Feeding

If she is gaining weight why did the HV advise to give formula? I had similar issues with my baby and sometimes they’re just fussy on the breast, a doctor told me that’s them putting in orders and stimulating milk production. Mine had reflux though so could be wind rather than not getting enough. The more she breastfeeds the more milk you’ll produce so I personally would avoid giving formula unless she isn’t gaining weight nor having enough wet nappies. You could try pumping after she feeds to stimulate more production.

My baby struggled to latch and would feed for such a long time and still wasn’t happy. Turned out he had a tongue tie. Does your little one fall asleep often at the boob? They can get quite tired if they are working really hard to feed. I ended up expressing my feeds so I knew my supply wasn’t the issue quite early on.

Is probably not about your milk is just because she is getting used to easy flow from the bottle and gets frustrated because she has to work then breastfeeding . Did you tried nipple shields?

Your health visitor shouldn’t have said that if she’s gaining weight and following her centile. She’ll be getting frustrated at the breast because she has to ‘work for it’ (suckle before milk is released) whereas with the bottle it’s in the teat ready to go. Rather than going for formula, if you wanted to introduce a bottle could you not express? That way your supply will be maintained too

I felt like that as he was constantly trying to feed on my so I started formula 2 feeds a day and breastfeeding the rest as he got bigger I gave him 4 bottles and then bedtime he feeds on my and sleeps better now x

Agree with other comments. If baby is gaining weight there's no reason to top up. Babies can become frustrated at different growth points as demand grows. I had awful anxiety when BFing because you just don't know if they're getting enough, she would get frustrated and hit my breasts and grab and I was terrified I was starving her. She ended up being a proper fat chunk, scales don't lie so I kept going.

My baby (5.5 months now) went through a handful of phases where she was super upset on the boob, coming on & off, crying, pulling etc and it always passed. I thought I wasn’t producing enough and started to do everything to increase supply but I genuinely think it was just baby developing and it passed within 2 weeks and she was back to normal. I think breastfeeding has lots of ups and downs but stick with it I think it’s good to give formula/bottles so they get used to it if you plan to wean off breast at some point

@Barbara im not sure why she suggested topping up, i have been though. I think it’s because she sleeps through the night - my girl also has reflux too - will give pumping a go and see if that helps

@Charlie oh yes, my little girl used to be the same with latching. She did have tongue tie. We had it released about 3 weeks ago.. she has got a lot better but today and even yesterday thinking about it she’s gone off and on the boob like she used to.

Sounds like poor advice from the health visitor. If a baby is gaining weight appropriately there’s no need to top up aside from parent choice. Theres nothing wrong with doing a bit of both or even expressing and giving in a bottle. It has to be what works for your family

I’ve just tried pumping and nothing came out of either breast?? What is happening? I’ve just left hubby and my girl down stairs and now in bed sobbing as I feel such a failure

@Naomi it’s quite normal not to get anything pumping. Not everyone reacts well to pumps. Have you tried hand expressing? The fact baby has been putting on weight is a good indicator of a good milk supply. The more you put baby to the breast the more milk you will produce. Introducing formula can reduce that supply but it can be brought back up. It will however be like the early days of cluster feeding again to get that supply back up

@Ceri-Ann thank you that’s reassuring. She only has one formula before bed but goes through night so it’s a long stint not feeding I suppose? She has been sleeping a lot more (since the vaccinations) so hopefully over them tomorrow and I will try feed her more regularly rather than on demand. I find breastfeeding so hard in the sense that you just don’t know how much they’re getting… I’m getting wet and dirty nappies. Then I get moments like today where I’m thinking is it enough? Etc. I will keep trying and try remain positive x

Don’t fall for formula at all if your lo is gaining weight and having good number of wet nappies… usually breastfed babies gain weight slowly as compared to formula fed ones but breast milk is the best one that you can offer to your baby… i so wanted to keep my baby just on breast milk but she had tongue tie and wasnt good at feeding on me… unfortunately i got her tongue tie snipped and literally didnt take my boob at all after that… i opted to expressed milk after that but that too dropped with time and now she is more on formula and just 1 bottle of my milk… many a times we feel out supply isnt enough but thats never the case…if you are keeping yourself hyderated… eating well and your baby is latching good… then it might be other issues with babies like growth spurt etc when they want to feed frequently…. So never ever feel down thinking you dont have enough supply…if you wanna give her bottle at bedtime..express yours one and give..this way you will know how much is keeping her full

@Naomi definitly offer the breast at that bed time feed and the give the bottle after if she’s still hungry. Also try to express early hours of the morning if LO isn’t feeding as this is when your hormones are highest and will get the best response to a demand for an increase in milk

@Naomi was it after you breastfed her? Please I know it’s hard but try not to stress. What pump are you using? If she sleeps through the night she is probably getting enough. An hungry baby won’t settle.

@Naomi don’t be so hard on yourself my lovely, you are doing amazing! If you are stressed and upset it will affect your supply when pumping, especially if you are new to it too. Just try again when you feel relaxed, I often found after a feed worked well so maybe try after feeding.

We put so much pressure on ourselves with breast feeding and I don’t think that HV help either. I remember feeling like such a failure that my LB couldn’t latch or feed and that’s why I ended up expressing for 7 months, something on reflection I wish I never did as it was hard bloody work. I think my stress with feeding at the start and not feeling good enough really impacted my mental health. I would be constantly told to keep trying my baby on the boob even at 6 months old I was being told he should still be trying the boob which made me feel shit all the time. So that’s a long winded way of advising you to do what works for you and baby, you’re not doing anything wrong and being a mum is hard work alone without the pressure of BF.