Advice desperately needed- transition to bottle from bf

[Lizzietow]

Hi- it's so hard to find any information on this and it's really getting me down/making me feel so guilty. DD2 is 2 weeks old, and although she is thriving, I find bf so hard. Not only am I constantly sore, but I find it hard to manage DD1 with frequent sit downs to bf for 30 mins at a time or more. With DD1 I only managed 5 weeks due to soreness and she was vomiting my blood.

I just want to know that someone else out there has made the same decision as me to switch to formula or combine. I just feel so bad about it but don't want to carry on EBF. I just want some normality back!

I combined with DD1 and DS2 and then BF for a month with DD2 before switching over to both and then bottle only.

DD1 was outrageously hungry, permanently on the breast and my midwife was so good, was really cross in fact that I'd been 'pressured' into changing my mind from bottle (which had been the plan) and that now I felt like a failure.

Should say that DS1 was bottle fed from the start due to op post birth and it was the same 'home' midwife with DD1.

Don't feel guilty, a happy Mummy makes for a happy baby and I interchanged with no ill effects with DS2 and DD2 at varying number of weeks-mainly because with 2 children I, too wanted some semblence of normality.

Used the Tommee Tippee 'boob shaped' bottles if that helps at all.

Thanks ankle - what was the number of weeks you made the switch?

oh gosh Lizzie , right.

DD1 was just 10 days old and I so hormonal about the whole thing. DS2 was about 2 weeks and I combined for around a month before going all bottle. DD2 was just over 6 weeks when I combined and then roughly 2 and a half months when I went bottle only.

I used aptamil milk with all of them (hungry baby, not 1st one) as that was the one my midwife recommended with DS1.

Hope that helps

That is really helpful, thank-you! Glad to know there's someone else on mumsnet who's done the same.