Am I a horrible mom?? My DS is 10 days old and he has been getting plenty of milk. He went from 7 Lbs 5 Ounces to 8 Pounds 4 ounces in three days. My problem is he is ALWAYS hungry and he is starting to use my breast as a comfort tool. I am cracked and bleeding pretty badly.

I bought a breast pump and can't keep up with his milk intake! I had a emotional breaskdown last night because I had NO breastmilk in the fridge and he was STARVING! I had no choice but to nurse him through excrutiating pain. It was completly unbearable.

I am just starting to entertain the thought of introducing formula on a case by case basis. I fed DS today for 35 minutes, and he continued to sry so I gave him a bottle of breastmilk and he ate 3 ounces of it. I feel like I am starving him.

Does anyone else supplement with formula. I am seeing a lactation consultant at 9 in the morning to see what she recommends. I feel like such a failure.

I totally feel your pain. Thats exactly what I was going through. DS couldnt latch on right so he was always on the breast. Well at 4 days old I got a pump and it was the best thing I did. DS is 4 weeks old now and drinks 5 oz at a time. Every 3-4 hrs. :eek: Hes just a big boy & a big eater. Well I go through periods where I have to give him a bottle of formula because he just doesnt seem content enough with my breast milk. I have to. I just feel like hes not getting enough. As crazy as that sounds. I dont blame you. And dont feel bad. You need to do what you feel is best for your baby. And maybe your lactation consultant can offer you some more help so that you dont have to use formula. Have you tried Lanolin or Soothies? Both have worked great for me. Good luck. I hope something works our for ya. Think positive. :)

skeeter, my DS is 2 weeks old today and I am having the same problem. At the beginning I had 8 extra bags of breastmilk pumped and in the fridge for DH to give.. Now I'm also drying up and am having to supplement. I hate feeling that way, like he's not getting enough from me. I know what you mean by feeling like a failure, but you aren't. Not at all, and atleast he got the initial milk from you which is the most important! I also am seeing a lactation consultant tomorrow at 930. Hopefully we'll get good information from them!

Hopefully, your lactation consultant can help you. Sometimes something as simple as the position you sit in can affect your baby's latch. You shouldn't have the kind of discomfort you are describing if your baby is latching properly. I had some problems the first couple of weeks and if my baby had any weight problems I definitely would have supplemented with formula. So don't sweat that. Have you tried a nipple shield? Sometimes they can give you some relief while nursing your baby. Your lactation RN will probably have them.

Something that NO ONE told me until after it was over that I wish I had known is that it takes most babies an average of 3 weeks to figure out this breastfeeding thing. Which means to me anywhere from 0-6 weeks. I felt like such a failure that my baby and I were having so many problems. And when it clicked (my milk supply was up, she got on a schedule instead of 24/7 sucking) it was such a relief. If your baby is gaining weight at a good pace then you've won half the battle. Now you have to take care of you.

Drink plenty of water, eat like you are pregnant. Get plenty of food you don't have to prepare (who has time for that!) DO NOT get in a hot shower without protecting your nipples with some lanolin. When I discovered this trick, it made things so much more comfortable. I used lanolin religously even when I felt fine to keep things fine. I don't use it anymore and I was able to relax after a few months and my body was used to nursing. Good luck!

I had the same problem as you while I was still in the hospital. Not only had my nipples not had a chance to "toughen up", but she was latching on wrong and was only sucking the end of my nipple, which meant she wasn't getting enough milk because she wasn't compressing far enough up the brest to get a good let down.

My lactation consultant REALLY helped me with her latching on. I also found that because she's such a sleepy baby that she was sleeping through most of her feedings, and while she was at the breast for 45 minutes, she would end up being hungry half an hour later because she didn't fill her belly, she just sat there with my nipple in her mouth. Now I strip her down to her diaper and poke her to keep her awake, and we've gone from 45 minutes to 15-20 minutes.

I also started emptying one breast at a time because I have so much milk, instead of trying to do both. If I do both they both end up engorged because they weren't completely drained. This also helped give my nipples a break.

I'm allergic to Lanolin, but I found a nipple stick (I call it) from Gerber that is patrolium jelly based, and it works GREAT. It keeps them soft and supple so they don't dry out and crack even more.

