I think I have lost the battle with the bottle

[Giddyup]

I posted last week about my DD resisting BF. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/1125918-is-this-a-nursing-strike and
I received some good advice and I thought on Fri I had it pretty much nailed again. But since then things have gone really down hill.
Today I have had to give 3 bottles Formula as DD has either started screaming as soon as I try and feed her or fed restlessly for a minute then refused to continue.

If I don't give her a bottle she can't sleep and just gets more and more upset, she has also started waking in the night again. I am expressing when possible but it's really hard as I don't want to express milk so then if she latches on and finds none it will put her off more.

Also I am on my own with both DC 24 hrs a day from Monday 7am - Sunday 4am as DP works in London and we can't relocate at the moment. So Bfing takes up ages, add to that bottle feeding, expressing and sterilising etc and I just can't do it all.

Also I still feel like I have milk but can't seem to express much at all. I can never get that much (4oz maybe) but now its more like 2 and she takes around 7oz for a full feed

I just don't know what to do any more, I feel so guilty but also am worried the more I force the issue the more it will ruin this wonderful time with my wonderfully easy and contented last baby. She gets so distressed and stops as soon as I give her a bottle

When the bloody HV wanted me to start topping up regularly again (as opposed to a couple of times a week) I told her I was worried about it ruining BFing and I stupidly believed her when she said it would be fine.

Hi Loopy, how are you and your weekend? Luckily Formula doesn't make DD sleep any longer, it is purely just managing to get sufficient volume into her by 7pm and yes I know I have been a lucky so and so! Last nught she slept 11 hours but she did have a bed time bottle.

She BF'd brilliantly all day though. When she wasn't sure at my mums I just took her upstairs and she was fine.

I have a plan to eliminate a nightly bottle being necessary; see if you think it would work...

Every moring my supply is so violent that she often pukes in quite amazing fashion all over both of us after I have already woken soaking and rock hard. The evening bottle when needed is only because she feeds pretty constantly between 5 and 7pm.

So I thought that by giving the bottle at 5 instead of 6 for a week, then the mid afternoon feed for a week and so on... Until she had had it for her midmorning feed for week then dropping it might work as I have so so much milk every morning?

I thought this might be better than just reducing it in the evening as it should sort out the scary morning fire hydrant of milk that might be frightening her off some days.

Please excuse my terrible spelling and grammar, I am trying to type it how I am thinking it whilst feeding!

Block feeding might slow down the flow. And could you express before she wakes up (or on the side she's not feeding from on that first feed)? Then you could use that in the evening.

If you are that full I'm not surprised she's not coping with 11 hours worth of rested boob That's a hit the wall opposite problem, isn't it

Hi Pork, I need to increase evening supply whilst losing morning supply though, could I do that block feeding? RE: expressing in the morning I think I am too lazy to get up before my DC, that's bad really isn't it?!

I am going to BF group on Tuesday and the lady is going to let me try a couple of slings. I am happy to continue the cluster feeds at that time as both my children being put in ther respective boxes by 7.30pm is a sanity saver!

I should be writing my dissertation at the moment too and if I have any hope of getting it done, my evenings to myself are a must. If I can get back to just BF day to day that will save time too.

If I can just get through the next 12 days juggling cluster feeding and everything else in the evening then I will have my co parent and 2 very willing babysitters for 3 whole weeks. It will be in Australia though so goodness only knows what that's going to do to DCs sleeping and eating patterns

I moved to the states to start a new job when DD was 3.5 months and it didn't really have an effect.

Also before that I had to finish my PhD thesis so understand about the juggling.

good luck

That's good to know. Thanks