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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

I hate breastfeeding right now ,I feel like screaming

38 replies

peggotty · 14/03/2008 17:56

Ds 8 weeks old latching on and off on and off constantly, screaming. Think I have oversuuply. can't seem to get latched on properly. I've tried every bloody position under the sun to feed him , block feeding, a dummy.... anything. Tonight have resorted to a bottle of formula as so desperate but he wouldn't take that either. Tried skin to skin to try and calm him so he would latch on better but that hasn't worked either. He is screaming in the other room now and I think I might explode. My dd has been ignored all afternoon because I've been struggling to feed ds all afternoon. and now she's eating fucking tinned macaroni in front of the television while I ignore them both. Why is it so difficult to feed my son? (sorry about my language I feel so desperate) COuld this be a growth spurt as well?

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smallwhitecat · 14/03/2008 18:00

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beansprout · 14/03/2008 18:05

I don't have any advice but you know I have had similar problems. How you feel is utterly understandable though. It is really, really hard sometimes. I hope someone with some better advice comes along in a moment.

peggotty · 14/03/2008 18:06

Thank you, I just need to vent i think - there is nothing anyone can really do I know. I am just miserable with this. It makes me so sad that my ds seems to hate bf-ing too. I was not bloody prepared for all these problems, just visoins of calm baby feeding then happily dozing off, not this living hell!!!! (ok melodramatic maybe but it's not bloody pleasant)

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soremummy · 14/03/2008 18:07

Its most likely a growth spurt. Try to stick with it if you can

soremummy · 14/03/2008 18:09

They take a while to settle my dd was about 6 weeks when she established feeding and then had growth spurts at 8 weeks, around 11 or 12 weeks just a shame at 10 months she doesnt hae any more growth spurts and I am being urged to give up b/f and just ff instead

soremummy · 14/03/2008 18:10

Go in a room by yourself swear as much as you like, then grab some biscuits and a cup of tea and chill with the kids you will get there

smallwhitecat · 14/03/2008 18:11

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soremummy · 14/03/2008 18:12

Comfort? gets relaxed cos it feels/tastes good and forgets that if she comes off the milk doesnt flow.

beansprout · 14/03/2008 18:13

Soremummy - why are you being urged to give up?

Peg - b/feeding is hard and the obvious but significant point that it all falls to you can just be the final straw sometimes. I hope things settle down soon. There are many, many threads on MN which talk about how tough growth spurts can be.

soremummy · 14/03/2008 18:14

At 10mths and now has just started weaning but still rubbish weight gain she weighs 12lb 7.5 put on 2.5 oz in 3 weeks which was better than the previous 3 when she put on 1.5

smallwhitecat · 14/03/2008 18:16

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beautifuldays · 14/03/2008 18:18

sorry you're having a shit time, it is hard i know, but it will get better. have a look at this thread some good tips on over-supply/fussy babies

2happy · 14/03/2008 18:20

It's worth checking for a tongue tie, just in case, can cause a child to have problems keeping latched on.

smallwhitecat · 14/03/2008 18:22

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2happy · 14/03/2008 18:25

Are you very engorged? If she's feeding a lot because of growth spurt and you're engorged, sometimes the let down can be strong and give them problems, in which case hand express a little first (tell me to bog off if I'm teaching you to suck eggs btw )

smallwhitecat · 14/03/2008 18:28

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soremummy · 14/03/2008 18:33

pegg how are things now?

peggotty · 14/03/2008 19:12

he's asleep, gave him a bath, he was grinning at me like he hadn't just spent all afternoon wailing like a starving child then got him onto his sleeping bag and he took a good feed with minimal fuss. Little bugger. I can't even hope for things to improve in 1, 2,3 weeks etc, at the moment I have to take each day at a time cos if I thought this was going to go on any longer I would give up. Had a hellish day with his feeding yesterday as well. Both kids in bed now so going to slob in front of telly and eat rubbish.

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peggotty · 14/03/2008 19:16

beautifuldays - thanks for link... to the thread I started the other day in another fit of desperation!

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beautifuldays · 14/03/2008 19:35

ooops sorry!

i should pay more attention, sorry!!

rascal1979 · 14/03/2008 19:44

Sorry to hijack.....soremummy - was your baby prem? mine is and is having probs with weight gain.... would be interested to know what you've tried...

peggotty -no advuce but I too am finding bfing hard but for the opposite reason my baby only feeds for a little while and the dr's have concerns about her weight. Hope that things settle son for you {{{hugs}}}

HaventSleptForAYear · 14/03/2008 19:57

Sounds like you did the right thing with the bath etc. Sometimes if they are playing up like that I think you just need to leave it for a while with the BF, even if they scream a bit (ignore me if you want!).

When you are bf it's easy to think that they are always crying from hunger, when it might be sth else entirely (but they rarely say no when offered the breast, so sometimes do the kind of thing you describe).

Maybe you could get out of the house for a walk when this kind of thing is going on. After a bit of a break (as today), LO will probably take a "proper" feed.

Nothing wrong with comfort feeding of course, but it can be very wearing, especially if it doesn't FEEL comforting to you.

With DS1, I basically fed on demand, but found it quite wearing initially, and used to look at the clock and see how long it was since last feed, and try something else other than bf if it had been less than 2 hrs.

Went on to BF for a year so it didn't do any harm (because tbh I would have given up otherwise.)

It does all settle down - good luck - hope you're not gritting your teeth for much longer

soremummy · 14/03/2008 20:00

Hi rascal
She was a little over 2 weeks early but weighed 4lb 3 oz has struggled to put on weight since and I have until the last 8 days struggled to get her weaned. The only thing little madam liked was yorkshire pudding in her hand and b/f but we are slowly getting there with the food. I did try blw but dexterity when they are small (especially in a high chair which is too big for them) causes some problems with grasping food. We are doing blw and spoonfeeds when she lets me/mood takes her and is still b/f has never taken a dummy or a bottle but hey things could be worse !although she is 12lb 7.5 oz and 10 months old she crawls pulls herself up trying to walk so apart from being a little fairy she is fine developemental wise.
My advise is stick with it they all get there in the end even the little ones

soremummy · 14/03/2008 20:02

pegg at least yours are in bed im glad the baby has settled for you sometimes you just need to step away and let them cry for a few mins.... eat some choc and then it all seems ok

peggotty · 14/03/2008 20:12

Haventslept, I agree with leaving them for a bit when you've tried everything you can think of. He obviously wasn't really hungry because although he grizzled on while I was whinging on here, he wasn't full blown screaming and was then happy in his bath. That's the trouble, I think sometimes I offer the breast automatically, instead of actually assessing what else might be wrong. I just have it in my mind that it CAN'T be anything else, and my boob is the solution to every crying fit, when it clearly isn't. Also, I think he sometimes gets annoyed when he wants to comfort suck and ends up getting a mouthful of my over-bountiful milk instead, does that make sense? I am wondering whether a dummy might be an idea in these cirsumstances i.e when he seems to want to suck but not feed. Or am I insane to consider it?!

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