in November 2024 Babies 🇺🇸

EBF baby is getting on my last nerve

Obligatory note that I love my baby who is 4 months old but she is really pushing me to the edge and I need to vent. **I know she is just a baby and is not doing any of this intentionally** During our breastfeeding journey if it’s not one thing it’s another. First she only would eat with nipple shields, then when I weaned her off them she had the LAZIEST latch (she’d barely open her mouth, hope milk would somehow make it in then cry out of frustration when it didn’t), then she was getting too much foremilk causing very green poops and possibly reflux pain, then we had some nursing strikes. Now, she nearly refuses to nurse from left breast unless she is dream feeding but gets overwhelmed by the forceful letdown of the right and spits out milk sporadically while nursing soaking my clothes. I usually express a bit before nursing but why does every feed have to have an extra step :( I’ve talked to lactation nurses/councilors and they said she is gaining weight fine so I shouldn’t worry, but I’m not even necessarily worried about her gaining weight, I’m just annoyed I guess. Ugh, thanks for reading if you got this far. I only have two types of other moms in my life at the moment: those who had no issues BFing and those that decided to formula feed pretty quickly. I know formula is an option, but not quite ready to go that route. While I’m at it, she is starting to whine now which is not by fav and not cry at night but just go “eh, eh, eh” over and over while kicking and stomping in the bassinet next to me. Pretty sure we are going through a sleep regression which could definitely be worse (she still sleeps 4-6 hour stretches at night) but it’s still not fun. Okay, rant over! Please feel free to rant with me below. She laughs and smiles a lot too :)

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I’m so sorry. I switched over to pumping because I have twins and I would get worried when they would want to feed close together that the second one wasn’t getting enough so I like seeing exactly how much they are having. I nurse for night feeds because I don’t feel like getting up in the middle of the night to warm bottles, but only one of them wakes at night so then I feel bad that the other doesn’t nurse much so I try to put her a few times randomly through the day. I absolutely HATE pumping though but I have way more peace of mind that they are eating enough. I hope things get easier soon ❤️

EBF can be so hard sometimes. I don’t have any of those issues and it feels very tiresome to me at some points. We pump and do bottles of frozen milk warmed up sometimes. Could you do that before formula feeding? I bought some formula just for mine to just TRY and he HATES it so i definitely gotta get better at pumping so i can have a break more often

I feel for you and I also had a really tough time breastfeeding. I have plenty of friends who had so much trouble they stopped BF altogether so pat yourself on the back! My little one would fall asleep at the breast and couldn’t pull much in the early days. Turns out she was exhausted from a slight tongue tie bless her heart. I had that clipped, not lasered, and it made the biggest difference. Maybe look into that? Now my biggest issue is my strong letdown and foremilk balance. I may start manually pumping the first bit off to help make it easier for her. I know it’s frustrating but our babies are doing their best as well. I think it’s hard for everyone. I had many nights of crying and pain with breastfeeding and now it’s just little frustrations that pop up. Hang in there! It’s the best thing we can do for our babies and it’s for such a short window! You got this!

Have you ever gotten her checked for oral ties? That could have been a root cause of many of these issues. I experienced similar things with my first and then found out she had a lip and tongue tie. We got it cut at around 4 months and continued EBF until 23 months. But months 1-6 were roughhhhh. It’s not for everyone, but it sounds like you just needed a vent session. So just here to validate you that breastfeeding can be hard and frustrating and you’re doing a great job.

You all are so kind and your comments are very helpful!! She latched on the left breast for the first time in a while today. We also had our 4 month check up and her weight gain is great so my one super boob is doing the job 😆

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