Why did you start ffing?? [Archive] - Bub Hub Pregnancy & Parenting Forum

delirium

29-07-2008, 07:52

And you forgot to add 'not enough weight gain'.

I began giving Jedd top-ups at 6weeks because I was told he wasn't gaining enough weight. Unfortunately no one gave me a copy of the WHO charts which are based on breastfed babies. Instead I discovered these when he was 7 months old and stopped the FF top-ups then. Thank god I learned about them - otherwise our breastfeeding relationship would have stopped months ago.

Yeah, I dd forget that one. That's so great you were able to keep bfing, I think it's proven that bf kids don't put the weight on as much early on, and I do think there should be seperate charts for ff and bf bubs.

punkbaby

29-07-2008, 07:55

my 2nd bubs was a nightmare, he would drink off me like every hour it was crazy after 4 months i couldnt do it no more so FF him, best thing i ever did. Now i look back and know that i could have done things differently but when its your own health and bubs health i see that i did the right thing mainly for my sanity more than anything :)

No regrets, there was no way i could have done it any longer

pinkishbunny

29-07-2008, 07:55

I started Breastfeeding with my first child (pumped ) as i have one inverted nipple, but after two months..Woke up one morning in alot of pain and couldnt pump anymore..So i had him straight on formula..

My second..after he was born...having the first fed all I did was bled..i persisted for about 24 hours...still the same problem..this time i didnt feel guilty at all putting him onto formula.

~Temet Nosce~

29-07-2008, 07:57

Inverted/flat nipples.
It wouldnt have been impossible for me to bf, but it was very very hard and I was so sleep deprived that I just gave up and chose the easier option.
To be honest I didnt enjoy bf one bit. I dont have regrets, just happy that I have a happy healthy baby who has a happy mum.

punkbaby

29-07-2008, 08:03

I attempted relactating this past week but it is VERY hard to do and my supply just never built up, I think i managed to get about 10 drops out in a 10 minute period.. i was upset, that really hurt.
I can't believe how many people said i was a good mum when i said i wanted to relactate, how much incouragement i got and when i couldnt how many people said "she will be fine".
That just isn't good enough.. it hurts that because i cant breastfeed i am seen as less of a parent or not as good a parent. I wanted to breastfeed for 1 year, i was passionate about that..

You are not less of a parent at all Liddy, you gave it your best shot and jade is lucky to have a determined mummy like you :hugs:

I hope that you find a formula that works for her though but please dont even think that your a bad parent, your just doing whats best for your baby! I remember how bad i felt with ds and at the time i felt like cr!p with all the negative comments, thankfully i know better now though

3BoysBlue

29-07-2008, 08:05

DS1 was Preemie who just wouldn't suck
i kept trying until he was 12wks in the end he was having more formula than BM so i stopped we later found out he had tongue tie so bad its major surgery to fix it lucky for now its only effected him BF not other things like speech

DS2 was prem also but i BF for 4mths with EBM top ups my supply started dropping the doctors didnt want to helps as i had tried everything in the end i had no choice to give him formula at 4.5mths and he was fully FF by 5mths i so wanted to keep going has be was gain good weights i just couldnt keep up for the 2 weeks on meds i had a great supply and he was no longer having frozen EBM but the doctors didnt want to continue me on Med (i saw like 4 different one) if they have help me who knows:hair::crying:

Duchessa

29-07-2008, 08:20

I stopped feeding the twins at 9 months cos they were severely allergic to milk protein and could no longer tolerate it. It was sad. Now that I have only one, I will step up to the plate and try harder to meet the WHO guidelines and feed til the babe is 2. Fortunately she isn't showing any signs of developing the same issues that the girls had. All the same, it will be tough cos I really don't enjoy breastfeeding, sometimes it gives me the total creeping horrors - with the twins, I used to express some feeds just to avoid the awful feeling of them both being attached, but I know it is the right thing to do, so I will persevere, she deserves it. Rambling now *blush*.

Mahjong

29-07-2008, 08:29

Three reasons, I ticked the ongoing Mastitis one.

Ongoing bouts of Mastitis, DS was a lazy attacher and cracked and painful nipples that simply would NOT heal!

