Does this make me selfish?

[giggles]

HI All,

I am a breastfeeding/ supplement formula feeder at the moment.

I began breastfeeding exclusively but with the aid of a nipple shield for no specific reason (don't ask!) I dicovered at about 10 weeks in that my milk supply was cut drastically and had to begin formula supplementing to give my daughter a decent feed.

I was pretty disappointed in myself but thought I was starting to get back on top of things now bub was putting on weight.

I tried fenugreek and motillium to try and boost my supply again but don't feel much different with them and Ava is still taking a fair wollop of formula after each breastfeed.

The thing is, this is getting really taxing for me. I am getting frustrated (and subsequenlty so is Ava) feeding her by breast the having to do the whole bottle thing and am seriously considering giving the breastfeeding the flick but feel like it would be taking the easy road and am I just being selfish.

I SO want to JUST breastfeed......

[Foxy]

Hi Justcooked,

It's great that you are trying to breastfeed, nobody tells us before how hard it can be.

I don't have any specific advice on how to increase your supply, have you considered seeing a lactation consultant?

I just wanted to let you know that if you have to bottlefeed it's not the end of the world and doesn't make you a bad mother. Doing what is best for both you and your baby is not selfish!!

Good Luck!

Michelle

PS. Ava is such a beautiful name :)

[Angelmist♥]

Justcooked- no way are you just being selfish!! I hated comp feeding and was only doing it for 5 days!!I was about to give up on breastfeeding totally but then it just clicked (with shields though).

I have been looking at ways to increase milk supply also and have found they all say to try and feed more often. I know that sounds tiresome but after a few days your body will be making tonnes of milk so hopefully you won't have to comp anymore.Do you have a breast pump??Might be easier to pump than actually wake bubs..

here's a link I found this morning which seems to have quite good common sense ideas towards breast feeding
http://www.babycenter.com/baby/babybreastfeed/index

Good on you for sticking it out this far!! But if you can't handle it anymore, bubs will be perfectly happy and healthy on formula.My 2 boys were both formula fed and they are the healthiest children I know.So don't ever let anyone make you feel guilty or a failure because you decide to formula feed.

[whatwasithinking]

I too tried fenugreek at it made baby go loopy and I felt it decreased my supply instead of increasing.

I too was doing both but now have stopped bf. I feel at least I gave it a shot. My dd#1 was never bf and she is thriving and doing well.

Choose what is best for YOU.

[MariaO]

Hi Justcooked,

Your start to b/feeding sounds a little like mine was. Have you got a decent pump. You can hire electric ones if you want to try one. I found that pumping about 20 mins after a feed really helped boost my supply in the early months.

Just remember that you are not at all selfish - the most important thing is your baba is getting fed, and that you and your baba are still enjoying getting to know each other.

[Peaceangels]

No way, you are not being selfish at all. The fact that you have given b/f a go makes it even harder to give up, but you have to do what works for both you and bub! (and only you can decide that)
Remember - there's no "express que to heaven" for brst/f mums!!
BTW, love the name Ava, it was one of our fave's if we had a girl, it's just lovely! :)

[poshBecks]

No It's not selfish AT ALL!!

I had to give up b/f ds after 4 wks as I had very little supply also!! I learnt pretty quickly that it didn't make me a bad mum. Infact taking the pressure off made it a whole lot more enjoyable to do the mum thing!!
I'm not going to stress about it this time round. If it works out GREAT... if not - no biggy!! I think stressing made it a lot harder!!

Good luck... :)

[WeThree]

you are definetly NOT selfish, if you want to put her on the bottle then go for it :) but if you are keen to continue bf, here's a few tips:

~after a few wks your breasts 'settle' and it becomes more of a supply/demand thing, this can give the illusion (particulary if it is your first time) that your milk is decreasing
~the more you feed the more you will produce, if she is not feeding as much as you would like to get the milk you need, get a breast pump, although keeping her on longer usually will work just as well.
~ bf babies do not usually put on weight at the rate of ff babies, so dont worry if she is not gaining weight as fast as some other bubs, i tend to not pay to much attention to well meaning babycentre nurses and others who go by the percentile thingy in the blue book, that thing is so outdated and means nothing
~get in touch with the breastfeeding association, they will be able to give you lots of help
goodluck!!! :)