Introducing a bottle - is breastfeeding over?

[Boomerwang]

Hi, my baby is a week old and I've been breastfeeding since she was four days old (not long I know) but she's been demanding a feed in clusters at certain times of the day and my nipples are killing me. When she latches on I feel like crying with the pain. I have checked out a breastfeeding guide to learn how to get a proper latch and that has helped a lot, but sometimes it's just too much.

My boyfriend bought me a breast pump and I feel like it's my saviour. I've expressed about 40ml of milk from my leaky boob and it's in the fridge for the next feed.

I'm worried because I keep reading that once you introduce a bottle to a baby, they won't feed from the breast any more. Is that true? I plan to use the bottle only once or maybe twice a day if she's really hungry, as the pain does subside after a few hours and becomes manageable.

Also, she seems to only be able to latch on to one of my boobs. The nipple on the other boob seems to sink inwards when I try to pinch around it so she can get a good latch. Is there such a thing as a useless boob? (apart from OH's)

Sorry for being a pain in the arse, I'm very new to all this.

Boomerwang Just as a far out thought, do you have Skype?

If so, then you could call someone cheaply on a UK line (like the NCT or perhaps a BF counsellor, if there's one near your mum she might be able to get a number from the GP or HV service there?) rather than having to figure out who to speak to in the Swedish system. The advice you get might help you make it through until your MW appointment, whenever that is.

The boots nipple cream has lanolin (I think) in it which is the same magic stuff as in lansinoh but cheaper!
I combined bottle and breast for 6 months with both DCs, don't be disheartened. X

OP I had to pinch my nipple with dd3 as she was so tiny she struggled to gerty it in her mouth. The first few sucks they do shape your nipple so helping them out by pinching it will make it easier for her.

If you remember to offer the breast each feed before the bottle you should be able to keep on breast feeding.

That's a great idea cruciflisspaps I just might try that if I have any more trouble. As it is, today I've breastfed, expressed AND used formula. She seems to be getting quite good at it?

littlemissnormal can't find lanolin on the list of ingredients on the tube... but it does work.

The thing is, it gets better/easier at 2 months assuming everything is working as it should. From what you describe, I don't think everything is. You shouldn't have to pinch your breast in order to get a good latch, this concerns me. And feeding once a day, well, it's better than nothing, but it's unlikely to be enough to sustain supply long term, even with expressing as well.

This is a helpline based in Sweden and the woman who will answer (Her name is Julia) speaks English and French. She will also most likely know who best to ask for support locally. She's based in Stockholm, not sure how far away you are from there. But she will probably know what the BVC is for example :)

La Leche League Sweden
Phone number: +46 7 69 03 08 01
[email protected]

I really want you to be able to feed for as long as you planned. I don't think this is likely to happen by holding out and hoping things get better, unfortunately :(.

Thank you for your help BertieBotts but I am feeling a whole lot less stressed now. My milk supply HAS gone down. I was expressing 100ml at one point but now I barely make 40ml. On the other hand, my baby gets her food as soon as she wants it and is satisfied more quickly when I give her a bottle. I still breastfeed her, but it's more for comfort than for anything else. It's not easy to BF in bed as I can't lie back against anything (weird ikea bed with no headboard) so I end up hunched over the baby. She latches on a lot quicker now, but she's not really bothered about feeding except for kicks. When she's really hungry she doesn't give it time and spits out the boob.

I fully understand that I CAUSED her to be like this by giving her a quick and easy solution, but we both get what we want this way. I'm also aware that I've changed my tune since my earlier posts about wanting to get it right and although I think wistfully of the time I BF exclusively, I also remember the agony I was in. It still gets painful now.

I'm going to have to let someone else be the breastfeeding goddess because I'm not cut out for it. I swear my boobs are all wrong anyway.

I hope that I didn't make you feel bad, because it wasn't my intention to do so. I'm glad to hear you've found a solution which works for both of you :)

WRT expressing output, this might be of interest:

Most moms who are nursing full-time are able to pump around 1/2 to 2 ounces total (for both breasts) per pumping session. Moms who pump more milk per session may have an oversupply of milk, or may respond better than average to the pump, or may have been able to increase pump output with practice. Many moms think that they should be able to pump 4-8 ounces per pumping session, but even 4 ounces is an unusually large pumping output.

It is quite normal to need to pump 2-3 times to get enough milk for one feeding for baby (remember that the pump cannot get as much milk as a baby who nurses effectively).

Many moms are able to pump more milk per session when they are separated from baby. Milk pumped when you are nursing full-time is ?extra? milk ? over and beyond what baby needs. Don?t get discouraged if you are trying to build up a freezer stash when nursing full time and don?t get much milk per pumping session ? this is perfectly normal and expected.

It is very common to have more milk than baby needs in the early weeks, which regulates down to baby?s needs over the first few weeks or months. When your milk supply regulates (this change may occur either gradually or rather suddenly), it is normal for pumping output to decrease. For moms who have oversupply, this change often occurs later (6-9+ months postpartum rather than 6-12 weeks).

Whole article:
kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/pumping_decrease/

I'm glad to hear that :) At the moment I'm still pumping out but I rarely breastfeed now unless she's had a full bottle and still wanting more. I won't give her more formula because she'll make herself uncomfortable or even sick.

The best advice a friend gave me was to get her used to breast and bottle early on, or later on she might not take to the bottle then you will be stuck.

All the scaremongerors! Each person finds BF very diff, i found it very very hard and persevered for three months, then just night feeds.