Help - feeding....

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  EnglebertW_nkface

  Aug 5, 2008 3:00PM

  I'm breastfeeding. I fed Millie until she weaned herself at 10 1/2 months and I hope to carry on untill a year this time. I'm not expressing because I am far too lazy lol.
  I would say that if trying to bf is getting you down then don't! Much better to have you both happy and settled with formula than to beat yourself up trying to bf. It sounds a bit like your milk supply might not be very good, normally first thing in the morning your supply should be at it's best so he should be pretty settled. Could it be that you are not eating or drinking enough yourself? If you aren't getting enough calories it will make it hard for your body to produce enough milk.
  At the end of the day only you can decide whether to switch entirely to forumla or not, it's really important that you are happy with whatever descision you make. Good luck!
  Kerry xx

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  julesollychloe

  Aug 5, 2008 5:05PM

  I feel exactly the same! I am starting to wean Olly off my breast now, as have had enough of having sore breasts, particularly as I think I have mastitus (v. painful!). I also feel guilty as my mum keeps going on about having breast fed us until 12 months! I only made a decision yesterday after getting very upset!
  
  I use aptimal milk as it is the closest to breast milk. It is important however not to stop breast feeding suddenly as this will lead to sore breasts!
  
  It's really up to what you do, I agree that if you're not happy breast feeding then start to bottle feed.
  
  Good luck,
  
  Jules

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  Bunty1975

  Aug 9, 2008 7:09AM

  i am bottle feeding my twins.
  also with aptimil.
  i have a two year old who i breast fed untill she was 2 months - and gave up as she was not gaining weight. i was dead upset about it. but this time round i am just happy to be feeding my babies up on a bottle, and know that they are happy. my mom bf me and my two sisters til we were 9 months- and i know what you mean about feeling bad cos of this. but don't beat yourself up honey.
  last time i stuck with all those instructions on the side of the carton about how much to feed. but this time round i am being a bit more laid back - and just letting my twins have as much as they want.
  
  in my opinion bottle feeding is easier (esp in my case with twins)
  i was happier once i commited to one way of feeding.
  good luck with making up your mind hun - you will know whats best for you when you have found it
  

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  Zabar

  Aug 9, 2008 11:27AM

  Hi, I know exactly how you feel. I mixed breast feeding (expressed milk) with formula feeding for a while and then finally took the decision to switch over to formula completely. This was due to a few reasons including mastitis, latching on problems and having seen how more content he was after a bottle.
  
  It was still a difficult decision to make - mainly due to the fact that there is no going back once you switch completely and my hv & mw's seem to see it as some sort of failure if you stop breast feeding. That said, it's not them who's up during the night with a hungry baby, it's me, and happy mummy = happy baby.
  
  Once I made my decision to switch I felt I could relax more and finally started enjoying and bonding with my baby more. Funnily enough, the only person whose opinion I worried about was my own Mum's. She has always been pro-breast feeding but she supported me 100% when she saw how difficult things were for me.
  
  He is 6 weeks old now and takes anything between 4oz an 6oz at each feed. It's the same for breast milk and formula - he likes his grub! I started with one formula feed a day and the rest breast milk and over the last 2 weeks have gradually expressed less and less so he now gets the opposite. I was giving him aptamil but have recently switched to Cow & Gate. Doctor told me 150ml to each kilo of weight however I believe your baby will tell you how much they want/need. Everyone is different and grows at different rates.
  
  Z x

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  amylou81

  Aug 10, 2008 9:20AM

  Thank you everyone for your advice and as much as I would like to persevere with the bf'ing for obvious reasons, I have decided to wean Zac off of me gradually as i just feel so on edge with it and he is so much happeier witha full tummy! i don't enjoy it like some of you say you do I just feel constantly anxious about the whole thing!
  
  For example earlier I fed him on me for 45 mins only for him to still be hungry afterwards - so I gave him a bottle of expressed I had in the fridge - he had 3oz of that as well as whatever he had had from me for the 45 min feed!
  
  He is really hungry this week - could be a growth spurt though I guess!?!
  
  If I am going to stop gradually though - how should I do this.... drop a feed a week or something??? We went out last night and I missed a couple of feeds and my boobs were so hard and were really uncomfortable by the time we got home - is that what it feels like to give up!?!?!?
  
  Amy x

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  SarahDevlin

  Aug 10, 2008 3:06PM

  Hi
  I am bottlefeeding Dylan. Unfortunately, breastfeeding was unsuccessful for us - he didn't latch on properly when in the hospital, then he refused milk altogether for just over 24hours & had to be force fed by mw from a cup!!
  
  From tomorrow, i'm changing things....will be switching formulas from SMA (am v unhappy with that - there is a post about SMA) to Aptamil. Am changing the teats and also am going to try (try being the operative word!!) & maintain some kind of routine, as Dylan has been very gripey/unsettled the last few days! Not sure changing things all at once is a good idea, but will see how it goes - if the little man's not happy then we'll take a different approach!!
  
  Perhaps you could ask your hv for advice for changing from breast to bottle? Sorry i can't be of much help!
  

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