Im sure breast feeding wasnt meant to be.....

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

....at first it went great!
Then I ended up with nipples like pie crusts and battled on through as I really wanted to be able to feed Matilda as long as possible!

So we got through that then we both had thrush....the pain was horrendous but once again we managed to battle on as I wasnt ready to give up Bfeeding her!

BUT now Im struggling to get her to feed her full stop! She just cries as soon as I try and put her on unless shes half asleep and I trick her into latching in by putting her dummy close to my nipple then literally force feeding her my boob lol!

So im really upset as I def DONT want to stop feeding her yet!

Shes on fed once today...she gets hysterical, cries, sobs, red face tears the lot...so I do what Ive been advised at the BF group, take her off, calm her down and try her again...but then it just all starts over again and she gets so upset again etc etc...

So I wonder is anyone else having or has had this problem and how did you get back to feeding your babies more than once or twice a day?

I know Ive had lots of obstacles in the last 11 weeks regarding feeding her but weve managed to get past them...this is a biggie tho and I dont know how to get back to mostly breast feeds and less bottles.....
one of the mentors at the group was telling me he little boy was only feeding once a day when he got to six months but she managed to get him back to exclusively breast feeds within 6 weeks by just taking him off and putting him back on....xxx

Hope someone can help xxx

 

[Elfs Mummy]

Sorry hun you really sounds like you're having a rough time with it. All i can think of is lots and lots of skin to skin contact and if she want to feed just let her if she doesn't hopefully the closeness will help. Also maybe different positions will help Maisie prefers feeding when we're lying down and she's snuggled up really close in the crook of my arm. Sorry i can't really help, you've done so well to get this far xx

 

[Piglet10]

sorry hun didnt want to read and run but i have no advice only hugs!! !!! xxx

 

[Esoames]

Some babies have a nursing strike. It could be that. Just keep trying. Isla is the opposite she loves boob and hates bottle. I want a rest!

Keep it up xx

 

[frankie707]

Skin to skin defo worth a go, haven't had this problem but at the start when I was having issues going back to skin to skin made a huge difference-seemed to almost reset G. Hope you can get over this and carry on feeding like you want to. Good luck

 

[ZMD]

Your doing so well Hun! just kept offering her Boob at every feed, try different positions Tegan always fed better laying on her side with me on my side xx

 

[Minchin]

oh hon I had exactly this and Owen was 5 months old. For us we just couldn't carry on as it was so stressful. He screamed and wouldn't bf and ended up giving more and more bottles and think he got used to that. That was over a course of about 5 weeks -in he last week he was just feeding at night but then that dropped -which is a good thing I guess!

So I would say keep trying and stick with it, must be frustrating especially after going through the other stuff with thrush etc. But do what you think is best.

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Ah thanks ladies...yeah its frustrating as I really want to keep feeding her and Im really missing the closeness that BFeeding gives us..... I just hope that shes just having a phase and she will want to Bfeed again..... Thanks ladies....xxx

 

[Maria1977]

Sorry you're having such a battle with BFing, like everyone else has said though skin to skin is a good idea and I know it's virtually impossible but try to relax because she'll pick up on your anxiety and will associate that with the boob. I know that's easier said than done though.

I'm like Esoames though, Oz loves the boob and won't take a bottle and I sooooo want to stop now lol

Good luck hun, hope that your LO gets latched back on soon xxxxxxxx

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Thanks Maria....ahhh I wish Matilda would be like that lol ha ha! But yeah your right.....I did skin to skin this morning when she woke up and she fed for about 5 mins not very enthusiastically but she did feed. I tried at first and she was gagging...(I dont use any perfumed soaps etc just wash before and after each feed with water) so knew it wasnt anything cosmetic, so then tried with a nipple shield as wondered if it would mimic a dummy which she likes....she sucked for a couple of mins but promptly spat it out! So took the shield off and she latched on no problem but like I said only fed for a short while but it was a start...will just keep cracking on and keep putting her on at every opportunity!

