Thread: Upset about nursing and need to vent

Just keep on going.. Its okay to give him a bottle after.. as long as he is satisfied thats all that matters!!!!!!

You have to do what you feel is right.

Have you tried getting some help from a lactation consultant? Its is still very early (just a month). Also many mothers fear that their baby's are not getting enough when BF but as long as he is having regular wet diapers and bowel movements then he is definitely not starving.

If BF is really important for you to continue with then I would see about getting some help.. otherwise supplement with the formula you feel that will be best for you and less stressful.

Good luck honey.

If you want to keep bfing then I would stick with it. I had all sorts of probs with my girl. She would drink fine during the night but cry and fuss during the day and then she would only drink for the right side. I just kept on going and gave her a bottle of formula on the night so I knew she was getting something. After sometime she sorted herself out and things began to go better. Good luck.

Hiya hun,

Sounds like you are having a really rough time of it. I had so much trouble and upset when I started BF. I felt like giving up ALOT. BUt I continued and eventually it did get easier. It took a long time, around 6-8 weeks for it to begin to get easier but from then on it just got easier and easier and now it is a complete pleasure. And at the begining if someone was to say to me stick at it you will enjoy it in a few months time I would have laughed at them cos the idea of it ever being a pleasure was completely insane.

I would really try and stay away from the formula. I know it is hard cos you are scared that baby is not getting enough etc etc. But it is very unlikely that you are not producing enough milk for your little one. But if you give a bottle of formula every now and again than that WILL affect your milk production. As long as baby is putting on weight and creating lots of wet and dirty nappys you are doing great!

You really just have to feed through all the pain. I used to dread feeding time and be so relieved when it was over. I used to have to psyche myself up for the initial latch and I would clench my toes and hold my breath and go completely rigid. The I would watch the clock hoping it would end. It was not pleasant at all, but like I said it really does get easier.

Just keep going, take it a day at a time. And I promise you it will get better.

www.kellymom.com is a fantastic resource for breastfeeding mums, you should have a look at the articles and maybe sign up to the bulletin board. The have online lactation consultants and women who are going through exactly the same as you are.

I will try and find some of my threads that I made in the early BF days so you can see what kinda stuff I was going through and it might help to know that you are not alone.

Don't give up, one day it will be an absolute pleaseure and you will be so PROUD of yourself. COntinuing to to BF is one of the greatest achievents of my life.

Melfi has given you great advice. Stick with it.

She's right!!! With my first two I quit early on, and with Zoe my determination was set...i was going to stick to if it killed me! She is still nursing today!

Originally Posted by melfi

Hiya hun,

Sounds like you are having a really rough time of it. I had so much trouble and upset when I started BF. I felt like giving up ALOT. BUt I continued and eventually it did get easier. It took a long time, around 6-8 weeks for it to begin to get easier but from then on it just got easier and easier and now it is a complete pleasure. And at the begining if someone was to say to me stick at it you will enjoy it in a few months time I would have laughed at them cos the idea of it ever being a pleasure was completely insane.

I would really try and stay away from the formula. I know it is hard cos you are scared that baby is not getting enough etc etc. But it is very unlikely that you are not producing enough milk for your little one. But if you give a bottle of formula every now and again than that WILL affect your milk production. As long as baby is putting on weight and creating lots of wet and dirty nappys you are doing great!

You really just have to feed through all the pain. I used to dread feeding time and be so relieved when it was over. I used to have to psyche myself up for the initial latch and I would clench my toes and hold my breath and go completely rigid. The I would watch the clock hoping it would end. It was not pleasant at all, but like I said it really does get easier.

Just keep going, take it a day at a time. And I promise you it will get better.

www.kellymom.com is a fantastic resource for breastfeeding mums, you should have a look at the articles and maybe sign up to the bulletin board. The have online lactation consultants and women who are going through exactly the same as you are.

I will try and find some of my threads that I made in the early BF days so you can see what kinda stuff I was going through and it might help to know that you are not alone.

Don't give up, one day it will be an absolute pleaseure and you will be so PROUD of yourself. COntinuing to to BF is one of the greatest achievents of my life.

Thank you!!!!!!

I need some good encouragment!!! Dh is not much help he just does not want me to give up but he has no idea what I am going through. I have not given up yet although Sunday I had had it and was DONE!!!! Everytime I took him to the breast to nurse Sunday he would SCREAM!!! He never screams for any reason. I did end up giving him a bottle Sunday afternoon and I cried the whole time. After we got home he nursed good and has done better since. I have learned that he does not like to be covered up so he did take a bottle while I was out to eat with some ladies from church last night but he nursed good when we got home.

I do need to take it one day at a time and just keep it up. I know that my milk flow is good now (I think it went down some when I was just pumping but now it is better) and I just need to work on getting him to latch on and stay on.

Thanks again!!!

Melfi beat me to the punch. I went through a lot of what she did and similar to what you're going through. Some babies nurse a lot in the beginning -- Anna too. And she had a barracuda latch that made it as painful as labour sometimes!!! But I'm so glad we persevered. Kellymom will help you immensely -- the articles are great and the advice on the forum is good too. Lots of members are lactation consultants!

I know about bfing issues. I was going to recommend a lactation consultant too. We have a couple at our hosptial. One came by while I was in the hospital and I had to go in and see one when Joana was 1 week old. She lost almost over 1 pound and was only nursing on one side. The ped. was going to check her weight one more time and if she was not gaining, we were going to have to supplement. I also had very painful nursing. I was in tears everytime she would nurse on the right side. It has just now gotten better but still not pain-free. We are now on the right track. Our hospital has a group that meets every Saturday morning. Nursing moms can go in and weigh babies before nursing and afterwards to get an idea of how much they are taking in when nursing. I also get to keep up with the weight. The lactation consultant is there to answer questions and help new mothers with nursing issues. There have been mothers who were ready to give up but the lactation consultant helped with the issues. They are educated in bfing and they will try anything to get it to work for you! If you don't know of a lactation consultant, you could check with your OB or hospital. I wish you the best, let me know if you need anything.

Jen