Giving up on breastfeeding?

Cluster feeding is perfectly normal but incredibly tiring.
Is he gaining weight? Having plenty of wet and dirty nappies? If he is it’s likely he is getting enough but just being fussy which isn’t easy to deal with.
There’s breastfeeding support groups on Facebook with breast feeding support workers who can help and give more advice it might be worth looking on there but ultimately you have to put your mental health first x

He lost a bit after birth but within the acceptable margins and his nappies have always been the right colour and plentiful so I really do believe he's getting enough, he's just being fussy but it's the crying and screaming I am struggling to take, I feel so helpless that I've fed him and he's still coming back half an hour later. I know it's a perfectly normal thing with cluster feeding, its just the emotional toll of feeling I'm not doing enough really

My 12 day old was entirely breastfed until yesterday. I’ve been hospitalised with severe mastitis in both breasts and the infection has spread throughout my body. I was crying every time she went to latch on and in the end I decided that my mental health was far more important. I couldn’t look after my baby if I wasn’t looking after myself first. I completely understand the guilt associated with altering your feeding plans though. We’re currently on a combination of pumped and formula and it was the best decision for us. As long as they’re fed and clean and loved, it doesn’t matter which way they get their food xx

It does get easier but the early weeks are super tough

Ah, your son sounds a little like my first. She had tongue tie and severe reflux though, so what she was getting she was throwing like half of it back up and she was dropping centiles 🙈 it is hard work! So definitely don't beat yourself up. I ended up giving her a bottle of formula at night time to supplement her (I never managed to pump a lot to any great extent, but I did give her some pumped breast milk). I think you already know - you just need to do what works for you and your son and don't stress over the decision. I kind of wish I'd given my daughter more formula and just not stressed about it too much.

On a positive note - she bloomed when we started solids and gained loads of weight. We also breastfed until she was 15 months old, even though it became progressively more about comfort than actual food. So it is possible for you to continue if you want to x

I was in a similar situation with my first. He would constantly want to feed, but then scream during a feed, hardly drink, struggle to latch, be very sick and we'd both end up crying together for most of the day! We ended up combi feeding from early on and by about two months, we did bottles only (pumping and formula). It was really hard for me to accept this as I wanted to BF for longer but there was one day where he completely rejected a bottle of breastmilk and drained the formula bottle. At this point, I realised that I had to just do what was best for him. It took a while to be completely at peace with it, but making the final decision really did help my mental health.

My daughter was born two weeks ago and she BFs so much better - I do feel guilty that maybe I didn't persevere hard enough with my son, but I know that my mental health would have suffered much more.

Ultimately, baby needs to be fed and it doesn't matter which way you do that. Don't sacrifice your own sanity and wellbeing.

Both of mine have been like this and it was hard. My second is especially tasking as I don’t seem to get a break. It’s nearly 5pm and she’s been glued to me since basically 11am and just keeps rooting for milk everytime she unlatches. I know she’s getting enough but my god the toll of being tied down constantly is a lot.

All I can say is if you want to pump, pump. If you want to formula feed, then do it. As long as babies fed it doesn’t matter. And you’ve got to look after you to look after them.

It’s a lot to constantly be in demand

I’m a first time mum with a 4 week old and had the same thing.
I found it really hard emotionally feeling like I wasn’t enough for him and went on to top up with formula after feeding on the breast and then also started pumping every now and then. I realised I actually had a good supply by pumping etc like just reassured me and also meant that my partner could help feed and we knew how much breast milk he was getting. I do try and put him on the breast where possible but I do agree it’s relentless especially overnight and pumping and feeding a bottle has definitely controlled the relentless feeding a bit. Also using formula here and there (a big bottle before bed) has really helped fill him up which has also helped him stay asleep for longer which again has helped me get more rest. Honestly, do what you can day by day. You’re not giving up, you’re finding what works for you and your family. I’d definitely recommend trying pumping if you want to, just takes the pressure off you x

sorry to hear you’ve been so poorly. I feel your pain, mastitis started in my left breast on Friday evening and made me feel horrendous and left feeling the same around transitioning to bottle. Can I ask what advice you’ve been given re moving them across to the bottle in light of the mastitis (as in they say carry on feeding) I know they say slowly but I’ve got no idea how quickly you can move from replacing 1 feed to 2 etc xx

@Alicia it’s horrendous, right?! I didn’t really get much advice to be honest. I just went cold turkey on her latching and started pumping instead. They kept trying to convince me to put her back on the boob, but there was no way she was going anywhere near me with that pain 😂 I’ve been pumping as much as I can to keep the milk flowing, but I’ve been so poorly and on so much medication my milk supply has really taken a hit. They were happy though as long as I was trying to pump at the intervals she was used to feeding. At the minute I’m not producing anywhere near enough and I’ve not had the energy to keep up with her demand, so I’m having to substitute with formula. I don’t really feel like that answers your question though. I’d give your local breast feeding team a call and see what they say in regards to doing it properly (because I definitely didn’t do it correctly) xx

absolutely hideous! And I say that and I haven’t ended up in hospital!! sorry that sounds awful, wishing you better. Good point re the BF team. Hope you continue to make progress and feel better soon ❤️