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Giving up expressing

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Charly90 Mon 20-May-19 05:32:11

Hi all
My baby girl is four weeks old and we are combination feeding ( I felt guilt enough doing this as had wanted to bf exclusively but after a traumatic afterbirth involving a retained placenta, surgery and large amounts of blood loss, my body took a while to recover from all I trauma and it affected my milk supply)
Last night me and my husband discussed things and decided it would be best for me to stop- I'm exhausted, upset because I feel like I should be spending the hours I spend expressing with DD and just generally finding the whole thing very difficult as well as physically and mentally draining and at times painful!
Problem is I'm now sat here wondering if this is the right decision or not? I feel like I'm being a bad mum - that maybe I should just suck it up for her sake but deep down I know it's making me miserable (hubbys main concern) and would it not make me a better mum to spend that time with my baby and to be happier.
I just feel so guilty about the thought of actually giving up sadI don't know what to do!

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ellesbellesxxx Mon 20-May-19 05:50:06

I had similar agonies over stopping feeding my twins... it was taking so long to feed each of them, I didn’t feel I was getting proper quality time with them. A friend gave me this advice that you have to just make the decision and then not kook

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chocodrops Mon 20-May-19 05:51:21

I've been there exclusively pumping & giving formula. It was so exhausting and miserable. It's the hardest way to feed.

You've done amazingly well for your DD. To keep going for four whole weeks after such a traumatic experience and all the challenges a newborn brings is so brave. Well done. thanks

Is your bub latching to the boob at all? If you want you can keep this going for her comfort and your bonding even though you decide to stop pumping.

You could also decrease pumping to a level you feel is sustainable rather than stopping altogether. Certainly a good idea to drop it down gradually or you run the risk of engorgement, blocked ducts and mastitis - on the way down you might find a level you're happy to keep going at. You can cluster pump to reduce the time you're using the thing but keep supply maximized.

If you still have some milk you can pick up the pumping again in the future and your body will respond.

Good luck, let us know how it goes thanks xxx

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ellesbellesxxx Mon 20-May-19 05:52:38

Whoops! Look back.
I do sometimes wonder if I did the right thing but actually they were more settled (they had to be combo fed due to low supply and they lost too much weight despite my best efforts) and I was happier too as we were able to do more, I could play with them both more, so that part I have no regrets on!

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