Problems With Feeding

[manda85]

Ive been feedinsg DD for nearly 13 weeks(comp bottle at night) and for the last few weeks ive been dreading feeding her,and i just want to put her straight on the bottle,but when i think of that i feel awful like im letting her down and that im a bad mum if i do it IYKWIM.
Plus i think my milk might be drying up(im not to sure) she feeds from 30mins up to an hour,most of the time she is unsettle after a feed.I just dont know what to do?
any advice would be great.
thanx manda

[Sammy85]

hi i also thought of giving up feeding my first and battled with the failure thoughts
so i persisted even though i wasnt sure and after a few weeks everything settled down and I managed to feed him until he was 23 months old
just do what ever feels right for you and bub
Longer feeds mean more milk will be made for next feed so thats a good thing

[Tan-mumof3]

Hi, you poor thing sound very stressful for you:( My DD had a pointed tongue so couldn't suck properly on the boob i perservered for about 3 weeks then slowly started to ween her ie one bottle per day than 2 , 3 etc till about 6 weeks she was fully bottle, she was so much happier and settled, i also found that with my DS i did this at about 12 weeks and he settled down and slept through the night his colic also got better :) . Don't know if it is much help but maybe you could also top up with a sml bottle after the boob that way she is still getting both and your supply should still stay, but they do say the more you breastfeed the more your milk will top up:confused: Also have you tried expressing to see how much milk you get out thne you will have a rough idea of how much she is getting. Hope some of this was usefull :)

[Tea Lady]

Have you thought about seeing a lactation consultant? I'm sure they could give you some good tips - or maybe you could try calling the breastfeeding ppl. Try not to stress yourself out too much - you're not a bad mum, no matter how you feed your bub - you're obviously concerned for her welfare, which makes you a GOOD mum! I think bf is great, but there really is more to life, for you and bubs - go with what works :)

[Mummabear]

I think bf is great, but there really is more to life, for you and bubs - go with what works :)

Dare I say there's never been a truer word spoken on this forum!!!

You're not a bad Mum. Stop those thoughts. I struggled with bf also. Same stuff as you. Unsettled, long feeds, etc. I went to a week long clinic and found out that even with the drugs I was taking to increase my supply I was only producing around 20ml of milk in a 24 hour period. No wonder he was unsettled and losing weight, the poor mite was starving. I cried and cried for a week when I had to put him on the bottle, I felt like such a failure. I know everyone raves about lactation consultants but mine made things worse for me mentally. When it was discovered that I didn't have much milk (nowhere near enough to feed a growing baby) she still insisted that I persist with bf, telling me not to 'give up'. Yeah, good idea - I'll starve my baby to death just so that I can say that I bf. What a crock. Health, sanity and overall well being for both you and baby are the most important things. You love your baby - how you feed him doesn't determine what kind of mother you are.

[xkwzit]

Hi Manda
If you really want to give yourself the best chance at continuing to BF a good LC who your respect and trust can really help. And if you don't like the first one, see another :D . You are just getting to the point where BF should become cruisy (I was still seeing my LC at 12 weeks). It would be a shame to give it away now, if in two weeks time you started feeling differently.

Having said that I do think for some women it is all a bit too hard and there can be many reasons. It just depends on how you will feel. You've got to make a choice that is right for your family.

Cheers