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Infant feeding

Is it feasible to BF during the day but FF at night?

19 replies

MeadowHay · 06/08/2018 17:57

Just that really. Have struggled with BF from the start, DD is 7 weeks old and planning to try mix feeding for a few weeks before I throw the towel in as my nipples are not getting any better still and I can't handle the pain and the mental strain the pain is having on me. I struggle with feeds from about 10pm til 6am the most, I'm so exhausted and that makes my pain tolerance lower so I'm frequently bawling my eyes for the feeds and it's really stressful for DH too. I started introducing a bottle of EBM every other night for DH to do from her being about 3 weeks old and we started introducing formula last week for two evenings, basically I'm doing it really slow to try and avoid problems with engorgement and my milk supply as well so from next week the plan is that every night DH will do one feed alternating between EBM and formula. I want to increase the formula though because that's not enough for me to sustain BF with this pain. Is it possible to FF for all feeds like 10pm-6am if I start doing it gradually or will my milk just dry up? Has anyone does this successfully?

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EyeDrops · 06/08/2018 19:55

Sounds like you're doing an amazing job! Gradually is the best idea, and your body will adjust over time. If you find that you wake engorged in the night, I'd express a little off, but just enough to make you comfortable so your body doesn't think it's a feed.

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Waitingonasmiley42 · 06/08/2018 20:01

I’m guessing you’ve already sought advice/help for the latch and had baby checked for tongue tie. It really shouldn’t be as painful by now unless something is wrong.

Don’t be afraid to call it a day with breastfeeding. It is a wonderful thing to do but your mental/physical health is just as important. Sometimes you need to put yourself first! Flowers

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MeadowHay · 06/08/2018 20:26

Yeah, latch been checked sooo many times by different midwives including the specialist one at the infant feeding team at the hospital, and loads of the breastfeeding peer support workers. Nobody can find anything wrong with the latch, but I know it's not deep enough, because my nipples are damaged, it hurts throughout a feed and often my nipple comes out lipstick shaped and there's blisters like a ridge on each of them from her shallow latch which is angled on each side too Sad. But nobody seems to be able to fix it. They've all said they can't see any tongue tie either but have referred her to the hospital clinic anyway just to check given they don't know why I'm still in pain, she was referred about a fortnight ago and the appointment isn't for another 3 weeks or so still, and I don't know if I'll still be BF by then as really taking it each day at a time. Also even got checked for thrush at suggestion of the infant feeding team midwife, the nurse took swabs but nope no infection.

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arbrighton · 08/08/2018 11:11

It's really important to feed at night to maintain your supply as the highest prolactin levels are at night

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larinai · 09/08/2018 07:23

Hi,

you are doing a great job. Breast feeding and pain is a hard job actually. Especially during the night breast feeding is important because of your milk supply but on the other hand I'd say it is also totally okay when you decide to formula feed. You have to do what is best for you and your baby. When our baby boy was still breast feeding I had a very hard time too. The pain can be really horrible and also waking up every few hours is energy-sapping as hell. I'm so happy to have a very supporting hubby. So we were talking about taking feeding shifts during the night. As my nipples were already very sore we also decided on using formula so he could take a shift. The search for a good formula was not that easy though. Finally after a lot of talks with the paed and others we decided to give the German Hipp formula a try and we were so happy that our lo took it without complaining. After we started to introduce the formula very slowly things started to get easier for me. Take courage and don't let the other's opinions bother you. When you find a good formula and you are okay with it and your baby is taking it too you can easily also just formula feed in my opinion. In a few weeks you are going to feed solids and the first weeks you did breast feed. The dad is also going to love the bonding time with you lo.
A lot of courage and energy but I know you are going to do the right thing for your family!
Larinai

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wherehavealltheflowersgone · 09/08/2018 07:32

I did mixed feeding with all 3 of mine. Saved my sanity / nipples.

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lapetitesiren · 09/08/2018 07:38

Every woman is different. If you try this and your supply in the day starts to drop you can reintroduce the night feed and know that it doesn't work for you. It would be a good idea to see someone straight away to see if there is a physical problem such as a tongue tie, they get missed quite often. Could you afford to see someone privately?Or maybe push to get the appointment brought forwards. Could you ring the secretary of the dr you are booked to see? If you are in London look at the Kings College website, I think they have a tongue tie clinic once a week. You are doing really well , I hope you find a way to continue.

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PinkAvocado · 09/08/2018 07:38

I had similar and abposterior tongue tie had been missed. I’d been getting by using nipple shields (have you tried those!) but having the tongue tie fixed made all the difference.

I think mixed feeding is doable (definitely get advice from HV) but I’m not sure missing all the night feeds would keep the demand up and may impact the day.

Good luck. It isn’t always easy-I know Flowers

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smeerf · 09/08/2018 07:39

I was in a similar situation, I used nipple shields and they were a godsend, gave him something to grab onto. DS's shallow latch was down to a posterior tongue tie that I had snipped and then when he was 4 months we managed to stop using the shields.

Shields shouldn't be used for no reason as there's a chance that they can hinder milk transfer in some cases (although we never had that problem - DS is enormous) but they're a good last resort to try before switching to formula.

I liked the Mam ones (they hurt the least when I was bleeding) and then the Medela ones were the most natural after I'd healed.

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UnaOfStormhold · 09/08/2018 07:39

Would nipple shields help? I found they made an immediate difference and got me through until we had the tongue tie snipped.

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smeerf · 09/08/2018 07:43

If you're anywhere near South East London, the following two lactation consultants are amazing and will check you for tongue tie at their free clinics:

Maria, Deptford breastfeeding cafe 10am-12noon
Michaela, Bellingham breastfeeding cafe 10am-12noon

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ComeLuckyApril · 09/08/2018 07:45

Do you have nipple shields? They will really help!

