Breastfeeding - can I take a break??

[Lxii62]

I'm a first time mum, baby girl is just 10 days old and I'm finding breastfeeding really hard! I've spoken to friends who are telling me to stick with it because it's worth it in the end and I do want to stick with it for so many reasons but I feel like I just need a break before I lose my temper with it all and throw the towel in altogether.

At the moment I'm breastfeeding all day and night and we're giving one bottle in the evening of expressed milk or formula so I can get some uninterrupted sleep and DH can have her for a few hours.

When breastfeeding, she's taking ages to latch (5+ minutes sometimes), either pushing herself away with her arms, bobbing up and down and around or putting my nipple in her mouth but not latching or she will latch for 30 seconds then come off again 2-3 times. When she does eventually latch, she'll feed for 20-30 minutes absolutely fine. When she's feeding it isn't sore but when she's constantly latching/unlatching my nipples are feeling really quite sore now and I'm finding myself dreading her next feed which really isn't the experience I wanted!

My question is, has anyone ever taken a break, maybe 24 hours (during which I'll express), where they've bottle fed just to give their nipples a break and then gone back to breastfeeding?? Or doing 50/50 combi feeding?
I know I run the risk of undoing all the hard work I've put in so far but I think if I continue like this I'll end up quitting altogether.

I had food poisoning when DD was a baby and had to stop and give her expressed milk for three days.
I pumped when I could over those three days and went back to feeding no problem. However, she was 5 months old and feeding was well established. Not sure about it when it was such early days.
Also remember formula is a choice you are allowed to make.

No experience with having a break but I would highly recommend silver cups. You wear them between feeds and they heal any sores so quickly.

I wouldn’t at 10 days, if BFing is important to you.

But that’s a big IF. You are important too remember.

Have you tried nipple shields at all? They really helped both of mine latch in the early days, and really enabled me to carry on. I remember the frustration of latching well!

If breastfeeding is important to you i wouldn’t at ten days. However, bottle feeding isn’t the end of the world, feeding is feeding.

Not what you asked but DD needed to ne swaddled to feed as she flapped about like a fish!

Stick with it. It will soon become established and be no bother at all. Only a few more days. It’s SO worth it then.

In the meantime, Hydrogel plasters on the nipples between feeds. They are designed for burn injuries and will help your nipples heal. It WILL stop hurting, trust me - my nipples were sore as fuck for the first month, I screamed every feed, then I fed 2 kids for 5 years, 1 month is so short in comparison, even if it was the longest month of my life.

This is not forever. It will be worth it.

Basically this.

I have to say though, taking 5 minutes to latch is nothing! For the first 2 weeks DD took up to an HOUR to latch each time. It was horrendous but after 2 weeks everything clicked, she would latch on straight away and I fed her easily until she was 2.

Agree with everyone else. I wouldn’t at 10 days if you want to exclusively breastfeed long term. The behaviour you describe, particularly the bobbing and the unlatching/relatching sounds like milk stimulation. Always worth getting tongue tie checked though, especially if your nipples are hurting.

Sorry not able to read the whole thread but beware of stopping for a day as that might lead to blocked ducts and mastitis.

For sore nipples try some silver nursing cups from amazon. They were amazing for me and healed my nipples within a day.

Also, might be worth getting your little one checked for a tongue tie with someone IBCLC qualified (not all midwives are) and/or getting some support with your latching and positioning. La Leche league will have a local group on fb which might be good.

Congratulations on your new baby and good luck with your breastfeeding journey. X

I’m with you 😘 6 days old and combo feeding tbh. He’s going most of the day on the boob but I can’t cope at night and he’s having 2-3 bottles at night. I nearly gave up totally at day three and didn’t feed at all for 12 hours. So at this point I’m on the attitude every feed is a bonus he wouldn’t have had if I’d given up. I know this isn’t great for my milk supply but I have 3 under 5 so my MH is. Also important and I am comfortable moving to formula if needed.

I fed really badly on day 2 and had a little bruise on my nipple. Formula and nipple shields have definitely helped my nipples look normal again which deffo wouldn’t have happened had I continued feeding! Best of luck! Xx

I had to take a break from breastfeeding after a couple of days as it was just agony to feed and I was getting so I didn't want to. Over those days I expressed as much as I would have fed and my daughter had a bottle and after that went straight back to it no problem. I was desperate to feed and needed that break to heal and be able to approach it without dreading the pain and clenching my teeth! It did result in an over supply but I donated to the milk bank and froze for my daughter's porridge when she was weaning.

it may seem an infinite way off now, but with all 3 of mine, I noticed that the boobs "settle" at 6 weeks...

