Reassurance needed for switching from BF to FF and how???

[maskingtherealme]

Not sure what I am posting or why. Maybe some reassurance that I am doing the right thing because in RL I am not getting what 'I want to hear'.

DS1 was breast fed for 2 weeks. We moved to combination feeding for another two weeks before going onto formula fully when he was a month old.

DD1 is only a week old. I was determined to have another go at BFing but vowed not to beat myself up if I felt it wasn't working and chose to do FF. I am now at that stage where I am feeling beaten by BFing and want to go to FF fully. DH is fully supportive of me FF but I have friends who will try and persuade me otherwise and thus make me feel guilty - I am easily led!

My problems are these: She is slightly premature so finding it difficult to latch with such a little mouth. My nipples are sore and cracked. She wants to feed/comfort suck every hour and each feed can take up to 45 minutes. This means I get only 20-30 minutes between feeds. Nights are worse. It got to 2am and she was STILL feeding and I hadn't slept. In hospital I was so sleep deprived, the nurses took her for an hour each night to 'comfort her' whilst I slept. But I couldn't. This led to me being kept in an extra day because my bood pressure rose. Now she seems to dislike breast feeding. She cries half way through and unlatches so much, i winch when I get her back on.

So me and DH had a chat and felt it was best to FF. We sent MIL out for supplies whilst the midwife was at our home. I was quite surprised at her reaction when i said that we wanted to FF. She asked me how DS1 was fed, I told her and she said "Why change something that works?" For me, it was the lightbulb moment - DS1 still thrived. He hit his milestones, he is rarely ill (odd cold here and there) but he is happy, healthy and slim. She said obesity stems from inactivity NOT from how a child was fed. She didn't persuade me one way or another but it made me realise that for our family, we have made the right decision.

So today DD1 has not been on the breast. I expressed 4oz at lunchtime and she had this via a bottle in 2 x 2oz amounts. She has actually been more settled since.

But my breasts now feel engorged. I tried a hot shower which gave me some relief for an hour but I am afraid of mastitis and pain during the night because DD1 will sleep in her basket during the day but struggles at night and has been sleeping on my chest.

Should I express some milk off - just a little to releive the pressure or is there another method? Tomorrow I will get cabbage leaves. Used these last time and oddly they did work!

[Snuffleump]

I've no experience of this but didn't want to read and run. From my knowledge of how breastfeeding works I would advise to just express enough to keep you comfortable and to prevent mastitis and your supply will drop.
Make sure you get Savoy cabbage as that has the 'active ingredient' so to speak, that you need.
Good luck

[MrsBojingles]

I think it's best to taper off slowly- I've seen advice that suggests dropping one feed at a time. Certainly make sure you express enough to stay comfortable and not engorged! And massage and hot showers to help :)

I believe there are certain herbs that inhibit milk supply such as peppermint- you could look into that?

[pinkcomet]

Hey, just wanted to say that you should probably avoid hot showers/massage etc if you can - moist heat stimulates supply, as does massage as it mimics hand expression. Wear a good supportive bra and definitely try cabbage leaves - they contain a diuretic. Good luck :)

[Cheeriosfortotoro]

Agree with all the above. I did this with my first dd. Always do it gradually. My dd1 would not latch so I slowly stopped expressing. I had guilt too but she's a healthy nearly 3yo! Not many colds and slender as very active. Do what's right for you and your family. I'm thinking of giving a bottle to dd2 to get some sleep as she's nearly 12 weeks and I'd like at least one good nights sleep. But I don't have any real experience on mixed feeding so not sure.

[maskingtherealme]

Thank you.

DD1 is taking breast and formula milk and because it is through a bottle (2oz) she seems more settled and is going 2-3 hours between feeds.

On the breast she was constantly feeding, getting tired and cranky whereas now she doesn't have to work as hard.

Now to get her to sleep at night in her moses basket rather than my chest!!

[Jaffakake]

I dropped one feed at a time & used Savoy cabbage too. You could use pumping to mimic that dropping of one feed a time, if you have the time & don't mind the faff. It's probably the best way to manage it, feel comfy & stop mastitis.