My baby is 5 weeks old and he's not put on as much weight as HV would like. So far I've been exclusively breast feeding & ideally that's how I'd like it to stay.
LO feeds on and off between midnight and 8am every day & he's exhausted, so I introduced a dummy to help him settle (he doesn't settle well during the day either). The dummy worked the first night and he slept for 4 hours in a row (unheard of!).
His attachment is sometimes off, especially at night for some reason, & Im left with very sore, white, cracked nipples. I'm not sure if it's all just in my sleep-deprived head or not, but when he does feed, most of it is quick sucking - maybe only a couple of gulps suck-swallowing. He's producing a lot of wet and dirty nappies, so surely he must be getting enough milk? If not - perhaps I should introduce a bottle at night, which might help him sleep better too?
Where's the baby instruction manual again...?! Thanks in advance for your input!
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Infant feeding
BF should I suppliment?
Firsttimemum17 · 05/08/2017 08:48
He has dropped from 93rd to 73rd but hv said I shouldn't worry too much (unfortunately, as you may be able to tell, I am a natural worrier!). I did attend one this week but I struggled to articulate my concerns - mainly due to lack of sleep I think! Will go again next week, thank you. LO did have tongue tie but it's been fixed - I'm not sure my nipples ever recovered from the original bad attachment come to think of it. There's definitely milk there as one leaks when I'm using the other (sorry if tmi!). I just don't want him going hungry and as a result not sleeping. But perhaps some babies just don't sleep as much as they're 'meant' to? 
Don't compare your baby to a bottle fed baby - they behave in very different ways. (In fact, try not to compare your baby to ANY other baby!)
If there are plenty of wet and dirty nappies and baby seems content then you're doing ok. It's very normal for bf babies to drop percentiles, or dip occasionally.
I'd persevere with the support group too, if I were you, their tips should be useful.
If you do decide to give a bottle of formula, don't feel bad about it, you're still bf most of the time, and as long as baby is fed that's the main thing, but make sure you only do it if YOU want to, not because others (including HV, etc) think it would be a good idea. 
My first was a terrible sleeper, he would sleep for 2 hours if we were lucky, but my second & third were/are brilliant sleepers, all bf, whereas one of my friends is bottle feeding her LO who is two weeks older than my third (7weeks) & her LO only sleeps for 1-2 hours at a time, & is a very unsettled baby. What I'm trying to say is that some babies sleep, some don't, you cannot compare your baby to others.
My breasts no longer feel full & hard, but I know that my milk is there, it has just settled now that bf is fully established. Your baby is still very young & needs to feed in the night, I personally wouldn't supplement with formula, as this can have a bad effect on your supply.
I agree with continuing with the support group, there will probably be people there with the same issues. Good luck
What's his nappy output like? Plenty of wet and dirty nappies means he's still getting plenty of milk.
Babies are confusing things and the early days of BF are even more so. If you're thinking about a bottle to supplement BF, this is quite a good read about steps to take/ things to think about before supplementing:
https://themilkmeg.com/have-you-been-told-to-supplement-8-crucial-steps-to-take-after-a-recommendation-to-supplement/
You could also ring the La Leche league BF advisors.
If you feel like you've reached a point and need a break, giving a bottle is absolutely fine.
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