If you can afford to see a private qualified lactation consultant, you might get some help that actually helps that way, NHS can be utterly pants at diagnosing tongue tie, so many told us DC didn't have one and they did.

I'm not surprised you're worn down, painful breastfeeding is hell.

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Zogthebiggestdragon · 09/08/2018 08:23

I found my husband giving a bottle or two at night of formula saved me. Meant I could get some sleep and give my tits a rest. My daughter is 20 weeks now and I can do exclusive bf if he's away so it's not affected my supply (it seems to for some people, not for others).

I would go for it with no guilt. As a pp said, if it affects your supply you can change back but either way you'll have had a rest.

I found bf got much easier around the ten weeks mark (different people give a different time which doesn't help, at 7 weeks I was googling "when does breastfeeding get easier").

Nipple shields might help too, just try whatever it takes to make it easier on yourself. Remember you can take paracetamol too, might take the edge off the pain.

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bluesky45 · 09/08/2018 14:17

I've been bf for morning feed and formula for afternoon/evenings for a couple of months now and had no problems

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MeadowHay · 14/08/2018 18:45

Thanks everyone. I usually use nipple shields at home but they're too fiddly for me to use when out and about Sad also if DD gets too worked up and screamy she refuses to feed with the shields so I can't use them then. I mentioned this to BF peer supporter but nobody seems to have ever heard of a baby suddenly refusing to latch with the shields Confused. I find that it is less painful with the shields and my nipples recover a bit, but it is still mildly painful with the shields, sometimes more so depending on her latch and occasionally she pulls my nipple all the way through the shield and you can see blisters from the holes on the shield. I use the biggest size shield already so don't have any options there. I find the Medela the best, have Lansinoh ones too but seems like my nipple gets pulled through that one more often. It's still not pain-free even with the shields but better than without.

DD is getting a bottle every night now, formula or expressed milk. Will start adding in another bottle maybe around midday or something from next week too.

The last few days have been super tough as she's been so screamy and the only thing that stops her screaming is feeding her so I've been stuck feeding her constantly with only like 20/30 minute gaps sometimes and often she's screaming for a lot of that while I struggle to go to the loo or get myself a drink or anything, gah. Spending most of the days at my parents as we've just moved house and it's being renovated, DM is good and helpful but everyone else - DF, DB and DS (who are both younger than me with no kids) and then all the extended family contacting me via Whatsapp telling me to formula feed as if she would cry less if she was formula fed. I have no idea why everyone thinks that would be the case because she is very well fed, I don't do much else other than feed her most days, and she's gaining weight well and growing tall, and I can express fairly well too, she has plenty of pooey and wet nappies so she is getting the milk so she's not crying because of hunger. It's so hard, I'm trying my absolute best to do what I feel will be best for her BF as much as possible even though I'm finding it so hard and the longer I persevere the more unsupportive my family all get and they're so vocal about it, I keep crying when she's crying but not because she's upsetting me, because I keep hearing "give her a bottle", "she's just such a bad-tempered baby" etc! Sad I know that's sort of another issue but it is tied in with my difficulties BF.

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MeadowHay · 14/08/2018 18:48

Oh also there's only lactation consultant in our city that we can find online (North West area) and we called her twice and left VM messages and no response. Am going to wait for hospital appt next week but heard bad things about the paediatrician running the clinic, apparently there is a type of tongue tie that she "doesn't believe in", so if she concludes nothing needs to be done I am going to see if I can borrow money from my parents to get her seen privately too.

Zog I have been obssessed with that too, 'when does breasteeding get easier'. But I can see online that some people have difficulty still at 12 weeks etc and it just doesn't get better. DD has a high palate and I've been reading about high intraoral vacuums so wonder whether that could be part of the problem too and if so there's nothing that can be done about it.

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doleritedinosaur · 14/08/2018 18:57

You say she’s screaming? Have you checked for intolerance & reflux/trapped wind as well?

The latch issues make it sound like you have a posterior tongue tie.
Unfortunately midwives are really bad at spotting tongue ties.
My son has a posterior tongue tie & I have to breastfeed with him on the
Breastfeeding pillow, lying with his legs out & keep adjusting the latch so it’s not painful & his lip is flanged out.

Just be aware dropping all night feeds could affect your day feeds.
Also if you’re around week 8 there’s a lot of cluster feeding & screaming going on due to growth spurts & a leap.

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TheBlueDot · 14/08/2018 19:15

My DS had/has a high palate and I really struggled with BF. I frequently cried when he latched on.

I just wanted to offer sympathy as I know it’s so hard when you can’t pinpoint why BF is so painful. You’ve done really well to get so far with it

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mydailymailhell · 14/08/2018 19:31

Hello - first of all, well done on breastfeeding your child - been there, done that and I really feel your pain. I had major issues with breastfeeding. Tongue tie was one of the issues. Had this fixed and things didn’t improve. I was obsessed with the latch and saw countless breastfeeding specialists. On the advice of one, I brought my son to a cranial osteopath, the problem was apparently that his jaw/neck was stiff caused probably by the c section plus forceps delivery. I noticed a slight improvement after each session but it did not fix it. It seems to work miracles for some people so it could be worth a try.

While I was going through breastfeeding hell, I asked myself whether in five years time I would look back and feel really happy that I had breastfed, or would I look back and regret feeling stressed and upset every time my baby wanted to feed. I decided that I was going to enjoy feeding my baby and if that meant more bottles and formula, so be it. My baby is now 18 months and hale and hearty. We mixed fed until 7 months but I wish I had just given up BF earlier because with the true benefit of hindsight I can see I would have enjoyed my baby more if I had admitted defeat earlier on.

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