Switching to Bottle feeding

[angelallsorts]

Hi ladies!
I need some advice if possible!? My LO is nearly 4 weeks old and i have been breastfeeding her exclusively. BUT, although she is gaining weight and very content it's not going so well from my perspective. BF really hurts me, my nipples are cracked and bleed at every feed and it's really getting me down. I begrudge feeds and can't cuddle my daughter properly as i'm so sore and tender. I have accessed local support groups and sought help from a lactation consultant to assess my latch but i just can't seem to get it right. I have used nipple shields from the outset and these aren't helping.
So, i have decided to switch to formula so that i enjoy feeding my little girl.

I have expressed milk and given my LO this via a bottle today which she took no problem at all (think the nipple shields really helped here). So, what i really want advice on is how to introduce the formula. How quickly can this be done? Have read posts on lots of forums and some people have gone cold turkey whilst others have introduced it over a matter of weeks. What are the risks of going cold turkey? Is this harmful to baby? What signs should i look out for that the transition is going well (nappy wise)?

Any help/advice anyone can offer me would be much appreciated.

Thanks :)

Very similar situation here so I read your post with interest and can't wait to hear what others suggest!
My wee one is five and a half weeks old, thought I was getting on okay as he's healthy, gaining weight and clearly getting plenty milk through BF. I've had some nipple issues but main problem is that breasts have become increasingly sore after/between feeds to the point of me being in tears last Friday and several times this week.
I've been advised that it's attachment and position problems, and that I've probably been going wrong for weeks and it's just now really taking it's toll. Have had help to try to improve but finding it very hard to correct where I'm going wrong.
To answer your question, when I asked HV she said if I wanted to go to formula I could just give up BF and go to FF straight away. Her advice was to massage off a little milk when in the shower/bath, but avoid stimulation as this might mean supply remains.
She was also very positive that mixed feeding can work, that a formula feed or two each day could give nipples/breasts a bit of recovery time and take pressure off the situation without having too much effect on supply. For what it's worth this is what I'm going for, still trying to improve BF but with FF as back up for the odd feed when it's just too hard. I don't know if this is the beginning of the end of BF for us or if the odd FF will get us through a hard time before BF full time again, but feel like I'm keeping options open.
Like you though I have found it very hard to get useful information about BF to FF transition at this stage, and there's conflicting views which makes it hard to know what to do.
Good luck!

Also interested in any experience anyone has of switching. I'm currently expressing as well as ff, but hoping to cut this down. Expressing is helping with engorgement and also wanted to ease the transition over to formula. I didn't give DS any expressed milk on first day and he got really constipated so I've reintroduced to hopefully aid moving to full time formula.

I currently combination feed. I had to give ds top ups from birth because in the beginning he wasn't getting enough. (Ds is now 20wks)

If your wanting to completely formula feed. I have been told its best to replace a feed with formula every few days (or a pace your comfortable with) until you are completely on the bottle. This should help your supply reduce gradually & you won't end up with full boobs that hurt.

HTH