If you breastfed for the first 6 weeks or more, when ldid you stop, and why?

[Nessalina]

My first child is nearly 7 weeks, and I'm finding feeding a challenge. We used a nipple shield due to tongue tie initially, and after the TT was cut we carried on because it seemed to work ok. The last week we've weaned off the nipple shield, but I'm finding feeding quite painful...
His latch seems ok, but quite often he slips off a bit halfway through a feed so I get pinched, and despite slathering on lansinoh, my nips are still quite sore. In the evenings he likes to graze little and often and after a couple of hours it feels like he's sucked me dry and he's still not happy, so we've just (the last three days) started topping up with formula for a late evening feed. He often has a long sleep overnight thank god, usually 1-6ish, and I'm worried that that may have affected my evening supply, but I'm hardly going to wake him to eat in the middle of the night.
I'm a bit worried that starting to mixed feed is the beginning of the end, but I don't know if that's a good or bad thing... I've always wanted to be able to breastfeed and just whack my LO on the boob when I needed, but I thought that it would be easy by now I have to say.
So, does it get easier? If it hasn't yet, then will it? It is this the point that I give up?

What did you do??

(Sorry for the ramble, I'm sooo sleepy!)

[Sparklingbrook]

I had to admit defeat. Every single feed was toe curlingly painful. I was crying, DC1 was crying, it was just awful.
I could only do it in the privacy of my own home, and wasn't very good at it there. In the end, enough was enough, and DH went out to buy formula and bottles.

This was all a very long time ago, pre my time on MN. I am sure there will be some more reassuring stories than mine though.

[Allstoppedup]

I'm still feeding my 1 yo but wanted to say it does get so much easier.

That being said, if you want to move to mixed feeding and you think it would suit you better, go for it. I have friends who have mixed fed from fairly early on and my SIL has just started and it has made them feel much happier over all. There is shame in stopping so don't guilt trip yourself! You have done amazing to keep it up despite the difficulties you've had. I remember the early days and it is so draining!

As far as the discomfort you feel now, could you get to a BF group/advisor to perhaps look at your latch again?

[neversleepagain]

I stopped breast feeding my twins at 6 weeks due to I'll health and me needing to be admitted to hospital. I was disappointed for a while but in the grand scheme of their lives it really didn't matter!

[neversleepagain]

ill health!

[Allstoppedup]

Ooh and to answer your other questions, (it's obv different for everyone) but I found that the real turning point was about 10/12 weeks for it to feel easy breezy!

I bought a breast pump and expressed some so that I could give my boobs a break if it got too bad as well.

You just need to do what is right for you. Happy mum, happy baby

[bridgetsmummy]

I stopped bf my first 2 at about 6weeks because I hated it.
I stopped bf my 3rd at about 6 weeks because my son was admitted to hospital for a week and it was easier to stop so my DH or mum could look after her while I took my turn overnighting at the hospital. Plus I hated it!!

[Sparklingbrook]

I got a breast pump. in an hour I got 1oz.

[OddBoots]

I stopped at 13 months with ds as he just stopped wanting it, I had to stop at 6 months with dd as she ended up on a special formula that solidified in her stomach due to serious reflux (she only gained a few oz between 6 weeks and 6 months despite trying everything I could).

Ultimately our reasons are not important though, you do what is right for you and that's no-one else's business.

[badRoly]

I breast fed dc1 for 6 weeks then gave up because she wasn't gaining weight. I only managed 2 weeks with dc2 because he was a nightmare feeder (also with a bottle but at least others could help).

Dc3&4 were mainly breast fed for 8mths and 9mths respectively. Dc3 had a bottle in the evenings from around 8weeks and dc4 was later but still mixed fed.

From memory (mine are all way past the baby stage ) the evening cluster feeding nightmare stage is at its worst around 6-10 weeks.

I can remember sitting sobbing on Christmas Day with dc3 (born early Nov) because she wouldn't stop feeding and I was exhausted and I knew we wouldn't be able to buy bottles/formula anywhere! Fortunately, my sil was ace and her Dh even better. She sat me in front of the TV, in the best chair with a tray dinner and sent her dh off as far from me as possible to croon over dc3 to give me a bit of respite!

