Stopping breastfeeding at drs request

[Wonderland18]

My doctor has just told me that I’ll need to stop breastfeeding, I’ve been taking bad fainting spells if I don’t eat every 1 and a half to 2 hours and the LO eats 2 hourly. My blood work and everything has came back fine so she’s thinking the breastfeeding is taking it’s toll on my body. I tried to explain my 6 month olds only ever taken one bottle at 6 weeks and nothing since and her response was she will eat when she’s starving..

I can’t just leave my LO to cry in hunger constantly to take the bottle surely that’s cruel?
I’ve no idea what to do I’ve been trying to introduce bottles for 3 weeks now and she’s zero interest she just gets cranky and will cry persistently or play with the bottle and not bother with the milk inside.

Please help

Surely as long as you eat every hour or so, there isn’t a problem? Up your calories and you should be fine.

Please go to a local latch on, or contact a breastfeeding peer support worker. A lot of GPs are woefully uneducated about breastfeeding.

Hi there, would you consider calling one of the breastfeeding helplines? It sounds as if you could do with talking to someone who really knows about breastfeeding. There are a few around - NCT, national breastfeeding helpline, La Leche League etc.

Have you tried letting other people give her the bottle - preferably with you not even in the house?

HAve you tried giving her cups of milk - I know some people have success with Doidy cups

Have you tried different bottles/teats?

I have to say that none of these ideas ever worked for me. DD just refused anything that wasn't boob. On occasion for hours if I had to go out and leave her.

Have you started solids yet? sometimes they are more willing to try different methods one they start on food. Will she drink water from anything?

Sorry - pressed post to soon.

Can you up your intake of food/calories at all? Keep drinking plenty too.

Do you have access to any breastfeeding support group to get some advice. I'm currently feeding a 19 week old an feel faint if I don't eat every hour to two hours, but never actually fainted. Whars the reason you can't just eat every 1-2 hours, your body obviously needs it. You dont have to give up just because your doctor suggested it if it's not what you want to do. How's your diet in general? Are there tweaks you could make so your feeling fuller for longer, e.g. brown rice instead of white, snack on healthy dried fruit an bits etc. What's your water intake like. X

*nuts not bits x

Please only give up if you want to. If you really want to keep feeding, please continue and find support. Your body clearly needs extra food so just keep eating.

Only give up when it’s what YOU want to do.

Are you eating well and keeping very well hydrated?

I found I needed to drink a large glass of water during every feed and at my doctor's suggestion I upped my calorie intake by 500 calories a day (calories from good food). I did this by adding a second breakfast of a boiled egg with a slice of toast and then a pot of high fat yoghurt in the afternoons. This was on top of a good breakfast, lunch and dinner as it was.

If you do end up having to stop breastfeeding, your DC will learn to take a bottle. As pp have said, while they are accepting this is may well work best for you to leave the house and someone else to give the bottle. If the boob is present, the baby is much more likely to refuse the bottle.

She’s 6 months and started solids but doesn’t show much interest, she will play with cups of water and sip slightly but never a proper drink.
I’ve tried lots of different bottles and my partners usually the one to try her with them cause she wouldn’t take one off of me.
I need to go back to work in the next two months so she does have to take a bottle soon cause there’s not any other options there but I thought I’d have a little more time to preserve.

The little ones got a dairy intolerance so I’m dairy and soya free, it’s super hard to make meals around her and she’s very demanding because of the reflux and allergies she grew up a shouty baby. My partners on 12 hour shifts 5 days a week so I’m not much able to get his help with the LO and I don’t have other close family around.

I can’t really leave her longer than 20 minutes before she’s upset, even in her bouncer or swing someones got to be in eyeshot for her to settle so making a proper dairy and soya free meal is hard and snacks of fruit aren’t sufficient for my lightheaded ness.

I’ll give the breastfeeding support group a ring and see if anyone can help me out

Why aren't you eating ?

Just eat more. Lots of protein and complex carbs, fruit, nuts, veg ect.
My very unhelpful doctor told me to 'just stop breastfeeding' when DS has a bad stomach/green poos at 6 months. He had never taken a bottle and completely refused, so I was heartbroken as I couldn't let him starve but felt awful in case I was causing him pain. I got to our baby group in floods of tears, luckily my friend is a (wonderful) gp, she looked at his dirty nappy, asked me some questions and worked out that it was the soy milk I had been drinking. I stopped, his tummy pain stopped in 3 days and at 9 months he's still happily on the boob!
Most doctors don't understand the importance of bf'ing so in short, just ignore her, eat more and breastfeed until you are ready to stop. Once LO is established on solids around 7/8 months you'll only be feeding 3/4 times per day and for a lot shorter periods so you'll find that will help anyway.

