Trying to transition from bottle to boob

[TTCIVF123]

Hello,

My baby has been formula fed for 9 days as she was struggling to latch and I wasn’t getting any milk when pumping.

I’ve now started to leak so I think my milk has come in, but I’m unsure how to introduce the boob and making sure she’s satisfied.

She latches with a shield but then is unhappy after a few minutes so is it best to pump and feed? I do want her to get used to the boob but I’m not sure how.

Any tips?

My little boy had formula top ups in hospital , now he is ebf. I don't use shields but did find silver cups invaluable during the first six weeks when your nipples can get sore . I wore them over night.

I got his tongue tie corrected, so check to see if baby has a tongue tie.

I went and still go to a breastfeeding support group weekly. Really helpful having someone check your latch, or answer any questions as they pop into your head.

At first I dropped the formula feeds over night as that was when my supply was highest.

Then during the day with the last feed dropped being the one before bed.. it was hard and took a good 4 weeks with baby constantly, and I mean every 45 minutes at the boob until my supply upped enough.
His weight gain plummeted. Still gaining but dropped centiles.

Now he is 11 weeks weight is back up tracking the 25th centile and I am now only having to weigh every month instead of 2 weekly.

He feeds every 2 - 2.5 hours day and night.

I must admit the only reason I was able to stick with it was because he was diagnosed as having cmpa and hated the special formula.

Ask your HV for a referral to the infant feeding team. It’s probably not something you can do without support. Good luck

@TTCIVF123 as the others have said, try and get some support.

I've been through everything with my little one, tube fed with colostrum and formula in the hospital, nipple shields, expressed milk in bottles with some formula top ups and a tongue tie division. Finally after 6 weeks I managed to get her back to EBF.

My little one used the shields but then went really fussy with them. Every feed I would try her on the nipple without and with the shield to see if she would latch but if she got too upset I would give her a bottle.

If you do want to BF keep going, it can be so hard!

My ds is now ebf after over a month of bottled expressed milk. It was definitely tough emotionally. Keeping up your supply with pumping is important and as pps have said getting in person support!

We did paced bottle feeding, so baby sat up bottle on its side so milk isnt totally filling the teat and tilting down to encourage breaks which they have in breastfeeding.

Lots of skin to skin time and happy time at the breast. Finishing a feed a the breast so they associate it with feeling full and content. Offering the breast when they are sleepy as they are more likely to instinctively latch.

Keep offering the breast every feed. Any positive time at or on the breast is good progres.