feeling really sad :(

[lisa&alex]

i kno u all gonna tell me stfu.. but i cant help it.. i feel like im not giving eddie the best coz hes only ever content after he has had formula..dunno what im doing wrong.. and i had to break the no formula cycle coz he was so upset and wingey.. i did everything i could to soothe him in the end he wouldnt even go on the breast.. i took him for a walk in the pram a walk in the sling tried dummy, white noise.. nothing worked.. so alex said im making him a bottle.. after that he was happy as larry..

am i doing thwe wrong thing by carrying on bfing him?

 

[Squiglet]

hun you're not doing the wrong thing. Babies don't like feeling hungry, formula contains Casein which the human gut has trouble breaking down. It sits in the stomach for a long time and fools a baby into thinking its full, when its not. Breast milk is perfectly designed for a human gut and will be completely absorbed, the down side to this is that a baby will feel hungry again in a few hours.

You give ed a bottle... so what? It isn't poison, he won't die from it, he's still getting loads of goodness from what boob feeds he gets, even if you do decide to switch to formula, he still would have had a good start.

They are babies for such a short time, that to miss out because of the whole breast is best debate seems silly to me. Besides you can bf all you want but if you don't teach them good eating habits (i.e. 5 portions of fruit and veg) and you don't mirror that in your eating... all the bfing benefit is thrown out the window...

 

[happy-chick]

Completely agree with Morag, have u thought about doin some formula feeds and some breastfeeds & see if thats any better? If ed is happier then u'll be happier?

 

[lisa&alex]

i dunno whT to do.. might ring my health visitor i think

 

[Gem & Leland]

bf was a battle for me , leland wasnt strong enough and he was lazy i was getting upset i was hvaing to do breat / express and bottle and it drove me mad , there was no bonding while feeding cos it was just a struggle and i can safley 100% say he hated it the lazy lil bee !

breast isnt best if its causing so much heart ache and worry , i now love feeding ( even with the throwing up lmao) cos i hear him cooing and gurggling and chugging it down and making those happy lil noises which i sooooo didnt get when breast feeding !


you;ve given eddie a fab start ! and made it to 3 months too i think u should now do whats best for you and baby which may mean more formula and less breast now

 

[Magic Monkey]

I agree with g3m, I tried to breast feed and I hated every minute of it. Ella wouldn't go on properly and I found it really painful, I got to the point where I was dreading her waking up and I wasn't bonding at all cos I found it so stressful.

We switched to formula and she is so much happier and so am I, I really enjoy feeding now and my OH can feed her too.

Don't beat yourself up if you have to give him some bottles too, you have given him a fantastic start and loads of people stop at 6 wks so you have done better than that.

Hope it all works out

 

[Babylicious]

csn only mirror what the others have said

 

[DebbieM]

I know how you feed Lisa. I sometimes feel at night that Luke would perhaps settle if he had some formula (he's not been tried on it as of yet and I would prefer to keep it that way).

I sometimes think that I am being mean in not giving in and settling him with a bottle that might fill him more but I feel I am doing the right thing in having him BF exclusively. Who knows.. a bottle might not settle him either though.

I think you need to do what you feel is right Lisa and if that is continuing to BF him and BF only, then do it!!!! You're his Mummy and you know what is best for the little man. It's really hard though, I know. xxxxxxx

 

[purple13]

you do what's best for you honey; you'll know what feels right - combine bf and bottle if it's what you want? it works for me & connor

 

[Full of hope!]

I think you have done brilliantly breastfeeding Eddie for so long Lisa, you've given him a great start in life

I tried BF Jacob but only lasted 24 hours. Jacob couldn't latch on very well as my nips are quite flat. When he did get on he broke off within a couple of minutes then it would take me 15 mins to get him back on again. Jacob became very stressed and I was dredding every feed! I finally broke down and decided to put him on formula I felf bad at first but not now as he's thriving, 8 weeks old and over 12lb

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

[weenik]

I agree with the others, they're only babies for a short time and there are so many decisions you need to make but you will make the right one. You need to do what's right for you and LO and if it's combining bf and bottle then that's the right thing (or bottle feeding only). I think it's such a shame that many mothers don't get to enjoy the first months fully because they're worried about bf'ing being the 'only way to feed'. You have done really well so far and I'm sure you'll make the right choice

 

[Tasha20]

As squiglet has said, formula is harder for the body to digest. It sits in the stomach and intestines were as breastmilk is absorbed straight into the body for all the goodness to go where its needed.

3 months is another important time for a growth spurt one of the biggest! I remember them all very well, it was very hard and I can totaly sympathise.

It does get better and I would say by the time his on solids you would of cracked it, I did by then and after 6-7 months feeding Olivia was wonderful all over again.

At the end of the day its your decision but you need to decide what will be best for you and your son.

I also higley reccomend that you try and boost your fat and carb content to make your milk more filling.

Oats, porridge lots of water and lots of skin to skin.

You will be burning 200-500 calories a day and during a growth sprurt your burning at least 500.

 

[Becky]

Ultimately what your baby needs is a happy mummy and daddy. If you are so stressed out by trying something then the benefits don't outweigh the stress.

Morag is exactly right and you should do what is going to give you and your son the best relationship with you.

There is no right or wrong, only what is best for you all as a family.

 

[Pregnopaws]

I think you've done great getting as far as you have, follow his lead and don't beat yourself up over it.

 

[KJ]

firstly, well done for getting this far!

Secondly, if your LO is struggling and you still want to breastfeed, why not consider changing to half his feeds being formula and half being breastfeeds? Gradually switch one breastfeed at a time for formula until your boobs get used to it. You could either do breast, formula, breast, formula, etc. or breast, formula formula, breast, whatever suits your and your LO's routine really.

He'll still be getting all the benefits of breastmilk but you can also be giving him some formula aswell.

K.xx