Persevere*

Why are you eating so little?

Pop. Her in the high chair in the kitchen while you cook. There are plenty of quick meals you can make, beans on toast, jacket potatoes or shove something from the freezer in the oven.

Batch cook at weekends when your partner is around too. Then you can quickly eat. How about soup and a roll? Eggs are fast too.

At six months you can BLW and she can sit and "eat" what you eat as long as the salt content is OK.

Just eat when you need to. But I’d also ditch bottles and go straight to a cup that’s as unlike a breast as possible - the cheapo Tommy tippees with a flip up spout are good. Lots of BF babies seem to prefer something completely different if the boob isn’t available.

I’m really fussy so most dairy free and soya free alternatives aren’t nice.
I can’t seem to find a nice soya free bread I like but I do enjoy baguettes.

It really doesn’t help that the little ones well fed she's still on boob two hourly and napping two hourly so it makes for little time between feeding playing and sorting her out for naps.

I miss cheese and proper buttery mash but I know it’s not forever and it benefits the wee tink.

I’ll maybe look into getting a chest freezer so I can batch cook, I’d rather not give up on breastfeeding but I will need to get some form of bottle in there for when I’m at work 3 days a week shortly.

Mine used to come into the kitchen in their bouncy chairs while I was cooking etc. We chatted, sang songs, they loved having saucepans or Tupperware to bang, wooden spoons to play with, rattles etc attached to the chair. Once they were a bit bigger, the high chair with tray allowed them to play with toys and crayons etc.

Sippy cups with breast milk or water at every solid meal might be a good shout, I’ve got two Tommee Tippee ones here she likes to play with and will sip at so maybe the more often I give her the better

You don't need to eat a huge meal just more than what you are eating ATM which I suspect is very little if you are fainting. Why can't you snack while you are feeding?

When my vegan daughter was recovering from anorexia we had to make her smoothies with hemp or pea protein powder, dairy free milk, nut butter and bananas etc they were delicious ! You cold adjust the ingredients to suit and most health food shops sell the powder

Or slim fast vitality vegan powder can be used to make a smoothie for a snack doesn’t have to just be a slimming aid we were told

You need to prioritise your food and fluid intake. I know it’s very hard as I also had a Velcro baby but they won’t be damaged for 5 mins of shouting and fussing while you eat. Can you put a travel cot in kitchen with some toys in maybe?
Have accessible snacks-peanut butter? Hummus and veg etc. It’s most likely a cows milk intolerance so how about goats or sheep’s cheeses? Halloumi?
Avocados are great for energy and quick to prepare. Oatcakes are also good.

When you start back at work I think you will be amazed at how easily your LO takes to food and cups when you’re not around. It’s like nursery witchcraft. My 10 month old still bf at home a LOT but refuses all expressed milk at nursery and just eats anything she’s offered and drinks water from a cup.

I think the most important take home is keep doing what works for you: your GP doesn’t seem to understand bf and their solution is bollocks.

Ffs eat! your health depends on it !
Biscuits! Cake microwave mealsthere are lots of soy dairy free sections in every supermarket

Ahh your fussiness is making it hard. I'd look for non dairy food you can eat. Eg meat and veg is non dairy anyway. Spag bol, chilli, curry are all dairy free too.

What do you eat? You could make flapjacks for snacks as oats are energy slow release.

Do you have a sling? Maybe put baby in the sling so she’s still being “held” by you but it leaves your arms free to eat and prepare food.

I second all of the above - vegan protein powder, nuts and nut butters, avocado, houmous,

On top of your 3 meals, throw in a smoothie made from almond milk, vegan protein powder, banana, blueberries, oats and nut butter. Delicious and really filling. And also throw in a wrap with houmous, avocado and salad/veggies.

moreismore I’m really happy to hear that, she won’t be at nursery as it’s just not affordable for me but my brothers out of work at the moment and she loves him to bits so I hope she’s the same at his and will take to the solids and water till I’m home, he does drive so if she needs a top up they can pop down on my lunch break to save me pumping 😂

I’ll definitely try eating more before giving up, I don’t think the she will eat when she’s starving was remotely a good bit of advice from my doctor at all

eat more snacks. Dairy free is easy.