HELP PLEASE! 3wk old daughter, want to stop breast feeding

[Jen2727]

Any advice would be appreciated. I have a 3wk old daughter and we have been experiencing problems breast feeding. She has always been a fussy feeder and a sleepy one too - she takes a while to latch on, keeps coming on and off and fussing further and i have to wake her during feeds and i struggle to keep her attention. She is putting on weight well, so there are no problems with the amount that she is feeding. It takes an hour/hour and a half to get her to feed for an average of 20 minutes. She feeds every 3-4.5 hours and i feel like i have no time to go anywhere between feeds. I am getting quite depressed about it and am considering quitting and switching to formula to take the pressure off myself.
Has anyone had similar experiences or does anyone have any advice as to how to introduce formula or expressed milk? I was led to believe that you can't really express until 6wks as it may deplete your milk supply. Is this correct?
Any advice on combining formula feeding and breast feeding? I know nothing about formula feeding and wouldn't have the first idea as to which formula/bottle teats to buy ...
I would be really grateful for any advice

Re: bottles/teats etc - we use the small medela bottles, which I think came with one pump or another - and the teats that came with them, so nothing fancy. I think DP used a slow flow teat to start with, and then wondered if DS was getting a bit impatient, so tried a medium flow teat. Now I think he uses whichever comes out of the dishwasher 1st...

You can get cheap 3 packs of bottles and teats on Amazon if getting to a shop is going to be a pain.

I'd start with something basic and cheap (and small - no point wielding a huge bottle with a 3 week old, too much juggling), and then move on to experiment with other teats/bottles if you feel you need to. I think it's similar territory to expressing - some people swear by x, and others don't see any difference.

poor you, you sound really down, but try not to worry because the baby blues can carry on for up to eight weeks...just roll with the horrible emotional rollercoaster and one day soon you'll look back and with slight increduality and lauughingly say 'remember when i started crying because my tea wasnt hot enough' or words to that effect.
i wont tell you to switch to formula or that you should stick to breast no matter how much it feels wrong, ive done both. my eldest i breastfed for 9 days, then switched to formula, suffered painful engorgement and didnt realise what a pain it was making up enough bottles properly, however i found it a relief to be able to pass little one onto husband and have a break from a very demanding baby, i also felt that i had more freedom when i left the house. second time round little one is 12 weeks and im still bf, although i have bought a tin of formula as i think am going to mix feed from now on. this time round tho i had no choice cos i broke my ankle at 39 wks, so couldnt move my backside off the couch if i wanted. i would say to ignore those around you and follow your instincts. YOU are mum, no-one else and you follow your gut and you wont go far wrong. try to ignorethe desire for things to go back to 'normal', they never will now. its difficult but they are only this tiny once, enjoy having a lovely tiny baby, and do whatever feels right. there are pro and cons to both sides. u sound just as i felt after having my first tho, and i hated that time in my life, if i could turn the clock back i would-dont let it get that bad, talk to a proffessional if needs be remember that you know best, babies will cry, but it wont damage them irrevocably if you let them cry for a bit...i could go on but will bore you, whatever you decide to do tho, your baby wont judge you for it, babies are hardy little things, its your own emotions you need to deal with...good luck xxx