Is it me?

[Beccarollo]

After reading my threads you may know Harvey was being very sicky and I subsequently switched mainly to bottles (not for this reason I might add, just to give background!)

Anyway, since bottles his sickiness has vastly reduced, I just breastfed him before and he was very sick?

Is it my milk that was/is making him sick?

It doesn't seem likely. How old is Harvey? Maturity seems to be a more likely explaination, and that you changed over to bottles at exactly the time his body was learning not to chuck. Possibly also the feeding position, as I find that I tend to hold the baby in a more upright position when bottlefeeding than when breastfeeding. Please don't feel blue, I'm sure he got more from your milk than he lost by sicking.

He is almost 14 weeks - just that now breastfeeds are rare he was sick after the breastfed feed when he doesnt after formula feed. When I latched him on it was really nice to see him on the boob and feeding nicely and I was going to up the breastfeeds but then when he was sick Im not sure what to do.

Although I was happy with my reasons to introduce more bottles and still think its the right way to go I keep feeling very sad.

No reason why breastmilk would make him sick in the sense of vomitting. Beccarollo. Babies do throw up, and it means nothing - they don't care you have to change their clothes including vest

Formula sometimes stays down because it's a bit thicker, and maybe he took more breastmilk than he actually needed 'cos he liked being there! Then he would just get rid of the over-flow by bringing it up.

My dd was a champion vomitter, posseter and dribbler, and it didn't seem to make any difference how she was fed. But the vomitting eased up a lot around 3m - so about the same age as your ds - though it didn't go away entirely until she'd been on solids for a couple of months.

Having breastfed and bottlefed, I do think that in the early months (and this may be a reactionary attitude) bottlefeeding can be far more intimate, as you get to have good eye contact with the baby almsot from the begining.

Tiktok, my mum says that my brother was sick after every feed for exactly that reason. She was in hospital for nearly 2 weeks (1960s!) so before every feed she'd go to the SCBU-equivalent and express some milk for the babies there, before returning to feed her own baby.

I agree with Tiktok. More likely he has taken more than he needed and therefore brought up excess. At least breast milk doesn't smell rancid. One thing is for sure, it sounds as though you have more than enough milk for him. If you feel sad then keep going. Remember all the goodness he is getting from breastmilk that he can't get from formula. The antibodies will be really good for protecting him, even if there are a few on his bib

Thanks, you lot must get so sick of me!! I just cant seem to decide what to do - bottlefeeding has been going on fine and dandy and he is taking to it very well, seems to enjoy his bottles etc but I sometimes think "Why did I do this again!?"

Oh, Beccarollo, you really are in a dilemma aren't you? It seems to me (and I've read all your threads) that deep down you want to breast feed but you keep having anxieties about your milk being not good enough 'quality' or making him sick and I'm absolutely positive it can't be the case, especially as you say he's a very good size. I do understand as I always had breast milk anxieties but now looking back (dd 14 months) I can't see what I was so worried about.

boyandgirl, I'm amazed that you find bottle feeding 'more intimate' as I truly can't imagine anything more intimate than breast feeding and the eye contact is incredibly strong right from the beginning. Even now I only breast feed my daughter in the evenings I find it incredibly close and snuggly and so does she. She has bottles for the rest of the day and it feels rather formal and distant to me.

Evita - anyone reading all of my threads must think Im a fruit cake! I feel pulled in both directions but not even sure why!

hmmm maybe I am a fruitcake

I think we're all fruit cakes. I've driven my partner mad with my endless provarications about all sorts of things. Somehow I've lost the ability to make a decision and stick to it. That's why I feel for your plight. I still have all sorts of things I'm not sure about and feel pulled in 2 directions at once.

Evita, ds was mixed-fed until he started solids, and then gradually moved over completely onto bottles by about 5.5m. It was lovely snuggling him and holding him close, especially feeding lieing down in bed, but when I bottlefed him he would hold onto my fingers and watch me, making full eye-to-eye contact. That was immensely pleasurable. Dd is fully breastfed, apart from the occasional 'convenience' bottle, and she is extrememly hard to feed. She thrashes and twists, pinches and fiddles with my skin (has drawn blood and bruised my breasts many times) and pulls incredibly hard at the nipple. She's nearly a year old and it's only in the last couyple of months that she has started making eye-contact while feeding, and when she does she tends to feed a little more placidly. Can you wonder that placid eye-contact feels more intimate than painful thrashing?

Well, boyandgirl that's a totally different experience to mine! I get more of the thrashing / refusing to feed when I offer a bottle! When I give a breast it's all loving and cuddly. Strange how the little critters differ isn't it?

I have been fully bottlefeeding for a few days now and Im missing BFing dreadfully - I just expressed before and got an ounce out of both after about half an hour! Decided Im going to offer boob before bottle and express to see if I can get it back.

Thanks for listening to me bumble on about this!

Ill keep you posted!

Beccarollo, good luck....there is a link to relactation info on another thread.

You can offer breast before bottle anyway, just for the cuddliness of it, if you like - sometimes that is less pressured than doing so as a means to getting milk back

All the best Beccarolla, I felt very sad when I stopped feeding DS1 at 16 weeks, the feeling stayed with me for a very long time, if you would be happier b/feeding again definately go for it, I'm sure you will get loads of help and support on Mumsnet.

Gosh, I feel miserable about giving up my last 2 feeds a day with my daughter who's 14 months! I was thinking about it this morning that I really should think about giving up soon before it's too late yet I somehow can't bear the thought. I'm not sure my daughter can either.

Beccarollo, there's good info on domperidone and fenugreek on this website . After my difficulties feeding ds, I was very concerned that I might have the same problems with dd, so I used fenugreek. In fact, I'm about to start taking Sudafed for my umpteenth cold this winter, and as it may reduce the milk I'll be taking fenugreek again to try and counteract that effect.

I have just remembered that when I was pregnant with dd I couldn't eat mushrooms as they gave me terrible tummy-uspets, and when dd was born we found that although I could eat mushrooms again, when I did then she would throw up more than usual, get very upset and have dreadful poos. Perhaps something you were eating then was affecting your ds. It might have no effect by now.

Good luck Becca you won't regret trying again, but you may well regret not trying iykwim