Not to mention I was starting to resent the whole thing and my PND from DS1 was starting to creep back in. I seriously would start to cry at the thought of having to either feed DS2 on the boob or have to express. I was exhausted.

Anyone that has read my story these last 5 week would know though I gave it my damn hardest, sure, I feel guilty for not BFing anymore, but hell, my relationship with DS2 is a LOT better now which is a hell of a lot more important than whether or not milk came from a breast or from a bottle!

dearcorrinne

29-07-2008, 08:53

low supply.
took a week for any milk to come in and when it did it was only about 20mls.
i tried everything to build my supply, expressing every 3hours. in the end with a screaming baby who was so hungry, i gave her a ff and within minutes she was settled and content. a whole new babe appeared. i did what was best for her. she is now a thriving ff bub.
having issues now but hopefully they will be sorted in the next couple of days.

MountainGirl

29-07-2008, 09:13

with DS1, I ended up with an abcess the size of a lemon,.. I was in too much pain,..too tired and too chock full of antibiotics to continue.:o

Mischief

29-07-2008, 09:15

Mine was a combination of reasons....But the main reason was a real dislike of breastfeeding due to sexual abuse.

I fed for 4 weeks, then expressed till Oliver was 4 months old, my supply dropped then and it was next to impossible for me to cope with trying to express all his feeds, so I switched to formula then. :)

Im much better prepared this time, and have spoken to a lactation consultant, etc about my experience last time. Fingers crossed for a good outcome this time. :yes:

WarriorMummy

29-07-2008, 09:19

what about a multiple option
i had low supply ( due to a pump that didnt reproduce my milk properly)
sore nipples
ds1 had thrush and i didnt know till after a week
i was crying for weeks in pain everytime i fed him

naiwen

29-07-2008, 09:24

Premmie, he just wasnt strong enough to suck well and expressing was exhausting me.

He had EBM for 5 months total.

DoubleDelight

29-07-2008, 09:29

I have attempted to BF with each of mine. Unfortunately my supply must have been given to someone else because it's non existent. I have tried medication, stimulation, expressing all to no avail. My youngest was also a small premmie who just didn't have the strength to try and feed.

I still have days where I mourn the fact that I couldn't feed and there still is that lingering sense of failure but then I look at my healthy, happy children and realise that by choosing to FF I did the right thing by them.

Phyllis Stein

29-07-2008, 10:03

You forgot the option of the mother having to take meds that are incompatible with bf. :)

Which was my situation. Serious illness, bones fracturing every day, and I needed to get on heavy-duty meds immediately. The devastation was lessened somewhat by switching to donated EBM. My boy only had a few days of HA formula in the transition period, then a bottle here and there when we've been caught out without EBM on us. We'll be increasing the proportion of formula when he reaches 6 months, in about 3 weeks time.

It was very upsetting, because I was finally actually really enjoying bf. I had supply issues early on that made bub feed every hour around the clock - I persevered, because I was told it would get better eventually, and it did. Apparently bubs was just getting my supply established.

I easily could have stopped bf earlier due to the supply issues - bubs used to scream the house down, the stress and sleep deprivation of hourly feeding, etc. But thankfully, I had the right info and it worked out. Not saying that others with genuinely low supply should all just persevere - apparently a small number of women simply are unable to produce adequate breastmilk, and in those situations, obviously supplementing or transitioning is the best option.

Nowhere

29-07-2008, 10:31

Sick baby couldnt suck, due to low tone, aparently tongue tie ( stil couldnt after her cliping) i couldnt get any with exrpressing I had double pumps going for 4 hours straight and still nothing smal break then again still nothing then 1ml than nothing etc

We then found out the milk backs was not an option due to the fact she is severly protein intolerant, and reacted to the small abount she had with her neocate I think it got 9 mls over the whole 2 weeks (yes two weeks some may say thats NO efort but thats fine they can say what they like until they have had a baby like mine

She is now 2 and a half sti on neocate formula I LOVE that stuff its the only thing standing between my DD and IV feeds I LOVE NEOCATE FORUMA

RoarsomeMum

29-07-2008, 10:40

MCHN scared me into beliving rora was not gaining enough weight:hair:

EvangelinaOne

29-07-2008, 10:42

1. Bubs was tongue tied (corrected at 1 week by laser):p
2. I had inverted nipples (expressing fixed that problem):p
3. Ran out of milk:D

I tried to get her on the breast for four weeks before I just ran out milk. Expressing six times a day was exhausting as well.

