I've had enough of breastfeeding and its only been 2 weeks!!

[SleepingWithABrokenHeart]

I had to mix feed because I have a huge baby who just wants to eat, eat, eat!! I could not keep him off the boob which makes it difficult, esp when you have another child to care for, not to mention the pain. (latch is fine)

Hes now not keeping his formula down, I've tried expressing and topping him up with breast milk from a bottle to give my boobs a break and this doesn't satisfy him.

He doesn't sit still on my boob, he tries to look around and move while taking my nipple with him! OUCH!

I've rang the midwife, she said changing his formula could upset his stomach, give him more boob, less formula but this is the reason I mixed feed!!! I'm now giving him boob again because hes hungry still and I'll proberly end up spending the rest of the night like this. I'm so fucking fed up I just want to get through a fucking feed without crying HELPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!

baby 2 weeks old. on aptimal. I dont want to EBF and right now I'm so upset I cant help my baby I just want to give up altogether !

www.laleche.org.uk/

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/

Sorry I dont have experience of mix feeding but at two weeks you are still establishing supply so regardless of other children etc. I do believe you will need to spend a lot of time feeding (dd fed pretty much hourly for the first three months or so, after taking a week and a half to get the hang of latching). I think it is correct though that if you introduce formula at this stage it is likely to reduce your supply or interfere with production. What were your reasons for wanting to breastfeed? Will reminding yourself of that help? LA Leche league were great support for me but if you want someone to tell you to give up breastfeeding its not the right place to go. Good luck, a 2 week old baby is f#cking hard and youre doing a great job

I just wanted to try it, and now I feel to attached I cant give it up.

Yes your right, I just want somebody to tell me to give up. I feel so guilty just considering it and I have no idea why.

If you want to stop bf then do. There is too much pressure on women to bf. I would def. mixed feed with my next and start on formula ASAP.

I've got myself into such a state right now I just want to give him to oh and walk out, Its not the first time I've got into a state over it I knw it wont be the last.

Can you set yourself shorter goals - say you will breastfeed until the end of this week, then hopefully the next etc? It truly won't be forever and every extra week you manage is great for your baby, it doesnt have to be 6 months or nothing. How old is your other DC? There have been threads on here before about how to entertain toddlers with special toys etc whilst your stuck on the couch feeding. My understanding is that bottle feeding with newborns can still take a long time and be quite tedious so that may need solving either way. Good luck x

Me and oh went through the pros and cons of both in the first week when I was trying to EBF and it worked out bottle was best or us, yet I still find my self trying.. I'm not enjoying it.

He wont keep formula down so even if I stopped now what the hell would he have?

We moved dd onto formula at 6 days old.

A few things we found are she took too much from the bottle so would posset milk. If your mix feeding you may find bottle feeding messy while your dc gets used to the change in flow from breast and bottle.

All formulas are as good as each other but Cow and Gate made her retch. Ds would only settle with SMA. Try a few and stick with the one your dc is most comfortable with. Buy the ready made bottles until you've decided which one suits her.

SMA tastes horrible compared to the others.

It's complete trial and error.

My LO is 4 next month

Oh hon just read your last post. Baby won't starve, give your baby to your dh and get out the house for a couple of hours. Maybe go to the cinema so you have an excuse to turn off your phone, or go have a nice dinner on your own with the company of a trashy mag

If you want to stop. Stop. They are so small for such a short time and spending it miserable and stressed -/more than you need to be-- is pointless.

Only you know how far you are prepared to go and what your threshold is for deciding how long to bf for.

You should do what works for you. You are no use to baby of you are in a state. Breast is best yes but you do have to think of yourself too. Your rest and health and well being is important to. :)

Try a comfort or stay down formula.

I was in a terrible state op. Dd was my second child. Ds was breast fed for 4 weeks and it wasn't happening! It was my MIL who stepped in and said its not worth it. I never looked back.

I swore I wouldn't do the same with Dd but I did. Tore myself in half trying to breastfeed. The whole family was miserable. My dh bought formula and gave her it when I was in bed asleep after no rest for 3 days.

