Thinking about stopping bf

[glitternanny]

My lo is 5 weeks and I'm thinking about stopping bf.

He's struggling to gain weight having only put in 2 & 1/2 oz since birth.
We are already topping up with formula (tho was advised against doing this by the hospital when I called on Xmas eve cos he kept being sick) so have been giving full bottles at a feed during the day.

The last advice the Hv gave was offer both breasts, then top up with expressed milk or formula and express after every feed.

I gave up expressing cos I just wasnt getting anything and I was getting miserable about it all, already feeling bad that MY milk isn't enough - I have history of depression so pnd is a real concern.

So now thinking about stopping bf completely, I'd have to stop in a few weeks anyway to get ready to go back to work.
I dont have the same hate/jealousy(?) towards the bottles that I used to have and I've bonded with my son.

I just don't want to regret 'giving up'. I know I could do more to make my milk better and I've tried a bit but not as much as I could - for my own sanity I guess rather than not caring...

I'm all confused about what to do

I have went through stages of wanting to give up over the past few months. The advice just take one feed at a time works.
Also you don't need to make your milk better, its the best there is for your baby. You might need to make more of it and hopefully someone else will post with advice on that. No matter u decide is best for u both u have fed him for five weeks and that is an achievement.
Also expressing isn't a good indicator of what milk is available though it Will help increase your supply.
I found i can get more via expressing first thing in the morning and away from baby. I read a book and its enough to stop me worrying how much I've got and then the let down happens.

:( :( glitter.

Call one of the helplines. They will help you make up your mind about the best option for you.

Breastfeeding has not gone well for you and your baby but that's no one's 'fault' and it's not something that has come out of the blue either - from what I remember of previous posts you had poor care from the start and poor information, and since then there has been a lot of formula on the scene as a result . There are reasons for the whole set of difficulties, and you will have learnt a lot for next time :) whatever you decide to do for now.

YOur milk is already the best it can be for your baby.
Are you feeding him until he stops feeding? Sometimes they nod off halfway through a feed and if you take them off then they will want more sooner and your body will think it doesn't need to make enough for the next feed.

Offer him one side then the other after winding

Was he a big weight to start with? Sometimes bigger babies don't put so much weight on in the first few weeks. And not all babies follow the charts.

IF you're not expressing much then don't worry. I had loads of milk with dd2 and would leak if she slept too long. I couldn't express more then an ounce, even though I obviously had lots of milk.

Also try and destress yourself. Adrenaline overrides milk production so the more stressed you feel the harder it is to produce milk. I know it's hard to calm down when you are worried about feeding baby but take as many distractions away as possible and it should help

Good luck

Thanks everyone

Little man put on 6 & 1/2 oz :) yippeeeee!

He's now 7lbs 8oz (birth weight 6lbs 15oz) he'll br 5 weeks tomorrow.

Feeling much happier. I've told them I've stopped expressing cos it was making me miserable. Just gonna keep going.

He's on the 25% line now.

Gonna go back next Wednesday.

hi just been reading your thread.well done on keeping going! it's great that you are feeling happier about it now! I havent got much to add but breastfeeding can help with depression and pnd, so is especially good that you're keeping going. take care.

Aw, well done little man!

I had similar problems to yours glitter and when my baby was around 5wo I nearly gave up as well because I was feeling completely miserable and a failure. We were mix feeding from the start because she lost loads off her birth weight within a week and the midwife was concerned, so there was a point when I though, "Aarrgh, this is just not happening, I can't bf, she can't either, why are we making ourselves suffer here?" I was in pieces. However, I kept at it and one day, at around 7-8 weeks, something just clicked and we got the hang of it and it worked really well. I even started expressing once a day and getting a lot more (and more as I went on). Don't know if there is an explanation but I was so glad I carried on regardless. It's not wonderful and amazing but I know it's good for my baby and it's great to be so much more relaxed about it now. Some of us just take ages.

Now i'm on my laptop I can reply properly - I'm feeling calmer now after the gain yesterday and hoping to just keep going as I am.

I'm doing OK - have been doing OK considering some mummies issues and I am pleased I've been able to feed him even though it hasn't been as smooth as it could've been with regards to his weight and not being able to exclusively breast feed.

I think the mix we've got at the moment works for me and for baby and that's the important bit.

I have been giving him both sides til he fusses which to me is a sign 'its all gone mummy' if he's wanting more then I had been giving him a bottle as a top up - he needed two last night.

If he falls asleep then I try and wake him up - and wind him/strip him/blow in his face - if he doesn't wake then I take it he's had enough.