It won't stop me from trying next time twice as hard.

Mahjong

29-07-2008, 10:43

MCHN scared me into beliving rora was not gaining enough weight:hair:

:banghead: :eek: Digusting attitude from your MCHN!

miloand4

29-07-2008, 10:45

Different reasons with all my kids ds1 got really sick and would not feed from me and my supply dried up at about 8 wks dd1 fed really well till 4 months then my supply dried up for no apparent reason tried everything to get it back but no go ds2 I got mastitis when he was 2 wks old got an elec breast pump and express fed him for another 6 wks then dried up not a drop and with my dd2 I fed her for 4 mnths even through treatment for cervical cancer But about two wks ago had a bout of food poisening and AGAIN dried up have been trying to bring it back to no avail same as the others. I seem to have an oversupply at first then all of a sudden NOTHING:hair: So they have all gone onto formula with no ill effect:D

Pinky81

29-07-2008, 10:59

I selected low/no milk supply as this is what ultimately forced me to put DD on formula but I believe this was caused by difficulties attatching due to flat/inverted nipples. In the end low (or no in DD's case) weight gain also caused me to stop.
Perhaps failure to thrive could be another choice on the poll?

KatiesMum

29-07-2008, 11:24

I selected poor attachment - but that was only a small part of the problem.

She basically just would not attach at all .... and then becuase I had to pump to try and get some milk and stimulate my breasts I didnt get any milk for a week, and even then supply was very low so bubs was absolutely screaming as she was starving.

Had severely bruised and cracked nipples from trying to get her to attach

And I was starting to resent her ... bonding was a huge issue as it hurt so much to feed.

I do regret not bf her ... but in hindsight I made the right decision. From the very moment I stopped bf / expressing and gave her formula each feed she was a sweet happy contented baby who was an absolute joy.

I dont doubt that if I persisted I could have successfully breast fed her - but at what cost to our family?

Ana Gram

29-07-2008, 11:43

1. issues with sexual abuse
2. severe bruising
3. flat nipples
4. cracked nipples
5. hated it

wattlebird

29-07-2008, 13:20

My DD had tongue tie which wasn't picked up in hospital.

I was in severe pain each time i tried to BF DD, that I would sit there in tears. The midwives at the hospital told me I needed to toughen up.

By the time I got home, I couldn't bear my DD on me, so I expressed. The first 10 - 15 mls was blood. I would just sit there and express - sometimes hysterically crying with pain (because by this stage my nipples were torn to shreds). My DH would have to give her the expressed milk (minus the blood!!!) because I was too distraught to hold my daughter....

I told the midwife who visited our house that I was seriously thinking of switching to formula due to my situation. She gave me the lecture that I'd be putting my DD at risk of childhood diseases and be spending at least $3000 a year on formula and I was making the wrong decision.

I then went to see my GP - he supported my decision to switch to formula as he could see my mental state was not going to withstand much more of it!!! It was then that she was diagnosed with the tongue tie.

I struggled for a long time with my decision - and still to this day feel guilt. I know deep down that it was the tie that prevented proper attachment. Just this month, my DD had an operation to fix the tongue tie. They were surprised by how severe it was.

I was lucky that my DH and my family supported me - but I do get negative comments and looks from people - strangers and non strangers.

Hopefully I can breast feed my next baby - but if not, I think I'll be a lot stronger and stand up to the judgemental midwives who made me feel so bad.

My DD is happy and healthy - and since her operation a few weeks ago, can even poke her tongue out now!!!!!!!

MilkOnTap

29-07-2008, 13:25

MCHN scared me into beliving rora was not gaining enough weight:hair:

:hugs: Stupid CHN's... grrrrr

Mine also led me to believe that cause I couldn't express then I had a low supply. I have never been able to get out more than 5mL at a time. Never mind the fact that I'd already had mastitis twice :rolleyes: God knows how they work THAT out...