It must have got easier though otherwise I wouldn't have kept going as long as I did

[Kristingle]

Yes it's gets much easier. Lots of mums find it very hard at the beginning .

I don't think they can " suck you dry " , as your body responds by making more milk . But the evening bottle might upset the supply and demand thing.

Obviously it's up to you if you want to give up now, but it seems a shame to stop aftre all the hard work you've put in so far. You would have done all the hard bit and not get any of the rewards of the ease and convenience for the next year or so .

[MuscatBouschet]

I found it did get less painful after 12 weeks or so because DS became a more efficient feeder and wasn't sucking for comfort quite so much.

But really want to post to say I mixed fed from 8 weeks through to 9 months and had no difficulty keeping my supply up. It can be done, although each woman's supply is unique so don't beat yourself up if yours diminishes after a while. There is no right way to do it - put your well being first.

[rockinrobintweet]

my reasoning for stopping was anaphylactic shock from a latex allergy as i had started using nipple shields for a while as my latch worsened at around 6-8wks. i was devastated that i had to stop but my allergy was everywhere and my nipples swollen and weeping.. i literally couldn't feed through it. i tried to go back to it around two weeks after and my baby didn't want me back??

the guilt wasn't nice. but looking back i see nobody was judging me. my dd was just perfectly happy either way. and eventually it meant she was happier in public (my feeding never got that great that we had 3-4hr breaks like my bfing friend at mo!!) and she began sleeping through the night around 6wks later.

do what makes you happy- and your baby. i have a friend who has combination fed always and baby is now 5 months. the only thing she says is that baby is unpredictable as sometimes boob sometimes bottle.

try a bfing group at your children's centre. they saved me a few times!

[HaveYouTriedARewardChart]

With dc 1 and 3 I started off mixed feeding after birth and then cut it out by about 10 weeks - not with any particular intent - it was just easier not to bother with bottles once bf was properly established.

I had problems bfing all three, awful at times, but by six weeks or so the difficulties were passed. If nothing else latch problems willl improve as your baby's mouth gets bigger.

And in answer to your question, 13 months with ds1; supply diminished when I went back to work, 2y3mo with ds2 (nipple problem and pregnancy) and dd is still ebf at 3 months.

It will get easier! And if you can stick with the exclusive bf while your supply increases, life will be simpler.

[BingBongMerrilyOnHigh]

I stopped at 6 months due to the 2nd tooth, DD was a biter when teething. (Bad enough gnawing with hard gums, much worse with a sharp new little tooth & another on its way...) Quite gutted really, as I'd really fought to be able to BF - she had tongue tie snipped at 2 weeks, I had horrendous cracked nipples, a massive sebaceous cyst under my arm at one point which made wearing a bra a real pain, and I lost my milk on 1 side completely for a while. I did get it back with a pump and a lot of work but the supply was never equal & I'm slightly lopsided now. I know what people say about stopping the feed and putting the baby down when they bite, I did that. She laughed every time & would get this look on her face just before she bit. It got to the point I dreaded feeding her again as she drew blood several times & I came to the conclusion it was no longer worth it. I didn't have MN then, don't know if I'd have done anything different if I had. Probably not.

I did express and freeze a lot towards the end, to make the transition to formula as easy for her as possible, by giving her feeds of my milk mixed with formula, so she got used to the taste.

A breastfeeding nurse at the feeding clinic was very helpful when I was close to giving up in the very early days, she told me "breast is only best, if it's best for both of you". It made me feel a lot better when I did eventually give up.

[Couchkitten]

I fed till 14 months. For me it got easier at 8 weeks. Much Much easier. 6 weeks seems to be the hardest for everyone. There is a big growth spurt which is probably why your LO is feeding like mad. If that rings true, try not to top up - he is feeding all the time to increase your supply so by topping up your supply may not have a chance to increase to meet his new demands. You've nearly done all the hard work now.....6 weeks can be the last hurdle for many. Could you tell yourself that you'd reassess the situation in 2 weeks?