Just hope we can get back to where we were before all the problems started xxx

 

[frankie707]

How come you wash before a feed? Even with just water it might take away the right smells for LO, just a thought. Good that she did a bit of feeding though.

 

[Maria1977]

Frankie is right about not washing first, she needs to smell her mummy, that will help her relax too.

Also, don't worry about the gagging, Oz used to do that a bit, it's just because the gag reflex is so far forward and if you have a bit of a fast let down at first it could've just hit that.

Sounds like she defo wants to feed from you so lots of skin to skin cuddles and relaxation and I'm sure you'll both be back on track in no time
xxxxxxxxxx

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Hi frankie...just the remains of the thrush cream Dr said to keep using it for a couple of weeks after all signs have gone so wash before feeding so she cant taste the cream...will stop using it tho as no signs at all of thrush now so maybe that will help??
Never thought about washing mammy smells away tho thanks for that F707 xxx

Ah Oz gagged too? Thought it was something she wasnt liking about me anymore lol coz shes never done that before but yes def lots of skin to skin and Im still trying to feed her everytime shes hungry and put her on even if she cries and I end up giving her a bottle after so long maybe she will get back to wanting to Bfeed....be cruel to be kind maybe and dont give her a bottle I dont know....argghhhh?

xxx

 

[Maria1977]

It's funny because you think breastfeeding will be easy because it's so natural but I had such a tough time of it too, took a good 2 months before me and Oscar proper got the hang of it!

On the post natal ward they said that more people have problems breastfeeding than don't!

Yeah Oz used to gag a fair bit, I worried too at first until I read about where the gag reflex is situation at first. He still does sometimes, but not it's really rare now.

Hope you and Matilda work through it xxxxxx

 

[Maria1977]

Meant to say situated not situation lol

 

[xxbeckyxx]

Really hope things improve for you hun! We had a nursing strike at about 3 months (apparently it's a common time for it), and managed to overcome that one, so it is possible to get through the tough times!!
I find expressing and giving bottles of EBM easier now though tbh, Lizzie started screaming at my boob every feed so I started giving bottles every time we went out....that gradually turned into her having bottles for nearly every feed! That was partly my laziness because I couldn't deal with trying to feed her, then stopping to calm her down, then trying again etc, but I don't think she was ever going to be a good feeder - even with her bottle she wriggles around and finds it very hard to concentrate on what she's doing!

Good luck anyway, let us know how you get on

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Thanks becky....I was/am hoping thats what this is but im lucky to get her on once a day now...she will only go on if shes half asleep and doesnt realise its boob not dummy and then as soon as she falls off and realises she screams! Dont know what else to do!!

Im hand expressing as much as I can just to keep some milk production going but Im not sure if Im wasting my time and Ive lost the chance to get her back to Bfeeding...Im really sad about it but Ive literally tried everything I can think of or have been advised to do and nothing seems to be working..... feel relly bad that almost every feed is a bottle when Ive tried so hard and wanted so much to Bfeed her as long as I could....xxx

 

[Maria1977]

A friend has just had a baby and he's 3 weeks old, he started off BF fine when it was colostrum but when her milk came in he started to get upset on the boob so she started topping him up with formula, he's now solely FF coz breastmilk just isn't for him. She tried expressing for a few weeks but it was too much to keep up with. 3 weeks old and he defo knows what he wants, the formula fills him up more too so he's way more contented. She's pretty gutted, but it's just the choice her baby has made and now he's on the formula they are both more chilled about feeding times xxxx

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Ahhh really Maria? I know, what you say makes sense, shes sooo good at night sleeps right through on a 6oz bottle and if she wakes up its after about 7.5 hours so I know shes happy and content on FF I just feel like Ive let her and myself down by failing to carry on feeding her....I swore I wouldnt beat myself up if things didnt work out too but I find myself getting really wound up about it now and not sure why....xxx

 

[rbryan0205]

i only fed amelia till she was 11 weeks because i couldnt fill her and i cried for 2 weeks because i thought i had let her down but i was getting to the stage where i was dreading the day because she would cry a lot but when i switched her to formula she was content again and i enjoyed being a mum again x