VegasMom

29-07-2008, 13:39

Baby with a birth defect. Tried everything, didn't work, no guilt for me :)

growingbelly

29-07-2008, 13:43

a cobination of things i guess...

* my milk never realy flooded in. I dont know if this was because i had been producing breast milk for the past 3 years. I started getting breast milk as a result of a anti-depressant i was on for 3 months 3 years ago and it never went away *weird*

* my dd would not suck she would just attach (on one side) then fall asleep. she was not premmie but she was a extreemly sleepy baby. she never demanded to be feed until 6 weeks old, she was never awake for more than 5 min until about 6 weeks old too.

* i could not handle expressing any longer. i tried expressing every feed for about 3 weeks but could not take it any longer, it was exhausting, plus i was not geting enough for a full feed after 40 min on a double electric pump.

* i had one inverted nipple and dd would not attach at all to this side.

*my nipples became cracked and a mess after the continual pumping, one feed i got 50 mls of blood, no milk, but a lovley bottle of blood, yummo :)

i think thats about it. when i read over this i realise that i did try and it was just not going to happen...

tootiredtosleep

29-07-2008, 13:59

DD1 - at 4 months supply was decreasing and I was starting to stress about feeding all the time. She also went into a brace for her hips, so that made positioning really difficult. I expressed for about a month afterwards, so she had 1 breast feed a day.

This time around I want to feed for at least that long, but if something were to stop me, I would have to say pressure from DH. DD2 is very unsettled at night and he feels that formula will solve the problem. I don't know.

delirium

29-07-2008, 14:59

Thank you everyone for telling your stories :) I think the poll results show that the reasons for not bfing are complex and multi-layered.

Can people use multiple choice now? I've already voted so I was unsure if a mod fixed it. Sorry to those that didn't fit any of my categories, I guess in those cases people have voted other.

PaperTiger

29-07-2008, 15:42

I struggled to breast feed all my children. In my case I believe it was related to the inductions I had and the hormones necessary to establish normal breastfeeding were not able to flood the brain properly due to the disruption from synthetic hormones. :gloomy:
I managed, but gee it was really, really difficult.
However with my fourth baby one of my nipples became completely split through right down the middle. (I still have the scar) I endured the excruiating pain(even with a shield) this caused for several weeks, but it was so bad that it totally inhibited the let down reflex and without a let down reflex there is no way of producing an adequate supply. :gloomy:

mum2bubba

29-07-2008, 15:51

The reason I chose to formula feed was because I tried breast feeding (just because everyone kept hassling me to :rolleyes:) and I didn't like it. I didn't enjoy it and I always felt stressed and uncomfortable.

Once the girls were on bottles I was alot more happy and less stressed which meant they were too.

MumtoMH

29-07-2008, 15:59

I BF DS1 for 3 1/2 months and DS2 for 4 months it my supply started to drop and he just wasnt puttin on the weight

Love is all you need

29-07-2008, 18:41

I couldn't bf my little one as my milk was like toxic waste cause of my meds and with my lupus had I even not been on my meds after extensive testing they declared that my boobie juice has no where near as many antibodies as the nutrients that ff can supply my DD...

Pinky81

29-07-2008, 18:46

Chunkydunks

29-07-2008, 18:56

Low supply to the point where DS was lossing weight. i tried to get my supply up with expressing but it didn't work. I spose I could have tried harder but these things were never explained to me.

Shakey

29-07-2008, 23:14

I ticked other

with DS2 I breast fed him till he was 6mths old, then I had to go onto the combined pill which dried up my milk, so he went to formula then

with DD I breast fed her till 7mths old, with her being a premmie it took her a while to learn to latch and get enough energy to get a good feed, after expressing 24/7 for just over 3wks, then breast feeding and topping up with EBM for a few weeks she took to breastfeeding fine, then all of a sudden at just about 5mths she started getting fussy, feeding for long, refusing the breast, which resulted in me not producing much, so after persevering for a further 2mths, taking maxalon, and every other milk producing herb/pill and expressing, she just got even worse, which resulted in low weight gain, and her not having many wet nappies, so decided to do half breast and hafe bottle feeds, that only lasted a week before she refused me even more, even though I was producing enough milk, so from about 7.5mths she has been fully formula fed, and now she's doing alot better, gaining weight nicely, and is happy, which is most imortant

nugglyboysmum

29-07-2008, 23:17

i ticked other. I bf DS for 5 weeks. The first 2 weeks of bfing was bliss, at 3 weeks he was hospitalised for 3 days and had an op. During those days i wasn't able to feed him at all and none of hte nurses gave me any advice about expressing so i lost some of my supply and got blocked ducts. After hospital DS had severe reflux and fed constantly. I ended up exhausted and switched to FF. I was much happier and DS didn't even notice the switch!