[BingBongMerrilyOnHigh]

Oh and I found I had very little milk in the evenings. Drinking plenty of water, and an afternoon nap if possible helped with that. I always had more than enough every morning when I woke, so the answer was clearly to get more sleep!

[Mum4Fergus]

My c-sec became infected and I needed strong anti biotics to deal with it

[purplemeggie]

I was very lucky in that my dsis is a breastfeeding consultant, so I got lots of help. I remember saying to her that I would feed for six months, because I thought I should, but that I would never be one of those women who enjoyed breastfeeding. And then I got to six months and realised that it had become very easy and that actually, I didn't want to stop. For me, the first few weeks was really hard. I'm glad I persevered, because if I'd stopped when it was awful, I'd have dreaded trying again.
I don't think that mixed feeding is necessarily the beginning of the end. Do what you need to do. Personally, I found that expressing those feeds that were too painful to deliver directly helped ease the pressure for me and gave ds what I wanted to give him. Eventually, we got there. Good luck and be gentle with yourself.

[Brandysnapper]

First 8 weeks worst, though every now and then something would crop up (thrush - only once though, and pain when he would rub a tooth bud onto you before they came through). If things were bad I would go back to the bf group for more advice, or come on here. If they had got too bad I would have stopped - but always just before it got too much it started to get better! There's no doubt after a few months it can become a whacking them on situation, I certainly didn't find that at first with feeding an expressing to top up. Ds got the hang of it though to the point that he's still at it at bedtime now (2.5). Though that might not be what you want to hear!

[unclerory]

Just wanted to say if your LO starts slipping off during a feed and it hurts, slide your little finger in their mouth to break the suction so they come off the boob. If they are full and sleepy they'll be fine and in a perfect mood to put down to sleep (or at least, as perfect as they'll get). If they are still hungry they'll go for the boob again and hopefully improve their latch. don't let you baby feed unless theor latch is good, I constantly had cracked nipples with DD1 who did exactly what you've described, with the others I was very strict about the latch and had far fewer problems.

They don't really suck you dry, it can be exhausting BFing a LO though and a growth spurt can be hellish but your body will respond after a day or so. At least it's Christmas, eat lots of chocolate to keep your energy up.

[Sparklingbrook]

My midwife told me to blow in DS's face to wake him up if he nodded off mid feed, and also to have a glass of wine beforehand to relax. Not sure about that advice.

[Hamsolo]

Argh. Just typed and lost a long message.

Breadtfeeding is the hardest thing I've ever done. Perseverance, physical pain... If I think about it rationally I don't know why I continued. I honestly can understand using formula instead. The emotional and physical demand on you is very strong.

But, I would also say once it clicked it was very, very easy. My nipples adjusted and didn't hurt. But it took more like 16 weeks. I had low supply, took fenugreek, pumped and fed to increase it. The sleep deprivation was very very hard. But, once we cracked it, breastfeeding itself has been very convenient. I loved just being able to leave the house. I got too blase and left the nappies behind too once or twice by accident!

My sure centre were great, and I had an independent lactation consultant appointment which was great too. It really helped with position and latch.

If the latch us really bad it might be that you have lip tie as well as the tongue tie. Worth having checked out. A friend only had hers diagnosed at 15 months, which is a long time to have sore nips!

[Thumbnutstwitchingonanopenfire]

DS1 - TT cut at 2w - fed til 23mo, stopped because it started feeling a tad uncomfortable but by then he was only on a last-thing-at-night feed anyway. Took 3 nights, and then he completely forgot about it.

DS2 - TT cut at 5w - quite a lot more problems, including a thrush infection in one nipple that caused a lot of pain and problems until it was diagnosed and dealt with (Daktarin gel) - fed til 25mo. Stopped because it was getting uncomfortable as well - he was down to only a first-thing-in-the-morning feed by then, so it wasn't as hard, because I just got up and gave him a bottle of milk instead. But he's taken to asking for milk if he wakes up in the night, and patting my boobs - I just say "no" and he sighs and goes back to sleep (we co-sleep).