Formula feeding from day 1 how to deal with painful breasts

[dove83]

I'm due baby number 3 in a few months. I breast fed ds for a few months but he wasn't gaining weight and ended up in hospital. I had to put him on formula. On dd I breastfed her with ease until I got home from hospital and the visitors arrived... some made a few comments the day I arrived home basically bringing up how ds hadn't gained from my breast milk and isn't that the problem you never know what they're getting. I suddenly felt like a failure especially when dd wouldn't latch that evening and asked DH to buy formula as she was screaming. I'm going to be honest I enjoyed bottle feeding dd and felt happier in myself in the long run and felt it worked for me more. I went through about 10 days of pain in my breasts as I didn't pump or express but used cabbage leaves to help. I'm at the stage now where I'm thinking about my options and I'm wondering if any of you ladies chose to formula feed your babies how did you manage the pain when your milk came in? Some ladies suggested I was in more pain due to having started and stopped suddenly but I'm not 100% sure. Thanks

I ff dd1 from the start. I only had a few days of painful, full breasts. I think that's because I never tried. If you don't express etc then it isn't as bad and dries up quicker.

I bf Dd2 but also gave her one bottle in the evenings to start with. I never fed in front of visitors. I'd go upstairs for some peace! Also, if anyone made those comments they wouldn't be invited again!!

Maybe you could mix and see how you go? I'm going to mix with dc3. I found bf a lot easier for night feeds!

Thank you somersetsoul I'm being open minded about the whole experience. I haven't considered combi feeding really as it's not really talked about much in the hospital class but I might do a little research on that as it might be an option.

I did it for about a month or two and then bf and expressed for outings! I'm defo doing it again but if bf doesn't work I won't think twice about ff.

Good luck x

By the time my milk actually came in we were on formula. I only remember one night of being engorged and then it all went away. One of the saddest times of my life. I think you can have medication to stop your supply. Might be worth a chat with the midwife?

I'm going to try again this time, but there's a lot of anxiety bound up with it.

I didn't even try with my third as I hated it so much and I don't remember them hurting at all. Then again I never had engorged breasts with any of my three so maybe there was something wrong with me. The only time I've ever had leaking painful boobs is when my youngest was 5 but that was a medical problem.

I EFF my DD1 from day one, and my milk never came in and I never had sore boobies either.

I felt slightly pressured by family and DH to try, but I knew before baby was born that BF wasn't for me and I've no regrets over my decision.

You can take tablets so your milk never comes in. They should give them to you in the hospital.

Tablets should be given within 48 hours.

I had them as I didn't breastfeed at all either. Never felt a hint of milk.

Y Y to the tablet, it worked really well for me.

The hospital I went to refused to give me tablets as they didn't agree with my choice.

Donthugmeimscared that's awful . Are you in the uk? I presume not as I always thought they were more humane.

Ibuprofen, laying with a bag of ice on your chest and making sure that when you bathe that your breasts don't touch the warm water. I wore a sports bra with breast pads constantly for about 6 days when my milk came in , even when in the bath.

I've heard people say that putting breast pads in the freezer before you use them is good idea too.

Either way , it can be really painful so don't be a hero and take the pain killers.

Wrt the tablets they give you to prevent your milk from coming in , a lot of hospitals don't offer them due to potential problems.

My midwife said to wear a tight bra, even in bed, and shower with your back to the water. Don’t give them any stimulation at all. My milk came in about day four and I can’t remember how long it took to dry up but it wasn’t long. I did still leak occasionally for months afterwards though.

I tried to breastfeed in hospital and then formula fed from day two. Technically a traumatic birth and yeah it probably was a bit of laziness that I didn’t try harder at home. But it worked for us with DH being a shift worker and sharing night wakings and lie ins. No judgement from the midwife, or at least none seen.

Do you like mint tea? Mint is said to be helpful to dry up milk supply.

Even if there are risks to the tablets they should indicate the risks to the patient and let them decide. Bottlefeeding is a right.

Don't let your family's comments put you off trying, maybe try mix feeding and breastfeed for the first couple of weeks at least? You never know, it may be much easier this time

Wear a tight underwired bra with a sports bra over the top all the time. Don’t even remove to shower, just put on a clean/dry bra after your shower. Don’t let the shower water anywhere near your boobs.
Ibuprofen for pain relief. Also take Sudafed, it will help your milk dry up. Cabbage leaves are also surprisingly effective. Don’t pump/express, it will prolong the process.

Ask about the tablets, doubt they’ll give them to you but it’s definitely worth asking.

My local trust don't prescribe medication to prevent milk coming in. It's got nothing to do with a woman's right to bottlefeed, it's because for most women engorgement only lasts a day or two so really the medication is unnecessary. Ibuprofen and paracetamol help. Yy to a tight bra, no stimulation at all, and cool breastpads.