Can't belive how hard it is to stop BF

[ginmama]

DD 8mths and have to stop bf to take medication , feeling really fed up and getting stressed about how to decide how much formula to feed and when - feeding on demand is much easier to work out. Bug doesn't seem that bothered - always guzzled bottles and eating 3 meals a day (so long as there's food she doesn't care how it comes). Have cut down to 2 BF a day - have a couple more weeks till I have to stop completely - but seem to have much less milk at these feeds than used to (was expecting to be leaking everywhere!). Can't believe how sad I am to be stopping, esp as was a nightmare to start - very painful, bleeding nipples, very jaundiced baby being weighed daily and not gaining weight. Now realise must have had problem with latch as nipples were white and wedge shaped at end of feed, but midwives kept saying looked fine so just bit down on a muslin and got on with it! Now keep getting teary at thought of not feeding any more, just got period for first time since Oct 06 so hormones prob contributing to general weepiness... DH away for 3 weeks doesn't help either DH and family don't seem to get why I'm sad - all seem to think that 8mths is
plenty long enough to bf for, think DH was worried I'd bf till she went to college and is relieved I have to stop. So thought I'd come and get it off my chest here. Any advice on how to go from demand feeds to bottles welcome - if she's looking for a quick snack do I give a small bottle? Or water/juice or food? Or just try to distract her? Help!

hi ginmama, I'm trying to do the same with my 9mo old DD at the moment.

so far I've been giving her a bottle through the day and at bedtime, but BFing her if up in the night and also first thing in the morning. My aim is to cut down on the night feeding as she has slept through a couple of times in the last week or so, and then the morning one.

I haven't had any problems with engorgememt, bascially because by this time your boobs are pretty efficient at making mil when required.

the feeding guides for this age say three 7ozs bottles a day, but I find that she will take two 5ozs bottles during the day and an 8oz bottle at night, as well as the BFs she gets in the night and first thing.

I feel pretty sad about it too, as I'd hoped to feed her for as long as possible, until she self weaned preferably, but she has started biting me and I was finding myself on edge every feed worried she would do it again. and ususally when I relax, she does bite again and it bloody hurts. I'm also pregnant and things are a bit sore and tender anyway, never mind her biting at the same time.

sorry your family aren't exactly being supportive; I don't think people realise just how much a bond is there when you are BFing. My family are all full of "oh well you've done it for 9mo", "its about time you stopped anyway she's getting too big for it" etc etc. they have mostly never BF themselves.

Oh, and so far if she wants a feed in the day I just let her, but she seems to be looking for it less and less. I think making sure she has had enough solid food and some formula as well will help.

Exactly the same, but forced through being away v long hours at work. Had always planned to stop at 6 months, then we had a hunger strike around that time and I was very very upset for the day that it lasted. I did everything I could think of to sort it out and it made me realise that I hadn't appreciated how emotional the whole bf relationship is, not really. It is just rejection when your baby won't feed. We sorted out the hunger strike but I'm now working again and baby is having fun rejecting every bottle under the sun. I'm trying my best at expressing but I find it really really hard. I don't have any problem to be honest with formula, at this stage, and am glad to have bfed as long as I have. But its soooo much harder than I thought not to have a newborn bfeeding on demand.

What medication do you have to take?

Is it a consultant that has advised you to stop b/feeding, and on what basis - the medication?

thanks for your replies - have had lovely fungal toenail infection for months, been leaving it as long as poss to treat but getting painful now. Antifungal meds are pretty nasty I think, know they can cause birth defects if you take them if preg (pissed off about that too as we planned to start thinking about no 2 soon). Dr says the med comes through in the milk so def must stop feeding. Don't blame you for stopping lackadaisycal, just remembering how tender boobs were when preg - ouch!

ginmama, are you 100% sure there are no 'breastfeeding friendly' alternative medicines you can take. Or some drugs can be timed to be taken just after a nursing session and lastly some drugs which affect a baby, don't have a bad enough effect to stop breastfeeding. i.e. Loose poo

I was told to stop breastfeeding when I was in hospital, but when I pushed they found alternates.