Next bub i will be FF from birth as i know that it will be best for my own sanity and my families happiness and well being. Who knows, if i have an easy time with the next bub i might bf bub no.3...

Pixie

30-07-2008, 01:08

Eliza never had a drop of formula.

Jeremiah on the other hand is a very, very hungry boy I could express but it hurts me a lot, and then breastfeeding hurts.

I really also wanted him to also take a bottle as well as the breast yes I could of used EBM but I don't want to. He actually enjoys the formula. It is working out very well.

I was a never going to ever give formula first time this time I'm more relaxed and also for my own personal reasons know that one bottle gives me chance to do other things.

So selfish reasons but they're mine & I'm not ashamed! :D

Pinky81

30-07-2008, 11:14

Should have done multiple choice lol.

*low supply
*mastitis
*cracked and painful nipples
*nipple thrush
*poor attactment
*Slight tongue tie
*DD at 1mth old was still about 600g below birth weight and her weight loss was on-going
*Ex abused me about 'failing' at breastfeeding and belittled me forced me to buy formula and feed her otherwise he would leave and she would die...

Everything that went wrong was normal and treatable at the end of the day it was the Ex's words and lack of support that did the most damage
:hugs::hugs:How horrible for you

Lilyloo

30-07-2008, 11:17

I started formula feeding at 10 months. Lily was exclusivly breastfeed up until then.

Reason being, I was ready to stop. I thought my DD had had a wonderful start and I was ready to have my body back...

LilMrsC

30-07-2008, 11:33

I ticked no supply. They couldnt get a drop out of me. Also Charlotte was premmie and had no sucking reflex. We had the choice of going down the nasal gastric tube path to see if my supply picked up or to put her on formula. We chose formula. After 4 days in hospital they still couldnt get anything out of me so I am glad we didnt put Charlotte through a NG for no reason.

WorkingClassMum

30-07-2008, 11:40

I bfed DS until he was about 8 months old and I went back to work and there was no-where to express except the toilet:(, so I put him on formula at about 9 months old.

DD had colic and reflux and projectile vomitting - she screamed for 6 weeks - the severe stress and sleep deprivation and going back to work decreased my supply. DD also fought the breast, wouldn't latch on and struggled and fought. In desparation I put her on Pepti Junior and she finally fed and slept.

After seeing the allergist when DD was about 7/8 weeks old, I tried to restrict my diet (wheat diary etc) but DD wouldn't go back to the breast. I loooooooooove Neocate - it stinks when vomitted - but it saved my sanity

preciousbabyboy

30-07-2008, 11:44

I had to start medication that i could not breastfeed while taking :no:

shelle65

30-07-2008, 12:41

Bugger all supply, compounded by bad attachment.

Took the medication, did the constant feeding/expressing regime, visited the LCs, GPs, breastfeeding clinics and all that :ecomcity:
Got nowhere, gave up, felt terrible.

30-07-2008, 13:41

With DD1, a combination of ...

flat nipples
bubs extremely high hard palate
end of supply after approx 6 weeks of pumping

With DS, a combination of ...

flat nipples
bubs extremely high hard palate
severe tongue-tie (not Dx until he was 18mo)
end of supply after almost 6 weeks of pumping for a baby that was taking 170ml every 2 hours from birth, increasing to 280ml every 3 hours by the time he was 4 weeks old! Little guts!

With DD2 ... never got a chance :crying: I had 22 bottles of frozen breastmilk waiting for her to start having feeds and she never, ever, got a drop of my breastmilk in her 9 days of life. She never had a feed at all - just lived off the sugar water her meds were administered in. She was also severely tongue-tied and had a very high hard palate, so even if she had have been well, bf may not have been possible. Her swallowing nerve had been cut in her first heart surgery, so she was always going to have to be tube fed anyway.

