Breastfeeding and Supplementing

<<Hello!!! With my first baby I breast fed for only a few days. Each time I did I felt really light headed and felt like I needed water! Is that normal? Does it go away?>>

Lightheadedness can be a sign of that our are not drinking enough water or eating enough. If you feel lightheaded then make sure your are drinking enough water and eating enough to satisfy hunger. Sometimes when your wrapped up in BFing during the first few weeks you can forget that you have not eaten much that day. This is where your husband or other family members can be useful in bringing you food and drink so you can focus your attention on mastering breastfeeding.

<<Now with our second baby I WILL be breast feeding but wondered if I can substitute with formula at night? I have heard of people saying it feels like their boobs are going to explode if they don't pump or nurse... thats where my confusion comes from. Plus would I be able to sleep with this feeling of exploding boobs?? :)>>

During the early months of breastfeeding when your milk supply is getting established it's generally not a good idea to substitute formula for breastfeeding since it cam cause low milk supply and will also make you feel uncomfortably engorge. As your baby get's older and natural begins to sleep longer at night your milk should be able to naturally adjust on it's own at that point.

If your reason for wanting to use formula bottles at night is because you don't want to have to get up at night and want your DH to be able to share night feeding then I would suggest you consider co-sleeping, which in mine and many others on this board's experience make night feeding much easier to manage. Co-sleeping can be relatively safe provided you follow the following co-sleeping safety guidelines:

General Safety Guidelines --
* Parents should not sleep with their babies if they are smokers or have ingested alcohol or drugs.
* Bedding should be tight fitting to the mattress.
* The mattress should be tight fitting to the headboard of the bed.
* There should not be any loose pillows or soft blankets near the baby's face.
* There should not be any space between the bed and adjoining wall where the baby could roll and become trapped.
* The baby should not be placed on his stomach.
* Some sources also say not to put a baby on a waterbed to sleep.

Source: http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/familybed.html

More info on co-sleeping:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/T102200.asp