It's hard isn't it?
If it's any consolation, I think what you're experiencing is really common.
I cried every time I fed DD as it hurt so much! Have you had her latch checked?
Really look after your skin.
Ultimately though, fed is best and do what you need to do.
It really does get loads easier for most women after a few weeks,10 days is very early.

When she is struggling to latch (and 5 mins isn't unusual) it can be because your let down is too fast, if you hand express a little at the start of each feed the pressure/speed the milk comes out at will reduce and slow making it easier to feed.

Breastfeeding is a learning curve for both you and baby and your body also needs to adapt, your nipples do toughen up but it takes a little time. Try some of the suggests above re nipple shields etc. I would avoid taking a break at just 10 days as your milk has only just come in and I'd imagine mastitis might be a higher risk as pumping never empties the breast as well as a baby and that hurts like nothing else. Soon though, you and baby will both have the hang of it, you'll master feeding laying down and you can just go for a nap whilst baby feeds and catch up on some sleep at the same time.

Is it the breastfeeding that's actually the issue or generally feeling overwhelmed with the time of year etc which is also having an impact. What do you do when breastfeeding? If you don't already have an area set up so you can sit and watch TV, listen to a podcast or whatever you enjoy to take your mind of the frustration.

This is the toughest part of the journey. Baby is cluster feeding right now to help establish and regulate your supply so its crucial you keep her at the breast on demand at this stage so your body knows how much milk to regularly supply in the coming weeks. Feeding schedule will become routine rather than 24/7 in a week or so. I know it's demanding, but you are doing great!
Baby might find it hard to latch because your boobs are hard and engorged, try expressing a little milk before she latches and she might find it easier.

silver nipple shields! They saved me

I completely agree. These are magic

The latching issues you describe I had from 10days when it was the odd feed until 4 months when it was a battle to get her to latch and she stopped feeding after a few seconds. It was due to reflux and food allergies for us. As soon as I went dairy free it stopped completely and whenever I ate a new food she reacted to it returned some times midfeed just after eating the offending food

Nothing wrong with formula, but if you want to breastfeed going onwards, now is a bad time to take a break. Not sure it would help your nipples that much either - for mine it felt like they were just getting used to the sensation, if I'd stopped the same process would just have had to happen when I went back iywim though that is just my personal opinion. I never had that soreness after the first month or so or at all with my second child.

Everything you've described is par for the course honestly, including the dread. It just depends on how bothered you are, whether it's worth it. I bf DS1 to 2.5 years and DS2 till 13 months so far, the rewards came later, the first bit was horrible both times. But I think that about a lot of the early baby stage tbh. I guess what I mean is hating it doesn't mean you're doing it wrong lol. But as others have said, you don't have to.

I ended up seeing a lactation consultant for DS2 and the help she gave me with positioning was really valuable, even though I thought I had that down and it wasn't the problem.

How you getting on @Lxii62 ?

Im 8 days in now and on about 80% breastfeeding and 20% on bottles (some formula and some expressed breast milk) - day 3 was about 50/50 so happy with this!

I’ve also had some great absolutely pain free feeds which I didn’t believe where possible. My sister popped him on (I closed my eyes so I couldn’t flinch) and I had to check he was on as couldn’t feel a thing. So I’ve been goaling towards that myself! Mostly it does hurt for about 60seconds then he seems to get himself on and it feels better.

hope you are good!

Okay so update...

I gave myself a break for 12 hours where she had formula feeds from a bottle. Tried the silver cups (I'd been using lansinoh every feed prior to this) and the difference is crazy! 48 hours later and my nipples are completely healed and there's no pain now when latching which has made the biggest difference with the dread I was feeling prior to feeds. I also did some googling and started using the "laid-back" breastfeeding position - the hospital had only shown me the cross-cradle position so this is what I had been using before. The laid back position means that baby girl is using her arms to prop herself which means they can no longer be using to punch me/tweak my nipples and has been going on so much easier (so far!) and not having to battle her to latch at every feed has also had a massive impact - we're 5-10 minutes to latch down to 30-60 seconds!

A combination of these things means I can actually see myself sticking with breastfeeding for the first time since birth so fingers crossed this sticks!

Thanks for everyone's advice, especially about the silver cups, wish I'd used them from the beginning!

You might have a fast letdown. The laid back positions can make it easier for them when they are little as it doesn't come out as forcefully and they can control the flow a bit better. Positive for you is that if this is the case as they get bigger and stronger they find it easier to handle the flow in more feeding positions x

So glad to hear!

Love the update op - was going to say you need feeding support to enable the reflexes to work - laid back breastfeeding is great for this. Should make your latch deeper too as the head bobbing will be better. Glad it seems easier.