I just want one child that I can bf - even if it is only for a short time!

30-07-2008, 13:45

I was a never going to ever give formula first time this time I'm more relaxed and also for my own personal reasons know that one bottle gives me chance to do other things.

So selfish reasons but they're mine & I'm not ashamed! :D

So many more of us need to realise that beating ourselves up is not a good thing, but our choice to do something for bubs and ourselves is!

A sane, rested and happy Mum is one of the best gifts we can ever give our families ...

btw, Nat ... Jeremiah is sooooo gorgeous!

pookiesossige

30-07-2008, 14:07

Ariene didn't have formula, but Ronan was weaned at 4 months old.

I was happy to breastfeed through each bout of mastitus (best thing for it :yes:) and loved the convenience and feeling of a baby at the breast.

But I was torn and bleeding for much of that 4 months and my regional area has no access to LC's or other breastfeeding specialists. Midwives and CHMN's all said my attachement was correct... so why was I still getting torn and grazed??

At the time- it was wonderful to change to formula. I'm just so glad that I didn't have to next time around. I love breastfeeding :goodvibes:

RedPanda

30-07-2008, 14:08

DS1 was bottlefed due to attachment problems.

I had similar problems with my second son, but managed to push through them.

Frogger

03-08-2008, 14:31

I had a few problems

Flat/Inverted Nipples (one side worse than the other)

Low Supply

Basically when DD was born she had breathing problems. When I was being stitched up the ***** nurse came along and shoved DD head onto my nipple "because she was hungry"... after that I never had a good time BF.
On top of that my supply just never came in. I lost a lot of blood during birth which resulted in my body shutting down.
When my milk finally came in there wasn't enough. We were BF and topping up. This caused us to give DD Reflux as we were "guessing" how much we fed her.

We finished up BF @ 6 weeks.

Jaileth

03-08-2008, 14:44

ff was how I was able to bond with my son. I just couldn't do that with bfing

Mum2Callumand3crazycats

30-08-2008, 22:36

1. Badly cracked & bleeding nipples in hospital.

2. Undiagnosed Thrush - horrid horrid thing. Had it for 2-3 weeks before anyone suggested it & couldn't get right help to rid my body of it. Painful feeds followed by tears & agony for hours afterwards.

3. 6 weeks of expressing and then milk dried up.

F/F was godsend and breathed huge sigh of relief when my nipples were given a reprieve from the strong little mouth of my boy and that nasty nipple pump. I still shudder to remember...

pinkgingham

30-08-2008, 23:26

because i had little to no supply and little support from the midwives. i would give my right arm to breastfeed. and i am panged with guilt everytime i see a breastfeeding mother. i just wish i was able to. for a while there i had thought if i have any more kids i will just save myself the heart ache and just FF straight away. but i think i will seek help and see if there is some way i can get a supply going. if not then FF it is. but i can only try.

Nattles

09-09-2008, 21:55

There needs to be more than one choice in this poll. My reasons:

Poor attachment- DS had severe tongue tie and small mouth/jaw- couldn't draw from the ducts properly. Was positioning and latching on right according to LC's but his mouth just didn't measure up!
Poor sucking reflex (even though full term)- would suck for 20min/side but not get anything. Tried supply lines and everything.
Low supply- milk came in at day 10 after being put on Motilium on day 7 and expressing 4hourly from day 1. Supply dropped off about 3.5-4weeks, but not enough to prevent mastitis from nipple damage caused by pumping.
Poor start- DS in special care humidicrib 1st day, massive bruise on head from vacc. ext followed by jaundice that wore him out.
Exhaustion- the stress and guilt of not being able to bf, plus the double duty of bottle feeding EBM plus pumping after each feed and settling meant what little supply I had soon dropped anyway as my body had very little rest between feeds.
I had a great LC who reassured me I was doing everything possible but that sometimes bfing simply doesn't work.

confusd

09-09-2008, 22:03

she just wouldnt!!!
she used to love breast feeding but as she got more alert she hated feeding cause she could see everything!:(
i tried going to a quiet room about a million different positions went and saw a health nurse. but she would just scream.
i tried for days but in the end i just started expressing so she would eat and she loved it! she could eat and look. then in the end the i started getting a low supply so just switched to formula.

i wished i had fed for longer (i did till 5.5months) as we had so many problems at the start but it worked out and then to stop again! (she was tounge tied and couldnt latch on plus other things)

confusd

09-09-2008, 22:06

FiveInTheBed

09-09-2008, 22:24

I BF Ds1 for 15 months (was preg with twins!)...

