thinking of switching

[forestfire]

So I've been feeding my 4day old until now but I am finding it extremely hard to BF now and thinking of switching to formula tomorrow.

My boobs are like bowling balls so expressing an amount to get me through the night until we can buy formula. We have all the bottles, sterilizers etc ready to go.

I really just want to know advice on which formula to get and what I should do about my boobs? Should I just let them dry out naturally? They are really painful.

 

[Mummythree]

Hi i stopped breastfeeding my youngest after 5days, i had to stop as he couldnt latch when milk came in so had no choice but its worked out well for both of us

We use aptamil first milk and midwife just told me to wear a good non underwired bra and leave them alone they will dry up and be less painfull in a few days. good luck

 

[forestfire]

Thank you, my little man has problems latching too, it is toe curling. I've been in tears today as has he!

Not looking forward to telling the midwife Sunday that I've given up.

 

[Ktothema]

Sod the midwife! Seriously. A happy mum and baby is far better than a stressed mum and baby. You tried it, which is more than I've done this time with ds. It's a choice you are perfectly entitled to make. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty.

I second the leaving your boobs alone. Mine were exceptionally sore for a day, and are slowly easing up now. Not so much pain today though they're still like rocks! Try not to get them in the shower or bath as hot water stimulates your supply, which is far easier said than done.

 

[forestfire]

Thank you.. I was in agony earlier so we are officially on formula and I feel like a different person already! Boobs are very sore still, had a shower which did stimulate them a little but just going to leave them alone today and hope they settle down.

 

[Mummythree]

tell the midwife to do one, most of them havnt ever breastfed.
in my situation i couldnt breastfeed anymore he couldnt get on to feed.
but you do whats best for you and your baby and sod what the midwife says.

 

[forestfire]

Thanks ladies, I've decided to try combining expressing milk for bottle feeding along with formula and see how that goes. Not sure how long my supply will last but its worth a try.

 

[xcmkx84]

Hi forestfire
I stopped BF after a few days, far too painful and very stressful! I managed combination feeding for about 6 weeks. To begin with I expressed whenever I had the chance or when my husband was feeding him. When my husband went back to work, I found that I didn't have enough time to express so my son was getting more formula. My boobs never became sore tho doing this as over the weeks, the less I expressed, my milk just dried up x

 

[forestfire]

Hi forestfire
I stopped BF after a few days, far too painful and very stressful! I managed combination feeding for about 6 weeks. To begin with I expressed whenever I had the chance or when my husband was feeding him. When my husband went back to work, I found that I didn't have enough time to express so my son was getting more formula. My boobs never became sore tho doing this as over the weeks, the less I expressed, my milk just dried up x

thank you so much for posting this I'm managing to express three times a day at the moment and getting around 150-200mls each time I express. I find if I leave it too long I get a bit sore but its still much less stressful than trying to BF him.

I think I'll probably end up the same as you, my supply will just eventually diminish down to nothing.

On another note the midwife was fine about the choice I'd made, although she did suggest nipple shields, which I'd already tried once and found too fiddly.

 

[devon_91x]

Screw the midwive! I just left my milk to dry up itself but i was lucky i guess as they wasn't painful at all, apart from day 5 when my milk came in, i found a hot bath helped quite a bit with this.

I stopped after 2 weeks just down to the fact i wasnt enjoying it. A happy mum is a healthy mum! As long as your LO is being fed thats all that matters. I tried combination feeding and only lasted about 3 days as my i found i needed to pump quite alot to get some so gave up.

Good luck xx ​