Mixed feeding

[MusicMum18]

Hi, just wanting some helpful reassuring advice really....
Had a nightmare 2 weeks with feeding when baby born, so much crazy pressure to bf, had meltdown, baby lost lot of weight so decided to give formula from bottle to the disgust of the infant feeding coordinator.

Think my milk was late coming in, have underactive thyroid and had episiotomy had trouble latching, got conflicting advice from midwives etc. nightmare.

As I really wanted to bf I pumped and pumped in the early weeks to get milk up. I bf then topped up with exp or formula. Then lo rejected breast, think she was too used to bottle. Was going to give up, but tried nipple shields which worked. They seem to have bad press but it meant me breast feeding for longer.

Now lo is 4.5 months old and I'm proud of sticking with it, but I'm still exp and feeding, but lo has such changeable behaviour it's so tiring. Sometimes she'll take from one boob then refuse the other, or she might refuse both, fall asleep half way through and I can't wake her. Or come off on her own then cry for more so I give bottle, then I exp and still some left.

I feel that she's going off me now as she's getting bigger, obv needs more and wants it quicker, I'm thinking she might be getting frustrated with the nipple shields as it's harder for her to get milk. But then she likes falling asleep on me which is lovely but she's not taking what she needs! It's all so confusing, is it normali to have all this trouble when mixed feeding? Maybe I should stop exp as then there'd be more for her. Been expressing to get milk so don't have to rely on top up but no matter how hard I express I've never produced enough for her. I was hoping my milk level would be what she ends but it's not enough.

Any advice gratefully received! If I can I'd love to keep going to 6 months! X

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Think the best advice I can give you is to ring one of the Bfing Helplines and talk it all through with a BFC. Have you got the numbers?