Guilt

[Geekachublog]

I'm really struggling at the moment...

LO has never been able to latch for one reason or another, so he's always been fed with a bottle, for the most part I express breast milk, however the last few days I've been really struggling to keep up.
My husband works nights so is asleep during the day, so I've been really tired having to get up and feed baby and then express as well, I just can't do it anymore, it's making me miserable.. LO was really hungry last night, he'd had four 100ml bottles from 11pm to 6am, two of which were formula because I'd not got enough expressed milk to keep up with him.

I feel extremely guilty because during the day is rather nap and try to catch up on sleep than to sit and express... I know baby gets the best from my breast milk but I'm finding more and more like I need to switch to formula, for my own sanity. I hate expressing and I feel terrible that I don't do it when I should because I'm too tired on my own.

I don't think there's a point here, just needed to get it off my chest so to speak. I feel like I'm struggling to keep my head above water.

 

[BevG]

dont feel BAD, ITS SO HARD TO DO AND IF YOU DONT EXPRESS EVERY 2-3 HOURS YOUR SUPPLY WILL DIP, EASILY DONE WHEN YOUR TIRED AND BUSY. YOU TRIED IT AND YOU GAVE HIM THE BEST START

 

[flisstebbs]

Only one generation ago, women were told formula was best. There are pros and cons to bf vs formula. Bottom line is, your baby gets fed and I'm sure will turn out just fine. Try not to stress over it Carlee, but I do understand the anxiety, I'm struggling with bf, its so hard!

 

[KellyC89]

I totally understand this. My LO is now 17 days old and we have struggled with BF since day one. He was in special care so we never got it established early on and then when I got him home he was very fussy on the breast. I started expressing but like you felt like I couldn't keep up so we bought some formula as 'emergency' feeds. I've been feeling guilty as I always wanted to bf but the thought of exclusively expressing for 6 months is making me tired just thinking about it!

 

[BevG]

it took me til 6 weeks this time to kick the formula and my baby latches fine now, my first daughter was combi fed til she was just over 1. if baby didnt latch i can tell you id have given up cos exclusively pumping is just too hard. tweetyfoo is my hero for doing it for her aaron til he was nearly one. i could only keep up the expressing afeeding and topping up cycle for 4 /5 weeks really since i knew id get her latching and feeding sometime just had to persevere. every drop counts and passes immunity on so well done even if you only give one feed or one bottle of expressed milk then your doing your best. never be disappointed in yourself if you have tried. its more important to be happy and to have time to spend with your baby

 

[glowing]

I was bf, expressing and formula topping up for 2 weeks and it is soul destroying and I definately wasn't enjoying motherhood or my baby. She had all the colostrum and my antibodies and I tried. She is formula fed now and as it happens needs prescription feed for reflux. She is gaining weight and is happy so no drama. Don't beat yourself up about it I did and felt a failure but now I can see there was a problem with my supply and I made the best descision for my mental, emotional and physical health so I could give my daughter the care she deserves. So enjoy your baby while she is tiny as they are not like it for long.

 

[Linzie2012]

Last night I hit the situation that you have & I had run out of expressed milk - mine is also a poor latcher.

Do. To feel guilty about it, it's not worth getting stressed and frustrated with yourself. Formula milk is fine for baby.

I do express as much as I can & fed that but formula then as top ups & as needed.

I prefer to enjoy the moments, if it means FF then I will.

 

[Geekachublog]

Well, I hit a brick wall when I ran out if expressed milk, I wasn't getting as much off when pumping as I wanted to, so as upset as it made me I switched to formula completely.

I've tried as hard as I can but I'm still quite poorly from section/birth so now I can enjoy baby and not have to worry about his feeds as hubby can prepare them too

 

[Dotty_woman]

I think you've done amazing to keep this up for so long and it's a real credit to you. Remember any breast milk your lo gets is a bonus so you've still given your baby a great start. It is also important that you look after yourself and make sure you get plenty of rest when you can. If formula is the way forward for you at this stage then you have to do what's best for you and your sanity. Did you ever get any help early on to assist with your baby's latching? xxx

 

[redriding]

I breastfed from birth until 15 weeks then I introduced to formula bottles a day..I felt so guilty because I would of prefered to express my milk..I could express at the begginning but as the weeks passed I can no longer do it..I hate giving my baby 2 formula bottles but I'm just doing it so my mum can have him for one night so I can finally catch up on my sleep..then I'm going back to just breastfeeding because I feel bad giving him formula when I know he can breastfeed without a problem feel selfish doing it just so I can have a break but he hasn't left my side for 16weeks and getting up every 2 hours every night to bf is so hard and tiring but I don't want to give up so this is the only solution I could think of.