Mom's who tried BFing and now use formula

DD is 10 days old and has a horrible time latching...she falls asleep, she may be slightly tongue tied, so its more frustrating for me, her weight needs to increase, we had a lactation consultant come twice to help, but am still having problems esp because of her being slightly tongue tied....so...


now I'm pumping and using formula mostly....I don't know how much longer I can "try" getting her to latch, then pumping and using formula....basically the whole day is about feeding then, especially since now she's eating a bit more



How did you know, "I'm done" w/BFing....

I'm not going to lie, I'll be slightly disappointed but at the same time, my sanity and health have to come first before I can do anything and it seems to really be taking a toll on me

Re: Mom's who tried BFing and now use formula

If you want to quit BFing- there is NOTHING wrong with that.

That said, if a tongue tie is affecting the ability to feed, then it's more than a slight tongue tie and should be remedied by the pediatrician.

It sounds like you are "done", so why prolong the stress? FF is perfectly fine.

ETA: at 10 days old, it IS all about feeding regardess of BF or FF.

Message edited 7/28/2009 12:59:15 PM.

Re: Mom's who tried BFing and now use formula

I knew I was done when I realized that I wasn't enjoying my newborn.

In 8 weeks I had 3 cases of severe mastitis resulting in 104/105 fevers, my nipples were bleeding so badly from bad latching that when I pumped blood was mixing with the bm, and I realized that I spent all day pumping, washing bottles, feeding, and massaging my clogged ducts, and being in pain from the fever and clogged ducts, and bleeding nips, worrying about his weight gain, that I never took the time to just look at my marvelous little boy and enjoy him being in the world.

I was tormented for a while, honestly, but I have finally come to the terms that I did what was best for my child.

No matter how you decide to feed your child, you are a great mother!! I wish I would have realized that earlier and not put myself through the mental torture I did.

good luck with whatever you decide!

Re: Mom's who tried BFing and now use formula

I had twins and I attempted to BF them both but it was just too much fo rme. I switched to exclusively pumping and did that for 6 months. One of my ons ended up having to be on amino acid formula at about 13 weeks so I really only pumped for my other son.

Re: Mom's who tried BFing and now use formula

I remember feeling exactly the same way, that I was on the couch 24/7 feeding my son. He had trouble with latching, was constantly falling asleep and was losing weight. I got almost nothing when I pumped. I felt like a huge failure and was crying constantly. Before he was 2 weeks old we started supplementing with formula.

My mother kept telling me that BFing would get easier and I thought she was insane. Everyday I thought about quitting, but kept saying "I'll give it one more day". I don't remember how long it took (maybe 6 weeks) but BFing did get easier, in fact it was much easier than the bottles we were supplementing with. Before long he was off teh bottle and was EBF.

If you are done, you know when you are done - don't feel guilty. But if you want to keep trying, 10 days is still very young, you are both figuring out how things work and it will get easier!

Good Luck!

Message edited 7/28/2009 1:22:50 PM.

Re: Mom's who tried BFing and now use formula

Posted by brownie

I'm not going to lie, I'll be slightly disappointed but at the same time, my sanity and health have to come first before I can do anything and it seems to really be taking a toll on me

Re: Mom's who tried BFing and now use formula

I was completely frustrated, tired and still recovering from a c-section. I tried my best, but it just didn't work out for us.