Formula

Want to start off by saying o have nothing at all against formula fed. Fed is best. My LG is nearly 5 months now and up until today has been EBF. She’s had maybe 4 bottles of pumped breast milk since she’s been born mainly due to me having a blocked duct. She’s been getting very upset and screaming recently which i have been putting down to teething and the 4 month sleep regression which she’s been having only in the day not at night. Ive given her a top up of formula today as I just wanted to make sure she was getting enough food. I feel like my instincts are completely gone. I know she’s tired but then i feel like I’m missing the hungry cries. I put her on the vreast all the time and she has a few sucks sometimes and then still cries so ive just been trying to get her down for a nap. Then when she wakes up she has a full feed. I feel like im just doing wrong and cried while giving her the formula. Ild never tell another mum they should be disappointed with having to eo that and they are a really good mum for just making sure they are doing their best for their child. I have enough milk coming out. It’s spraying easily shes just sucking a little then stopping and crying. Don’t have a block either. Don’t know what I want from this. Just feeling like a let down and a bad mum. I don’t know why i keep crying either. We were doing so well and have done well getting to EBF at 5 months but i just feel anxious. Obviously I’ll do whatever she needs to be happy and healthy. I think i just needed to get it out

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Around 5 months my son started to do the same. Using a nipple shield did help and I think that also helped get him used to the bottle. It’s extremely frustrating and hard but you are being a good mama and it will get figured out. I did mix my breast milk pumped into bottles of formula as well. It’s okay to cry and give yourself the same grace we would give other moms. 💕 you’ve got this!

I found 4-6 months the hardest by miles with my little boy… he would have random outburst of screaming, sleep was terrible and he was teething. If I were you I would keep going with the breastfeeding but don’t feel guilty if you do offer the occasional bottle of formula as a top up!! From my experience things became so so much easier from 6 months when you can start to offer them food so they weren’t solely dependent on milk <3 xxx

Thank you both. Im def going to carry on giving the breast and just topping up. @Emily shes doing exactly the same thing. She only contact naps in the day anyway and now its such a fight to get her to take her naps 🙈

I don’t have any advice, I stopped ebf around 3 months but I just wanted to say you’re doing an amazing job! We all have those moments when we question everything we’re doing for our little one, it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to feel down about it! It’s just a hurdle you will get through it, keep offering breast so she knows it’s there if she wants it! Hope you’re okay lovely xx

You’re kind of contradicting yourself by saying no issues with formula and that fed is best but then berating yourself for giving her formula. Please don’t feel bad, we do what we have to do and as long as she’s happy and healthy who cares if she has the odd bottle of formula! You’re doing great x

@Amy i know it’s contradicting. Im just very hard on myself and always feel like I’m doing wrong. I would never feel like this about anyone giving their baby formula and would be nothing but encouraging and supportive. And fed is best. Just emotional and always hard on myself with everything 😅

@Amy could win a gold medal at the olympics and still think i could have done better 😅

Try not to be, you’re meeting your babies needs and it sounds like you are a very considerate and present mama. Give yourself a break and recognize all the good rather than focusing on the bad! Trust me I’ve been there, I also beat myself up when I ended up switching to formula but I look back now (my son is 2.5) and think why the hell did I care so much as long as he was happy and taken care of does it really matter xx

@Amy thank you ♥️

I could tell you so much but I truly feel you could benefit from seeing a lactation consultant!! Helped me with my EBF baby too <3

My baby boy will be almost 4 months and he’s been exclusively formula fed as I cannot produce it was so hard on me because I wanted to be able to breast-feed and exclusively breast-feed or give him exclusively breastmilk in a bottle without any formula tore myself down for weeks actually for the first like three months I’ve just finally gotten to a point where I don’t feel bad about myself for having to give him formula so I’m really no help when it comes to what you’re going through other than to just say it’s OK if you have to just give her formula and you should not feel bad about it whether you have to fully give her formula or just supplement with formula

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