It was such a relief to just stop. Happy mum = happy baby. Stop if you want to. Enjoying your baby while they are little is so much more important than fulfilling a government statistic!

I get this. Been there. If you are continuing with breastfeeding that's fine, and you have every right to feel exhausted.

However if you are thinking formula- Have you tried small formula feeds roughly every 3hrs or more frequently if they want it. Roughly offer about 70-100ml in warmed bottle with slow flow teat. Let them take breaks if they needs, and winding at end.

Sorry if this is obvious or annoying (its not meant to be, one of our DCs was veryyyyy sensitive to cold milk...pukeathon if too cold).

I second get yourself a break, get your partner to give a formula feed while you grab a relax somewhere. Can recommend Hipp milk- but it's whatever works for you, whether breast, bottle, or mix.

x

Ps OP the fact you are on asking and worried shows you are a good mummy!

If you need to give up then just do it. Formula feeding is a perfectly viable alternative.

I began trying to breastfeed my eldest many years ago now. It was horrendous. She never latched on, and when she was only four days old I got gastroenteritis, became dehydrated and then any supply I had had ended. It had been a very difficult birth too with many complications, and PND was also setting in. For good measure too, I was so sleep deprived that all I cared about was getting her fed, settled and keeping what remained of my sanity at that point. I gave bottles from that point on and never looked back.

I too had midwives who gave similar advice to yours, but I knew it just didn't suit me. One in particular who visited us at home was VERY pushy about breastfeeding and didn't want to listen to an alternative point of view. She was given short shrift by my husband (also sleep deprived at that point) and changed her tune after that. Other midwives were more flexible.

Good luck. Just try some different formula samples and different teats until you find a combination that works for you.

Thank you all for the replies. I've had a good blub to oh (second time in 2 weeks now) and decided its time.
As pp have said, hes only small or a short amount of time and I want to enjoy him.

I'm going to go with what a pp said and try him on another milk (cartons until we found one he settles with) but I don't have a clue what get. Is there a specific one that works best for babies that are comming off the boob?

Glad to hear you are ok, and your OH is supporting you- good man.

I used hipp organic stage 1 cartons after boob, but as they say on tv other brands are available :-).

As others have said, I too also had a fab midwife who said happy mummy= happy baby. Best advice ever.

Enjoy your special time with the tiny, cuddly LO; and do things that relax you both - look forward to Xmas with your family. It does get easier and as others have said we have all felt moments like this. Lack of sleep and hormone crash equals self doubt and magnification of worries.

x

Sleeping, if you're going to stop bf then don't try to go cold turkey - you are likely to end up painfully engorged, risking blocked ducts, mastitis, etc., until your boobs figure out what's happening.

It will be safer to do it gradually but I really recommend you talk to a bf counsellor as midwives are not always the best informed, even those with extra training in bf. Ring the nct helpline and ask them how to safely stop - their bf counsellors are there to help, not judge, and are v well informed.

Good luck!

They are all basically the same it's trial and error. Might be worth trying the stay down one if he's bringing it up.

And more importantly do not feel guilty. I know that's how it feels right now (been there too) but you re a loving mum who is trying to do her best. He's warm and fed and dressed and more importantly loved. That's all that matters!!!! You have done great and your a good mum please believe that!!!

Well we got some Cow & Gate, he was doing well up until now and has just thrown up again.

I did give NCT a call, they told me to give him the breast for 5 mins when hes due a feed and if I don't feel full when his feed is due to give it a miss.

I've just done this and it seems to have knocked him out for a min.. She also said he could have colic and thats why he can't keep his milk down.

He could just have eaten too much. The effort with a bottle is much less ergo they eat more and quickly. I'd feed slightly less and keep him upright after feeds. Perhaps elevate one end of the basket/cot slightly so he's not got a "full stomach" sitting on him all night.

Would he take a dummy. Perhaps it's not all hunger but he just likes the sucking. I'd see of a dummy perhaps would settle him too after a bit less formula.

He has a dummy but only really has it when hes really hungry, usually he just has it to comfort himself while bottles are doing e.g.

We did think hes probably having too much.

I hope he gets on ok with the C&G :) take advantage of being able to pass him over to dh and get some rest!