Ok, me again but I am really struggling and this morning ended up in tears for about 2 hours!! Feel like I am not doing this mum thing at all well, even though I already have a 5 year old.

It's the feeding thing, it's really getting to me. Wanted to breast feed exclusively but struggled from the beginning so was topping up with formula. Now, I am only really doing 1/2 feeds a day breast. But, this morning wee man had his 4oz bottle at 9.30, was still sucking at 10.30 then did not go to sleep til an hour ago after having to then give him boob to settle him. Why is he taking so long to feed from a bottle and he seems to dribble most of it down him. Is he a lazy sucker? Why does he seem so hungry all the time and won't settle?

If I was to go back to breast only, would my milk come back in if I spent a day just nursing and feeding on demand?????? I want what is best, but nothing seems to be settling him and I feel useless. Think he also has colic too so night time is a mare....

Help, need some advice .........

Love a very fed up, tired and feeling crap Sam & 18 days "wee man" xxxxx

Ps - think we are going to name him Mickey dispite what the in-laws and parents think!!!! xxxx

I know exactly how you feel and how frustrating and depressing it can be. I had problems for the first couple of weeks breast feeding - my nipples were red raw and baby was feeding anywhere between every hour - 2 hours, occasional 3 hours when I was lucky -and only feeding for 10-20 mins. each time. I tried expressing but milk flowed in dribbles and it took about 2 hours between feeds to get a 4oz bottle!

After 2 weeks I spent a whole day combining breast feeding and expressing and doing absolutely nothing else - my husband came home from work and I burst into tears, I was at the end of the road. I wasn't enjoying this precious time with my new baby - next day I said enough was enough - I went to the supermarket and bought the formula milk and I swear I felt like I'd just won the lottery!

When I started on the formula (in the third week) my baby gulped the first bottle down as if she'd been starved for 2 weeks. During that week I did still breast feed inbetween in the hope of continuing but baby didn't seem satisfied with breast so I stopped. Unlike your baby mine would have been finished a 4oz bottle and winded in 15-20 mins. But then again all babies are different I know a few people whose babies take an hour to finish a bottle so it just depends on the baby - not necessarily anything to do with combining breast and bottle.

As for colic, my baby suffered from it a bit for the first couple of weeks after switching to formula but a few people recommended I use Aptamil (I was using SMA) and someone else recommended using Tommee Tippee bottles (I was using Advent ones) - I took all the advice on board and must say, after a week I noticed baby wasn't struggling with the wind as much. Just one other thing, when I switched from Advent bottle to the Tommee Tippee one the teat no. 1 on the Tommee Tippee bottle was much to slow for baby so I put her on the no. 2 (which was for 3-6months!).

Sorry for such a long post but my advice to you would be to try breastfeeding only if that is what you want and feel comfortable with but don't continue if it's getting you down - this is a precious time with your baby which you want to think back on with joy and you also want to be there for your 5 year old as well.

Good luck

Anna

this sounds exactly like my dilema! I struggled from the begining to and Mia was never settled after a feed and always looking for more food, so i would put her back on the boob and she just kept pulling off and winging, very frustrating. So i started to top her up and she loved it so much, and refused the boob so i ended up giving her more formula, i am still BF occasionally when she is interested.

I was so upset that she refused the breast as i really wanted to BF her exclusivly,personally i feel i never had enough milk in the first place,as i tried everything to increase it, but your lil man is still very young so it will be easier for you to build up your milk supply,

I was advised to:

Drink lots of water
rest lots
eat well
demand feed
Express 4 times a day for 10 minutes each side

Good luck, hope it works out for you, they never tell you how hard it is do they!?

Kate & Mia 8 1/2 weeks!!!!

poster from National Childbirth Trust!

http://174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=002wl0.jpg

Thought it may help encourage you to persevere with the feeding. It sounds like you could do with some support. Are there any breastfeeding groups near to you?

xxxx

milk will definitely build up again if you feed exclusively again, could take 3 or 4 days of very demand feeding. drink loads , eat well and rest,definitely worth it tho !!!could offer babs a little boiled water from a tea spoon while milk is low to makesure he doesnt dehydrate...

its normal for a baby too want loads of "boob" when trying to increase your supply, maybe hes thirsty rather than hungry. Formula doesnt supply the thirst quenching watery bit that fore milk from breast does. It is very hot at the mo !!

good luck n let us know how it goes

Cheryl xxx

I am having the same problem but had the health visitor today who advised me not to give him bottle (although i expressed the milk but then my lol man seemed confused)so i am going to breast feed more from now on.

Hun try to drink alot of fluid may be that will help.

Sonny + 12day Matt xxx

aw sorry your having such a hard time hunny

apparently the first 2 weeks of breast feeding are hell and after that its much easier, my sis in law said this the other day-she was adimant she wasnt going to breastfeed but her hubby wanted her to try, so she did and ended up feeding him for 9 months i think!

sounds like he could be confused between the breast and bottle? they use different sucking methods for each...you are supposed to exclusively breast feed for 2 weeks to establish it.

not sure about your milk supply but he is only 2 weeks so if you went back to just breast maybe you would get a good supply in?

why dont you have a chat with your HV? might have a few tips for you.

rachx
10+1weeks