Breast Feeding - Help!

[littlebump]

Hi all

I'm feeling pretty crap at the moment - Maddie cries all the time in the day but sleeps well through the night - she has slept well since we started topping her up with a bottle of formula on an evening on the advice of our health visitor (she wasn't gaining weight).

Anyway yesterday afternoon I gave her a bottle of formula and she settled right down and it occured to me that all this time she's been crying because she's hungry - presumably my breast milk isn't adequate to fill her up, which explains why she wasn't gaining weight.

I'm not sure if my milk is drying up or whether Maddie's needs have just grown quicker than my supply but I don't know what to do. I don't feel like I have time to express (I've tried and it took two attempts at 40 minutes each time and all I got was around 20ml). I know every time I give her a bottle and therefore miss a feed, my milk supply will get even lower, but I feel as though I'm failing her at the moment and really that I have no choice but to give her formula.

Does anyone have any advice / anyone else been in this situation? Is it possible that my milk is drying up?

LBxx

 

[Hypnorm]

i was told by my hv that the more bottle feed you introduce the less milk you will produce, and that the night feed were very important to help keep milk supply going.
It would be unusual for your milk to be drying up now if you've been BF fine in the past month.
My boy is 3month now and still exclusivley BF he was 8lb when born and still feed every 2 hours and feed at least once during the night.
Expresing isn't easy, i always do it in the morning whe my breasts are fullest.
If you have one in your area go to a breastfeeding support group, i found mine very helpful and very sociable, gets you out of the house too.
http://www.breastfeedingsupporters.org.uk/
try this link it may be helpful.
Good luck and don't give up.

 

[OverTheMoon]

I'm sorry I'm from the other side!
Breast feeding made my nipples bleed where he would suck so hard (all the health visitors said he was positioned correctly so that wasn't the problem) so against all their advice I introduced formula feeds every other time. I cried for hours after the midwife visited me as she made me feel like such a bad mother. After that my husband said right thats it you're not putting yourself through it any more, and after that we went exclusively to formula. So we did persevere for six weeks in total but now he is much happier and gaining lots of weight. Also just for your info I still am producing a very small amount of milk and he is three months old?!?!?! Work that one out?!?!?!?
My ultimate message here is to do what feels the most comfortable for you. I felt sooo guilty when I stopped bf but now I can see that a lot of that was also hormones playing their part!
Good luck whatever you decide, you are the mummy and you know best for your baby