I BF DS2 and DD for 9 months, I could never get them into the same routine and between the three kiddies was seeing the start and finish of every hour through the night.
I introduced formula to save my sanity and to fill my babies bellies.

JabberJaw

09-09-2008, 22:26

I persevered with breastfeeding my son till about 10 weeks before it was discovered that he was tongue tied, i had been to GP, i paid a lactation consultant, in the end it was a Child Health Nurse that picked it up. I see CHN getting bagged out on various threads but honestly, never had a problem with any of them where i am, They must have sent all the good ones to Bundaberg apparently.

MissSookyLaLa

09-09-2008, 22:43

i stopped because my son was 6 months and i was headed back to work, and hated/couldnt express...

SalTheGal

09-09-2008, 22:47

And you forgot to add "returned to work"

I went back to work when DS was 4.5mnths old, fulltime by the time he was 6mnths....Tried expressing, but considering I am a sales rep whose office is in the car- it wasn't the best environment parked on the road side expressing!!

I tried to keep up night feeds, but supply dropped very quickly.

2sweetgirls

09-09-2008, 22:49

* would not suck
* reflux
* multiple food allergies
* not enough support

many health issues, we went onto neocate to avoid futher health issues.

Lastcenturymum

09-09-2008, 23:09

Prem/sleepy baby, seperated for first two weeks of her life due to health issues, sent to a 'mothers and babies home' that didn't support demand feeding and did support comping, not feeding her as much as I should, PND and ignorance! I was happy to get to 4 months with her, tried to increase supply but was too exhausted by then - learnt so much for the next two and feed 15 and 12 months.

kiripearce

11-09-2008, 16:49

Its so good to hear that not everyone can perservere with bfing. I stopped with ds because of severe pain (cracked, bleeding, mastitis) I also came home from birth 5 kgs lighter than when i fell pregnant and just physically didnt have the strength to keep going (medical issues meant i was lacking in vitamins) I also had thrush which we just kept passing back and forward to each other. It got to the point where i was in agony and tears every feed and just felt like i couldnt bond with him. ff allowed me to get back my sanity and be the mum i wanted and needed to be. He is no way any less healthy than a bf baby (never even had so much as a cold in 16months). I felt the push from nurses was too extreme, we shouldnt be made to feel like we've failed. I will try bf with my jan 2009 bub but will not hesitate to switch if it means i can relax and keep bub relaxed.
I think we all have beautiful healthy bubs with beautiful healthy mummies, what more could we ask for
Kiri

Shmeegle

12-09-2008, 16:01

My daughter is 3 weeks old and i have had mastitis twice plus severely damaged nipples since day one basically. :(
I had so much help and advice on attachment etc etc but my dd was a ferocious sucker who moves her head around a lot after she's been feeding for a while and I have quite small flat nipples.
The nipples healed with the help of numerous laser and ultrasound sessions , but then I had oversupply issues, engorgement and despite feeding every 2hrs I still got mastitis again!!

I cried for a whole day when I came to the conclusion that ff was the best option for us, as I couldn't tolerate the thought of recurring mastitis despite doing everything by the book. :rain:
Unless you have been unable to bf, really struggled to bf or had to give it up you will never know that feeling of grief. But it does get better and I am finally enjoying my little princess :bee:

NibbleCurlynBub

12-09-2008, 16:02

My supply regulated itself. I didn't know that would happen. :no:

I thought I had lost my milk.

