Breastfeeding vs pumping

Hi ladies

Just wanted to get opinions from those already doing one or both of these. Im currently day 4 postpartum and struggling with breastfeeding and worrying the latch isn’t right so baby boy isn’t getting what he needs.

My question is do I stick at breastfeeding and really try to make it work because I can see how rewarding it can be to bond with baby.

Or, do I switch to pumping so baby is still getting the goodness, but gives me peace of mind. And I could also get some sleep which I’m finding so difficult but know others say it does get easier.

Rachel x

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Hi, first thing I would recommend is to get referred out call your breastfeeding team, I thought the latching I had was good but after an appointment with them I could see the difference. In my day 4 I introduced formula because he keep asking for breast and I needed a rest, they were very sore and I was getting 0 sleep. Formula gave him a good 2-3 hours sleep overnight between feeds, then during the day breast so it worked for me. I personally think it’s really important mamma gets some rest so either a little formula or pumping could help in your case, but I would strongly advise to talk to your designated team/ midwife or health visitor and you’ll see the difference; it is also true it gets easier once you have full milk, but in the meantime that could be an option.

I'm in the exact same boat as you. Day 4 with my little boy who isn't latching whatsoever atm - despite us both doing so well at it before leaving the hospital (aware it was colostrum then).

Yesterday, I began pumping to make sure he was getting what he needed in terms of volume, and I now almost regret it as he isn't interested in the boob at all - Only wants a bottle. I really want to breastfeed and not just pump for bottles - I've heard this can affect you mentally as you're always only a bottle or two ahead (if one is spilt, you're essentially a feed short) and you'll potentially be creating an oversupply by pumping so frequently (not always the case) which can be very painful.

It is such a difficult one.

I am going to contact a lactation consultant today and will continue to persevere. I'm determined that if others can do it, so can I.

Wishing you so much luck xx I hope you come right

Day 4 is very early days and it definitely takes some practice to get the latch right. Make use of your infant feeding team (with my first baby I was seeing them almost every week in the beginning to get help fine tuning the latch) and any other support groups near you. And it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, plenty of people do combi feeding with either expressed milk or formula. Worth getting expert advice on how to do this though. With my first I was worried about introducing a bottle too early in case he got bottle preference, so waited to 6 weeks to try this, and then he refused to take a bottle at all, which I hadn’t even realised was a possibility as I was so focused on the opposite problem! I was able to introduce an open cup to him at about 4 months, but that’s a lot messier!

I pumped with my first and didn’t realise what a commitment it is , as your either feeding or pumping it’s very time consuming. This time I’m breast feeding and had a lot of support in hospital and through the midwife, contact them and maybe get him weighed so you can see if he’s getting enough

You could pump to increase your supply. That’s what I started doing. You should have a day 5 midwife appointment, see what his weight is. If he’s putting on weight, he’s getting enough. If not express and supplement him with what you get after a feed. Breastfeeding is so hard. X

I’ve been pumping for 2 weeks and also using formula. I use the fridge method for the pump and have 2 wearables. I have a toddler too. I struggle with latch and coordination so I’m happy I’ve found a way to BF.

I have a 5 day old and was praised at the hospital for the latch but it did hurt a lot over the days at home. And I had a tough time recently with latch and baby kept pulling away and crying a lot.
I had engorged breasts and I think this is the reason baby was struggling to feed properly so whilst at the hospital for her jaundice and blood sugar checks, the hospital staff gave me a electric pump to use and soooo much milk came out. They quickly gave 50ml to baby in a bottle and she drank it so fast poor thing was so hungry but was getting frustrated.
I have since still been hit and miss with the breastfeeding and latch. The feeding specialist who I saw yesterday offered me a nipple shield to try to feed with and I’ve been using it ever since! It’s actually been working great. Only thing is it can be cumbersome to quickly get it on, make sure it doesn’t fall off as I’m trying to position baby on but it’s so much easier because I don’t have to focus on the latch nipple to nose positi

baby can just go straight onto the nipple shield. Other thing to note is I have to kind of hand express whilst she’s on the boob so encourage the milk flow. It’s honestly helped me a lot so I’m gonna keep using the nipple shield and I have ordered a breast pump hoping it arrives today cos my breasts are so heavy and leaking a lot. My clothes are getting soaked even though I am wearing nipple pads. I think the bra size I have is small now so have to get new nursing’s bras too. I’m tired as you can imagine but so pleased to see baby enjoying her feeds again x

I would ask for a bit more support from your midwife to see if you can get the latch right over the next few days as its still such early days. But I swapped to pumping after a week as I found baby was getting enough to be satisfied then, she's so calm and means she has a big bottle before bed and now sleeps for 6 hours straight at night as she has a nice fully tummy.
Do what works for you 🥰

I can’t give any advice on what is best, but I am 1 week PP and I really struggled with breastfeeding. I was exhausted and didn’t really find it very rewarding or comfortable.
I now exclusively express milk into bottles and it’s the best thing for us. I have a really good supply and it means there is milk in the fridge whenever we need it, and my husband can feed too. I felt it really took the pressure off x

My milk
Took a while to
Come in so I wasn’t confident my expressed colostrum was enough…: also I couldn’t hold my baby for first few hours so my mariner did first feed of formula!!

I have been doing a mix to be kind to myself, by pumping regularly for 15 minutes throughout the day to exoreee for feeds and keep my supply up.

I offer breast first (sometimes just for comfort) then give expressed breast milk (what I’ve been able to get) and if she wants more I’ve made formula and given as a top up.

This has allowed her to sleep for longer stretches and actually give me a chance to pump
And up my supply without her being attached to me.

We are 10 days into our journey x

We topped up with formula in the very first two days because baby would latch but wouldn't suckle and fell asleep at the boob. I wasn't confident that he was getting as much colostrum as he needed, so I hand expressed into syringes which were then fed to LO, meanwhile he was topped up with Cow & Gate: however, every time he wanted a feed I always offered breast first, sometimes he latched, other times he didn't. I tried pumping but seemed far too early as I wasn't getting anything in the pump and honestly it was just more stress than it was worth. My milk came in on day 3 and I then successfully fed him. I used those really early days to learn how to latch baby, it might be worth looking for an informative video/infographic, or contact your breastfeeding team. I found once I had the right position and guided him onto boob, he started to feed on his own.

I have pumped on the occasion, like when he refuses the other breast and it's sore, but I'd find it so much more exhausting to pump and breastfeed, or even just pump as I can never seem to find the time, and then it constantly needs either defrosting or warming up to temp before baby is even on the bottle. Please also be aware that bottle fed babies tend to struggle a little with the breast as the flow is a lot easier on a bottle whereas they need to work a bit harder to suckle on the boob, so plenty of popping baby on to latch and trying to encourage them to work for it can help with the issues bottles can pose.

Personally, I find breast and artificial top-up the easiest method, but if you feel fine pumping, then do what's right for you and baby. I just always make sure to offer breast first and now he takes both with no issues. Also, if you think there's a problem with your LOs latch, have them checked for a tongue tie. It doesn't always lead to issues latching (my baby has one), but it can be a cause.

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