Can someone explain how to go from breast to bottle feeding please?

[megcleary]

dd is 9 wo and I cannot cope any longer with breast feeding how do I stop?

No special way, meg - just to be sure to do it gradually, rather than cold turkey. So this might mean topping up with formula to extend the gaps between breastfeeds; giving a bottle of formula instead of a breastfeed once a day; giving one breast only and then a bottle.....or any combo of those, but not all of them on one day.

Are you fully breastfeeding at the moment? If you are already giving some formula, then maybe you can build on that.

Sorry it's not working out - anything we can suggest to make bf easier?

Oh my god the guilt is worse now the bf guru ticktok has replied :(
Am knackered & dh wants to help was doing a bottle of formula a day from 6 weeks so will just increase that.
It was two hourly last night and an hour each feed.
It is just completely disrupting family life I miss dd1 spending time with her etc have been on the sofa nine weeks now each week hoping it gets easier but nope.
Dh has gone from a huge bf advocate to seeing what a state it has left our family in not being a huge fan.

How about mix feeding for a while? Cut down to say, 4 breastfeeds during the day and the rest formula/formula at night - then DH can help and you can sleep.

Yep - Rita's suggestion is another option.

Mix feeding can also 'test' formula feeding for you - making sure a switch would make life easier for you before you burn your bridges sort of thing.

Because sometimes, babies who need a lot of breastfeeding are the same with formula feeding - ie they need a lot of comfort, closeness, contact. They don't necessarily change their personalities with it :)

(Why would me appearing on your thread bring a bunch of guilt to you? )

Meg, I've had a few problems like yours. Depending on how the times of the feeds are going, you could swap one of the feeds for a bottle. I'm giving a bottle at mid morning. I felt like all I was doing was feeding and it wasn't fair on ds1, so now this gives us a bit more flexibility to get out.

Don't feel guilty, of course breastfeeding is excellent, but so spending quality time with other family members

I feel guilty as it is best for dd2 who cannot voice her opinion. The rest of the family either miss mummy time or are worried about mummy so want me to stop.

Ticktok I have read some of your excellent support and feel bad as I want to stop for perhaps not valid reasons while some women nigh on make themselves ill trying to bf.

If I cut back does itmean when I do bf she will feed for longerwhen she latches on?

You could try swapping a breastfeed for a bottle feed and see what happens - difficult to predict exactly what your dd will do!

Breastfeeding is best for your dd but not at the expense of making you ill.

Do I have to swop out the same feed each time or can I mix and match as suits?

meg - I don't think it would matter.

The idea is to use the breasts less and this will make less milk...without leaving gaps that are too long and too frequent, as this will cause engorgement and possibly blocked duct/mastitis.

Would another option be to bottle feed and express reducing the expressing slowly?

Yes, but that sounds like hard work and time consuming!

It would be 'cold turkey' for your baby, too....no breastfeeding at all after a period where he is mainly bf.

meg, i managed to make cold turkey work for dd2. she took 2oz from her first bottle, 3 from the next, and by 5pm was finishing a bottle. there was NO hungry screaming and she adapted really well. she kept the same feeding pattern on formula as she did breastfeeding.

i was VERY engorged, and pumped to relieve discomfort and prevent mastitis. i started pumping 3x daily, then cut down. if you stop suddenly, i really would recommend pumping otherwise you will be very uncomfortable indeed.

Well she bf last at 930 out to park with dd1 till 12 dd2 then took 5 oz had a poo and plAy and slept from 1300-1330 she has now got her t
Fist in her mouth which I think is a hungry cue and I have latched her on a d will probably be her for afternoon.

Sigh I was hoping to get more time with dd1 this pm.

Can she really be hungry 90 mins After5oz....

Now on three bottles a day but nighttime has gone mad she will feed very 90 mins.

Does anyone know if it is because I am reducing th breastmilk she gets during the day is she going mad feeding at night.

Is she taking a proper feed each time at night, or is it just to get herself back to sleep?

Sometimes a proper feed sometimes just 20 min snack. Her other issue is her hands she keeps waking herself up scrabbling at her face and can't settle back we hold her hands then she settles. But let go and within 10 mi s she's awake again.

My ds does the same with his hands and he's 8 months! He hasn't grown out of it yet - I put socks on his hands at bedtime so at least he can't scratch himself and that has really helped.

If she feeds well in the day and is feeding that often at night, it suggests to me it's not about hunger/breastmilk as such, more that she wants the comfort and closeness of being at your breast. Do you co-sleep?

i stopped cold turkey and it was awful! i would soak through 4 breast pads an hour, and it was so painful! The pain stopped after about 4 days though, and then it was fine. I wouldn't suggest it as a good way to do it though.

DS didn't seem bothered at all by the lack of boob, he was used to having expressed milk in a bottle a few times a day anyway. He does still take comfort in stroking my boobs or cuddling into them though, i don't think that will change.

I tried cold turkey and my super stubborn dd held out for over 12 hours! Was having none of it! I should add that we only went cold turkey at over 6 months and she was on purees. Not sure I would go cold turkey on one so little?

If it any help/ reassurance, at this stage, my dd was so not in a routine feeding wise and I was still having a great deal of discomfort. By 12 weeks I saw a massive difference and some semblance of a pattern!

Have you tried swaddling her to stop the hand wakening? We used the Harvey Karp method- the only way to keep our little Houdini in her swaddle.

I hope that you find a resolution to this- one that suits you and your family.