~Candy~

12-09-2008, 17:06

Bub #4 was born @36 weeks and was good for a few days, then he got jaundice...it just went on and on with regular blood tests via his heel and he cried and cried through it all. I was told it was to do with my breastmilk, so after 8 weeks, I'd had enough and put him on formula, he was back to perfect health within a week.

lovingmotheract

12-09-2008, 17:44

i started at month i did not want to but she was not sleeping the hole time and if she did it was in my arms for maybe Min's. and i did not know what to do so i tried ff but after i just got her fully on to ff i found out she had reflux then i got very sick and was hospitalized for a week and i bit so i could not feed on the breast again but i tried when she was 6 months and did not take well I'm kicking my self now for it but i can't change what happen to my self or her.

mummajugs

14-09-2008, 22:37

DD was practically drinking my blood by the end of week 3. so unfortunetly i had to stop. didnt want to but, it was the best thing for her. also, her reflux was way too bad not to have her on a thicker substitute.
:yes:
IM A PROUD FF!!!!!!!!
:yelclap:

*babygirl*

14-09-2008, 22:55

i went into my pregnancy thinking my baby would get a week of Breastmilk out of me before i put her on formula.

I had my daughter, and then one week became two... two became 6... and so on... i think it was around 12 weeks i began to have SERIOUS and chronic pains in my chest... they would some times last 24+ of CONSTANT excruciating, breath taking pain... and in that time ANYTHING on my chest (*even clothes and blankets) was unbearable. so we begain to give her a few bottles here and there while i tried to find out what was wrong with me...

i was admitted to hospital when she was about 14/15 weeks old and had to stay 48 hours while they did some tests etc... in this time my family was taking turns bringing DD in for feeds but it wasnt enough... i was on so many painkillers i felt too much guilt feeding her on drugs:( so i started pumping in hospital to kill the time and TRY to maintain even SOME supply as i knew it would get better when she started feeding again.

when she was about 16 weeks i found out i had gall stones. and was admitted for surgery... i was on a cocktail of drugs... my scars were trying to heal... my milk was drying up FAST and DD was simply not interested...

When we got home and she went into massive breast aversion i didnt have the strength to keep fighting... or the confidence from anyone around me... all the "she will be FINE."... "its practically the same" comments gave me little inspiration to keep going:gloomy:

About a month after her last feed at 18 weeks i looked into re-lactating... but in the end i knew it was just for ME... she would SCREAM in frustration and annoyance at me when i would TRY to get her to re-attach... so i dropped it.

i felt guilty for a good 6 months as i could always squeeze a drop or two out for MONTHS.

now i know what went wrong (even though i KNOW it was beyond my control) and i know where i will succeed in the future with my next babies!

the thing that breaks my heart more than ANYTHING is that we were finally GOOD at feeding!! we were finally past all my MASSIVE hurdles that i got through... i was so strong through all the initial issues... and for something like that to stop us broke my heart.

sorry its so :ecomcity: but you did ask:p

kiwibird27

14-09-2008, 23:18

Chronic reflux that was life threatening......... 3 1/2 months in hospital.....long story

cokeacoley

16-09-2008, 13:36

I had every intention of breastfeeding exclusively, and fed my baby on demand when I brought her home from the hospital. Unfortunately my milk never seemed to come in, even though I was feeding her for hours and hours on end and had no problems with attatchment or her sucking. After 8 days she started losing about 80g a day. And also crying for 12 hours straight.

I began doing top up with the formula to increase her weight and took drugs to increase my supply plus pumping after every feed at the advice of the lactation clinics where I went twice. Still this didn't seem to work and she was not putting on weight fast enough for her to settle, and was also sending me around the bend as all I was doing was b/f, settling then pumping. Also the drugs gave me terrible side effects.

I was admitted to O�onnell house when she was five weeks old and they started letting her drink as much formula as she wanted. When I realised she was drinking 140ml of formula after breast feeding her for an hour I realised my milk supply still hadn't increased even with all the work I had done. My baby also started screaming when put to the breast as she knew that the bottle was coming.

Giving her botttles was the best decision for me as now I can enjoy my beautiful daughter as opposed to hearing her cry for hours from hunger issues. I will, however, try again with the next baby.

I know how hard I tried with breast feeding and I get VERY irritated with the dark looks I receive from people when feeding out. And even more irritated when I'm told that it's my guilt talking when I say that I'm getting dirty looks! I'm very glad we live in an age where we have such help. My friend had to make formula from oats in Latvia 25 years ago!