(yet more) feeding confusion

[isil]

So Alasdair still isn't doing great with his bottles. Obviously preferring the boob. He does suck and smile every time I put him on.

Now I'm thinking I should be BF more and giving him less formula...or maybe even just BF. I know I need to sort this out before he gets even more confused. I just feel guilty everytime I give him a bottle or see something about breastfeeding. I wish I was strong enough to do it...I feel like I'm being selfish.

I don't want to create any angry debate or anything...but it's how I feel. How I feel most of the time, some of the time I wish he'd just take a full feed from a bottle again.

Umm. so.

Could I up my supply? How would I do that?

What does exclusive breastfeeding feel like? I found it really hard to start with...does it get easier? How long on average is your feed and does it feel like LO is full or do they never seem satisfied?

I'm so confused.

 

[Whisper]

I have been exclusively b/f since Amelia was born. I had to buy a pump today as i have Mastitis at the moment and need to pump off the excess but....

For me i find b/f incredibly easy, now the latching is ok (she does have her off days) it is so easy at home to just 'wip out the boob' and stick her on. From when we first started she was initially feeding for about 30/40mins each time but now she is pretty much done in 10mins sometimes less but no more than 20mins.

B/f does get hard especially when/if you get thrush/mastitis etc but its just a case of working through it.

I am quite a lazy person and have tried my LO on formula (last night) and found the whole washing the bottles, sterilising the bottles, boiling the kettle, then letting it cool etc pretty labourous (sp?) I mean it isn't hard work just a lot more effort for me than b/f.

Each feed she does maybe 1 or 2 burps and very rarely spews up (except last night when i gave her formula it didn't seem to agree with her at all!).

I always know when my LO is full as she comes off herself, but i do offer her the breast at least 3 times when she refuses to latch on anymore or just keeps coming off (and my breast feels empty) then i know she is done. Another good sign, she gets all dopey and looks like she has had a night out on the town...lol

If she has finished one breast and is still fussing then i offer the other sometimes she just likes a drink rather than a meal.

To up your supply i think you just need to get Alasdair on the boob as much as you can bear, it should stimulate your milk production.

Good luck hun with whatever you decide. Whatever you are happiest with is going to make your LO happy too.

xx

 

[isil]

thank you so much for your reply. It's certainly given me a lot to think about. I can see the benefits so much of breastfeeding...I just wish I could remember them when I find it hard. We don't have latching problems or anything like that...it just seems that we've been marred from the start with it because he didn't gain weight and then because of me really...and me not wanting to do it. But now I think I feel worse for not doing it than I would if I did do it. Maybe!

 

[Samantha675]

Yes, you can up your supply. By letting baby feed as often as possible til your supply picks up. Skin to skin contact is good for this as well. I also think there is a supplement that can help, fennal, or something, someone here will know.

My LO is 4 months on Monday, and I BF exclusivly, and plan to do so for as long as possible. I love it, and was very lucky not to have any problems to start with. Since I have not done formula feeding, I don't know how to compare the two, so I don't really know how to answer how it feels. For me it feels like I am feeding my baby as normal.

Oh yes, it does get easier. I swear I felt like I spent the first 8-10 weeks feeding him, all the time. Then suddenly I noticed he was not on the boob all the time. Finally, I had reached that point. I feed on demand, so sometimes he will eat every hour, sometimes every couple of hours. Definately not like he did those first weeks. Now he feeds usually about 5-10 minutes. When he is done, he lets me know by wiggling around and pulling off.

To be honest, I have had a really comparatively easy time of BFing. I never had any soreness, my milk came in quickly, and I have never had the issue of him being/seeming not satisfied. I have always just feed him as he needed. Don't get me wrong, i have found it at times to be frustrating, exhausting and just plain hard, but I didn't want to quit, not really. I have just been really stubborn, and 110% devoted to BFing.

I really wish you the best of luck hun, and really hope you can find your way with this issue.