Maybe one of these factsheets might help.

lackaDAISYcal, there are loads in the archives about stopping babies from biting. I use to apply teething gel 5 minutes before a fed and if she bite me...I broke the seal at my breast and sat her on the floor at my feet. There is some great stuff on Kellymom website which might help here

thanks for that link BabiesEverywhere - might give the helpline a quick ring. Nail infections apparently really hard to treat as can't get antifungal topical treatments right into the nail - basically been told need to take 3 months of oral med so treating the whole time as nail regrows Quite paranoid about it as mum had a friend who died of liver failure caused by taking an antifungal so don't think I'd take it and keep feeding even if someone said it was safe

I would also do more research to establish if you really do need to give up breastfeeding - I gather its not that uncommon to be told by medical professionals that you need to stop when you take certain medication but I think there in many cases its ok to carry on.
Might be worth trying one of the breastfeeding helplines for advice, know these are on Hunkers blog/website though not sure of the details of that.

ginmama if these antifungal drugs are that powerful could you investigate alterntatives?

thanks babies, but I've tried lots of different things. I actually find myself flinching if she breaks her latch when feeding as I'm expecting the bite. I'll have a read of kellymom and the archives though and see if there's anything else I could do. she seems to be losing interest though; maybe because I'm pregnant?

ginmama, I would ask your GP about alternatives. I assume it's terbinafine (lamasil) you have been prescribed? I think some topical antifungals will work on toenail fungus, it just takes a little bit longer than the oral ones. I found some info here

also a lot of drugs aren't licensed for BFing, so the doctor takes on full responsibility for prescribing it, which understandably, they don't like doing. It's wirth finding out just how much gets through in milk. I know with fluconazole it isn't licensed for BFing, but the amount that gets through in milk is less than the amount that is cafe for giving to babies directly.

ginmama - do you know the name of the drug you have been prescribed? TBH many doctors simply arren't aware of what effects medications will/won't have on your milk supply or your child so it's best to do some of your own research. The BfN druglines is good, and most BFCs from the 4 main orgs will have access to information about medications and breastfeeding.

This link below is great for finding information about various treatments (you can't post there unles you are a health professional, but I've never had any problems finding previous posts for medications)
66.230.33.248/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi?pg=topics

...I did a quick search for "fungal" and "fungal nail" and came up with some interesting posts....

lackadaisycal have you tried simply pressing your baby's face right into your breast every time she bites? I know the instinct is to pull away but this seems to work better at stopping biting.
DS2 had a habit of clamping down hard on my nipple during a feed (he has no teeth yet) and I tried this having read about it and it works really well.

I've tried everything pannacotta; i think she is just weaning herself off it tbh, or my body is responding to being pregnant. this morning when I fed her I didn't get any letdown at all, so she just got what was in my boob. I tried a few times and nothing. I think I'm ready to stop now as well. I am sad about it, but not as sad as I would've been a few months ago iyswim.

ginmama, when i was looking for advice on a drug a few weeks ago, someone suggested calling the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers. Their number is on hunkermunker's blog

Wow, you lot are a great source of info -just assumed that if GP said had to stop, had to stop. Been prescribed terbinafine (Lamasil)Think will go and see one of the other Drs in the practice - saw one of the older male ones who didn't seem that interested in the bf aspect. Know that one of the female docs is very oro bf so hopefully she'll be more help. Great site terramum, thanks

As a couple of posts have said, sometimes the GP is not aware of other medication that is available. I have recurrent thrush and was prescribed Nystatin which is an anti-fungal medication suitable to use when bf. Maybe worth going to a different GP if you can for some alternative advice.

I have been contemplating giving up breast feeding for the past 6 weeks due to bouts of thrush, but can't bring myself to do it. I dion;t think anyone can fully understand what an emotive thing it is.

Good luck! xx

Forgot to say, interestingly, I have found the most help has come from a male Dr whose wife had needed antifungal medicine when bf, and he understood that I wanted to continue. I had seen 2 female drs up to that point who were pretty useless. Weird!