I was ready to can breast feeding I was in so much pain. I cried everytime she latched on, but when I gave her a bottle she would spit my nipple out, and I've have to start all over again, so I ditched the bottle all together and stuck it out. It was hell for about two days, but with her latching on correctly, plus filling her belly and my nipple stick, I made it work. Now it doesn't hurt at all and I love nursing her.

Good luck.

About 5 months ago I had the exact same post. So many times I was on the verge of cracking open the can of formula because nursing hurt so badly and I was convinced that my dd was not getting enough.

Most people say that the pain should stop after a few days but for me it lasted 6 weeks. I went to many classes and a lactation consultant to check my latch and although some minor positioning adjustments helped a bit, it basically hurt until the sensitivity went away.

One thing the lactation consultant will show you though, is that in a normal nursing, your baby is probably getting plenty. He is most likely nursing for comfort. My dd did this as well and I remember feeling like I had a baby on my boob ALL day. Rest assured though that the pain will definately subside, he will get much quicker at eating, and you can also help him sooth in ways besides nursing. Teaching dd to use the pacifier took a little time but it was a lifesaver in the end and I have had no problem weaning her off of it now that it isn't necessary.

If you choose to give formula, don't worry, the fact that you are nursing at all makes all the difference. But if you don't want to resort to that, just know that the whole process will get much easier very soon and in the mean time baby is not starving. If you haven't already, take a look at "The Happiest Baby on the Block" dvd. It is excellent and will help you try other soothing techniques.

Good luck!

You are not a failure!!! There is too much pressure put on us to exclusively breastfeed. I was so stressed out about it before I had my 1st. And then I had every issue in the book, couldn't latch, sore nipples, decreased supply, not gaining weight quickly, etc. I pumped milk as often as I could and also gave formula. I was a wreck about it.

Truth is the "natural" act of breastfeeding is extremely hard for some of us. If you need to give that little one formula, do it and do not let it get you down. You are feeding your baby and that is the most important part. Hopefully your consultant will have great advice. And hopefully it will all work out. But if it doesn't, formula will be ok.

With DD I could nurse her, but it still took a few weeks for the pain to go away. But at that pont I was relaxed about the whole formula thing and never felt bad if I needed to supplement.

I promise that our kids won't be in the school yard fighting about who's mom breastfed them and who's didn't. They won't think we're bad moms because of it. :) Hang in there. Hope it gets better.

The pediatrician that seen my DD suggested supplementing with formula.

She was born on a Fri at 8 lbs 10 oz, and by the time we left the hospital on Tues she was 7 lbs 13 oz. Ped was a tad concerned, but not so much that we had to leave her in the hospital. It took her 2 1/2 weeks to get back to her birth weight...she is now 6 weeks old.

In those first few days after she was born, I'll admit it was absolutely horrible. For something that is supposed to be natural, it sure wasn't for me and DD. She wasn't latching on properly and I was dead tired and getting very frustrated. I didn't know what to do and neither did she. Our lact. consultant was an absolute God-send. She helped us so much. Our consultant also stated that our daughter was (in a sense) lazy. She wants instant gratification, so she gave us a special bottle and nipple that in short makes her work for her food. We used that bottle exclusively until a week ago, and now we graduated to the Avent bottles...so far so good!

The first time I gave her some formula I bawled...I kept thinking I was a failure that I couldn't nurse my child without having to supplement. But in the end, her being fed and healthy and gaining weight is all that matters to me.

Now she eats so much, I nurse her 20-25 mins on each breast and then if she wants more (which she always does) I supplement with formula. I'm not sure I would ever produce enough milk if I were to only nurse her.

Don't think of supplementing as a failure, sometimes for whatever reason people have to supplement. I would much rather supplement that go back to all the problems we had in the beginning.

Rochelle

I went through the same thing, my son ate constantly in the beginning. I also went through all the same feelings as you. I was determined not to give in and use formula. Well we finally decided to give a little formula, and it was the best decision we made. I was ready to have an emotional break-down, and to have that break (my hubby fed him the formula) was really what I needed. And think about it, your baby is still getting about 90-95% breast milk. And eating as much as he does, he is getting tons of nutrients from you. The formula won't affect that. You'll have to decide what's best for you, but it really helped me out a lot. And you are certainly not a horrible mom, look what you are going through to try and do the best thing possible for your baby. You are a great mom :)