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PLEASE HELP ,ME !!!

HI GIRLIES,

IM ON TH VERGE OF PULLING MY HAIR OUT AT THE MOMENT MY PARTNER HAS LEFT ME SO NOW IM ON MY OWN WITH MY 3 WEEK OLD BABY AND ITS SOOO TIRING AND IM SOOO DOWN,IM BREAST FEEDING AND I JUST FEEL MY BABY IS NOT GETTING ENOUGH MILK FROM ME,I FEED HER AND AFTER SHES FINISHED SHE CRYS AGAIN AS IF SHE HUNGRY AGAIN,

IVE TRYED EXPRESSING MILK BUT I CAN ONLY GET OUT 1 OZ OF MILK image AND PLUS SHE DOSNT LIKE THE BOTTLE.

I REALLY WANT TO SWAP HER TO FORMULA MILK AS IM JUST SO TIRED AND I NEED A WELL DESERVED BREAK,

HOW CAN I GET HER TO DRINK FROM A BOTTLE AND WOULD YOU ADVISE TO CHANGE TO FORMULA I JUST CANT COPE WITH IT ALL ANY MORE image


XXX

TEGAN LOUISE BULLIMORE 3 WEEKS TODAY BORN 11.04.10 3.26PM

Replies

  • Sorry to hear you're having such a tough time. Not sure I've got any great advice but didn't want to R&R. Have you tried offering her the other breast once you've winded her? Maybe she's having a bit of a growth spurt?

    Is there any other help or support you can get, maybe from your family? It might also be worth ringing one of the breast feeding support lines to get some advice.

    Hope things pick up for you

    xx
  • hi g/c from march 09...

    i'm sorry to hear ur having a real rough ride of it atm...just wanted to say that expressing isn't a good indicator of how much milk u produce, ur baby will be far more effective of getting milk than a pump, and at 3 weeks 1oz is very good anyway....could it be that she has colic or a bit of wind if she's crying after feeds? does she burp well? if not then u could try infacol (gripe water can be used from 4weeks) to ease this. it could be taht she is still hungry, babies do feed very little and often at this age, particulalry when they're going thru growth spurts, which they're are many of in the first 6weeks..how long does she feed at the breast for? do u switch boobs mid feed or do u just wait for her to finish one boob? its ideal to keep baby on one bob for an entire feed, or until that boob is drained to make sure she's getting enough of the filling hind milk, also make sure u r eating enough to keep ur milks calorie value up too...if u really want to try formula u could always add one ff a day, i did this with ds at ur lo's age, at 9/10pm feed would give him a ff and i continued to mixfeed until he was 7months. talk to ur hv tho, and she should be able to put u in touch with a bf support group/councellor if u want to perservere, but if u want to switch to formula there's nothing wrong with either, but do remember ur nearly over the hardest bit, which is the first 6 weeks...do u have anyone else who could come and take her for a walk for an hour just so u can get a bit of respite (shower/nap/just sit and be)...i can't imagine how tough it must be to be doing this on ur own, and ur doing so well. also if u are" worried she's not getting enough from u, take her to be weighed weekly, this should give u an idea, if she's putting on weight nicely then u know she's getting enough. hth xx
  • I'm sorry to hear that you and your partner have split, especially as you've been left on your own at such a difficult and emotional time.

    I know that getting her to take a bottle and switching her to formula seems like the best thing to do to make life easier for yourself right now, but if she is breastfeeding happily, I'd actually suggest sticking with it. As someone else said, you are getting through the hardest part - once your DD is a little older, BF will actually make your life so much easier - no faffing around sterilising and working out how many bottles to take out with you, no panics when you run out of formula after the shops are shut and you're home alone with the baby - and it's free, which will ease the strain on your finances as a lone mum.

    It WILL get easier - just get through these next few weeks.
  • Hi stacy. Sorry to hear aout your partner leaving you. I hope you have lots of support from family and friends. I think your bfing sounds like its actually going well. My dd also wants to feed constantly and it often feels like my boobs are empty but she's putting on weight so I know she's actually getting what she needs and is just a bit of a greedy guts who likes to snack little and often rather than take big meals. I also know from expereinmce (as I bf my dd1) that between 4-6 weeks she will settle into more of a rooutine giving me a break bettween feeds and I know your dd will do exactly the same if you can hang in there. With regard to bottles if you do still want to give her them for ff or ebm, I've found the tommee tippee ones good for a fussy baby as they are so breast like. Xxx

    [Modified by: Feebs76 on May 02, 2010 09:57 PM]

  • Hi Stacy - my LO is BFing what seems like constantly, and I had a really really tough day the other day, but I had a bit of change of tack with the feeding and it seems to have helped. What I was doing before was feeding til he fell asleep then putting him down, then he would wake up half an hour later and need fed again. This was driving me nuts as he seemed to be constantly feeding and I was going bonkers, so what I now do is feed him until he comes off, then offer again, and keep offering until he's had enough. Then I'll put him up on my shoulder to wind him - often I find he has a wee dose there then will actually want to go back and have more, so I put him back on the same breast (unless he won't take that one in which case I assume it's empty and I switch sides) and do the same until he falls asleep this time round. Usually it takes about 45-50 mins of feeding/latching/sleeping/burping, but when he's had the 2nd lot of feed, I'll give him a wind and put him in his bed, then he will sleep for ages. For example, I've just done that with mine as the MW was in this morning to do his heel prick test. He went on at 11, fed for about half an hour and had 15 mins on my shoulder/lap dosing and being winded, I then gave him another feed for about another half an hour (this was a mega session) then I winded him and put him in his bed. He's been asleep from then (about half past 12) til now, and he's not showing any signs of waking up (touch wood!) and will probably sleep for about 2 hours or so before I need to feed him again.

    You're doing so brilliantly hon, please speak to your mw or hv to see if they can help you - or perhaps see if you can get to one of the breast feeding clubs - the NCT usually have a coffee morning near you where you can meet up with other mums who will usually help you out - and there is often ladies with bumps who will gladly take your bean out of your hands for an hour or so to play with so you can have a break.

    There is loads of help out there for you - with lots of organisations and places like sure start centres etc, so make the most of it and get the support you need - people will be only too happy to help out and support you. Where abouts do you live? Maybe there's someone on here who lives near you who could just give you a shoulder to cry on if nothing else?
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