guilt!

[shak_436]

yday I decided to supplement my baby,Iv been giving my baby breast milk twice a day,and the rest of day formula.and now my baby seems so confused,after every bottle feed she just stares at me like shes really upset,like its me that she wants and not the bottle.I would love to continue to breastfeed only,but my nipples are soo sore that I get nervous everytime its time for a feed,and when she latches on im in so much pain that I have tears running down my face,and also all I seem to be doing these days is crying!and the breastfeeding just making me feel worse.I love my baby to bits and I just feel so awful for giving her bottle rather then breast,she looks confused and upset,last night she didnt sleep until I gave her breast,I kept thinking shes hungry so kept making more formula but that wasnt the case,she just wanted me,I feel terrible...breastfeeding is alot harder then I thought,its just making me feel depressed as she wants to stay on me constantly,making my nipples even more sore,iv tried every nipple balm there is and nothing seems to work!im supposed to be enjoying my baby,instead all I seem to be doing is worrying abt her,feeling bad abt everything!I dont get any time to myself these days,and now im feeling really bad for complaining,I just had to let it out,everyone I know doesnt seem to understand at all!my mum,husband,aunts are just doing my head in by pushing me to eat eat eat,im sick of them too,my husband at back at work,which makes me feel I have even less support now

[shak_436]

thanks everyone for your comments,they were very useful.I'll definitely try your suggestions and just pray it gets better.at the moment im trying to pump as much as I can,however I haven't got much out today,took me 45mins just to pump an ounce out,I dont know if that means im drying out?does pumping reduce milk production?

[anabelcrts]

In my case with all my 4 bbys I breastfeed and my nepples got swollen chopped and were bleeding too. I had the after contraccions while breastfeeding them and my breast pain but I took it and what reallt helps alot is the bbys own salivasake ur breast recover u can also use creams on ur breast for dryness I used vaselin and a cream name Arnica Salve its mexican and it helped me so much whithin a week I didn't felt as terrible. Good luck..

[hopelesslypraying]

Don't feel bad hun!! My son didn't want the boob so he was easy to give the bottle to. But my daughter. She latched on me from day one but I too hurt horribly. I knew she didn't want the bottle and I can tell she still doesn't care for it. But it is what it is. Your baby will eventually figure out that's where the food source is coming from. Just don't get yourself down about it. Your not alone!

[kylamclellan]

Try pumping exclusively.. That's what I do cause my baby wouldn't latch and it was painful when she tried. That way she's still getting breast milk too :)

[Bri_1985]

Egroat is right - try a nipple shield. It gelped me a lot with the pain during the short time I breastfed. But make sure you get the right size! Ask your lactation consultant about that.

[cher01]

If you have a breast pump try to also use it regularly since you are not feeding baby as much  (its not as sore as being suckled by baby) to encourage continued milk production and protect yourself from blocked milk ducts and mastitis. if without a pump you can squeeze milk out also if you stand in a warm warm shower and milk yourself and make sure gently massage  you boobs so soften them.

[tomorrow264]

Don't feel bad. Breastfeeding can be very demanding and uncomfortable in the beginning. I've wanted to quit in the beginning with all three of my children. I've had cracked and bloody nipples every time but if I keep up with putting lanolin on them and let them air out as much as I can then it usually got better in a couple weeks once my nipples toughened up. I just had to work through the pain.

[egroat]

You can try a nipple shield for your boobs, my son likes to nurse around the clock too. It will give your nipples a little bit of a break when you are feeding. My boobs hurt so bad they were bleeding, I started using the shield and they are back to normal.  Good luck

[cher01]

Make sure your baby's mouth is wide open when latching on you (fish lips), likw a funnel around your ariole.

[cher01]

Oh shaks, am so o sorry you are going through all this. Yes it happens sometimes and you are trying to do the best you can. If you still want to continue breastfeeding ypu can and the type of foods you eat matter. For me i noticed that peanut butter with  on my food helps, salted nuts, other nuts, beef, chicken, with a little bit more starches, fruits n vegetables AND LOTS OF FLUIDS ESPECIALLY WATER. But foods with sodium is best for me- dairy not great. Just letting you know i was getting scared of my baby's mouth on my boobs coz they were sore and i was not producing enough too but now its  ok.