I'm a little at my wits end here! My DD is 7 1/2 months old, although was born 12 1/2 weeks premature, so is only 19 weeks corrected. I expressed while she was in SCBU and she was fed through a tube and then we worked hard to get her fully bf before coming home. We began weaning at about 5 months actual age and she now has 3 meals a day. However, it's incredibly hit and miss now how often she bfs. This morning she fed at 3am, but then didn't feed again until 3pm (She had her solids though). She then did 6:30pm before bed and it's now nearly 10pm and she hasn't woken again (although she will wake around 10:30pm and again at 3am probably).If I try feeding her at other times she's very fussy and pulls off the breast screaming. Sometimes I can calm her by giving her a dummy to calm her down then swapping it for the breast, but that usually only works in the evening.
I'm also wanting to wean her onto a bottle - not for medical reasons, but because I need a break! However, if I give her a bottle with formula in, she takes an ounce at the most. To be fair, I've not been very regular with my attempts as yet, but because she doesn't take much I've been reluctant to get too hung up on it. She's quite a high-maintenance baby, needing a lot of attention and struggling to go to sleep or play without my help (cuddling to sleep and interacting at playtimes). It's really beginning to get me down as my friends have babies younger than her who sleep through the nights or who will lie happily and entertain themselves, while I feel I have no time to be me!
I don't really know what I'm looking for - advice, sympathy, anything really! I just want to be heard and for someone to tell me they understand!