21 pm

Neither of my kids are fussy, but they did (well, younger still does) nurse very often. Now, breastfed babies for the most part DO need to eat more often, and some people definitely confuse this with fussiness.

rising hero

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 9:30 pm

morah wrote:

I think I agree with this. My baby eats so often, and each feeding takes so long. I'm forever nursing when I'm home with him. I hate it! So, obviously when he's hungry and I need to do things, he's kvetchy. Although he might be a bit gassy too, I don't think that's exclusive to being breast fed or bottle fed.

manhattanmom

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 10:03 pm

morah wrote:

My breastfed babies did not eat so often.
One was fussy due to severe reflux (when he had spams that looked like seizures due to severe stomach pain.) But once we got his reflux under control (modification of my diet in addition to meds for him) he got better.

mandr

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 10:07 pm

My nephew was born a few days after my own son. I breastfeed; my nephew is formula-fed. He was such a kvetchy baby. B"H my baby was/is much more calm and happy. In this case, my nephew was always swallowing too much air and forever had to be burped so he was in constant discomfort. Today he can sit and move around, dispelling the air, so he's much happier. My baby had to eat often when he was younger because he was tongue-tied and didn't get so much at each feeding, but today he eats less often.

When he was 6-12 weeks old he was sleeping 7 hour stretches at night (he slept near me in the crib and didn't wake up to eat - in other words, I didn't have to train him or anything). But that stopped after 12 weeks!

nyer1

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 10:07 pm

no direct correlation whatsoever. many formula fed babies have awful gas pains and unsettled stomachs. but on the flip side, breastmilk supposedly passes through the baby more quickly, so breast fed babies need to be fed more often, so maybe it SEEMS that they are more fussy? formula will allow a baby to go for longer stretches

Orchid

Wed, Jul 09 2014, 11:17 pm

They are fussy if mom eats something they don't agree with (like dairy, chocolate, cabbage...)

amother

Thu, Jul 10 2014, 12:41 am

manhattanmom wrote:

I don't think enough people take into account the quality of the breast milk.

I exclusevly nursed my first 2 babies, the second of the two went 4 hours between feedings during the day except for the last two feedings before bed were 2 hours apart and he slept through the night, 12 hours, at 6 weeks.

My 3rd was bottle fed. However, I did try nursing. The night before I confirmed with with doctor that there was a problem she was so unhappy. She was crying so much, I never had any other baby do that. I nursed for an hour and she would come off crying. I went to the doctor the next day and basically found out that I was starving my daughter. I continued to nurse and bottle feed pumped milk and supplement with formula because I couldn't pump enough milk. At 6 weeks she self weened and she was bottle fed.

My last started off as a good nurser, at one week she started to lose weight and my breast milk didn't satisfy her. I would nurse and then follow with a formula bottle. she would take the same amount from bottle regardless if I nursed first or not. She slept through the night at 10 weeks.

All my babies were calm in general. During nursing I tried to avoid eating gassy foods but not always. I used to think that some babies cry and are fussy because of some unexplained reason. Now I'm staring to think that maybe they're just hungry. I know they were just fed but maybe they're still hungry.

(I'm talking about normal fussiness and not colic)

amother

Wed, Jul 16 2014, 9:09 am

amother wrote:

So interesting.
I have a similar issue. My breastmilk nourished my first child but my 2nd child always seems to be starving and I supplement with formula. No one has been able to help me with this issue.
Did you ever find out why it was that your milk was satisfying enough for your first two kids and not for your last two kids?

chani8

Wed, Jul 16 2014, 9:35 am

As a foster mom to babies, there were some babies I wish I could've nursed because I never could find a formula they could tolerate well.

Also, formula is so full of weird stuff, I just hate that I have to feed it to my babies. I'm thankful it exists, but still.

I think all that was off topic. lol.

I think feeding a baby is all about the organizational skills of the mother. In our home, which can have up to 4 babies at a time, if we don't watch the clock and keep them on a schedule, it would be very easy to over feed a baby. After all, every time they scream it's our instinct to want to feed them. lol.

Anyway, when a baby gets over fed, of course they get tummy aches, spitting up increases, and they don't eat nicely. With my own children and observing friends, I think this lack of organization happens more often with breast fed babies, because mom can't measure how much baby ate, so we're more unsure about why baby is crying, and are quick to offer the breast, thereby creating a fussier baby.

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