Throwing the towel in with breastfeeding

[Naomip88]

hello. My dd is 5 weeks old and breastfeeding has been an an ordeal so far. At first she wouldn't latch at all , we eventually got her to latch with shields but then when she was weighed a few days after she was born she had lost too much weight ( anymore and we would have been re admitted to hospital) . So we them had to feed and express after every feed ( my partner fed her the previous ebm while I expressed) for 2 days every 3 hours ( each feed would last about an hour and a half) .one day after this I got mastitis . After all this we got lots of support from the midwife and had my latch corrected and we were ok for a few days but then my nipples became really cracked and bled but we perserved even though my dd seemed to hate breastfeeding ( thrashing, clawing and crying during most feeds) but eventually we had to use the nipple shields again . We then had a tongue tie diagnosed but having that snipped hasn't helped we've had our Latch checked numerous times and now that doesn't seem to be the problem. So now we're expressing most feeds ( I try breastfeeding a couple of times a day but she really hates it) my supply is good (28 oz a day) but it's exhausting and I now have mastitis for the second time and I'm ready to throw the towel in and stop obsessing about breastfeeding and feeling guilty. I want to enjoy this precious time and my main priority is for my daughter to be healthy and happy but I also need to protect my own sanity! I've tried using a lactation consultant and I feel like ive tried my hardest but now I want to gradually phase out breastfeeding over the next few weeks and wanted some tips on how to do this without getting mastitis yet again?!

[Nancery]

Hey, you've done your best with numerous problems thrown at you. I too had issue after issue and was eventually told to express - DS was feeding every two hours so that was impossible. I really beat myself up about stopping though, which in hindsight was silly.
I presume you must have to wind down feeds over a few weeks, but someone who knows far better than me will probably advise in a bit

[Naomip88]

Thanks , I so wanted together to 6 months but all of this has taken its toll on me!

[Naomip88]

I meant to get to 6 months!

[Annarose2014]

You'll feel a pang for the first week - then you'll feel utterly relieved.

I had to stop 80% of feeds during the day at 6 weeks as my Ds was intolerant to something in my milk. I intended to BF at night (dairy free) for months and months but just 4 weeks later my Ds wasn't much better and the GP gently told me to stop and just go 100% on hypoallergenic formula.

But tbh Bfing wasn't fun for me. I had an overactive letdown and an oversupply and was constantly block feeding and know all too well the Hell of a baby who doesn't enjoy breastfeeding. And its awful to know that you're causing your baby distress by BFing. I was getting pretty distressed myself.

Now feeds are a dream. My stress levels dramatically reduced.

I'm still glad I did it - DS has never even had a sniffle even though I only BF for a short time - but I'm equally glad I stopped when I did.

[Annarose2014]

Oh and I basically phased out feeds every couple of days but would express every time I felt discomfort. I would concentrate on squeezing any lumpiness but would only express just enough to be comfortable.

Be warned, it took me a couple of weeks before the discomfort went & I could stop expressing completely. Eventually I got pissed off and took Sudafed twice a day, which reduces supply and after three days of that I was dried up . But I wouldn't do that at the start - a bit drastic. My supply had significantly lowered naturally at that point so it did me no harm.