Breastfeeding Journey

My baby is 9 weeks old and I have been breastfeeding for the last 4 weeks with bottle top ups as she had issues with a Tongue-tie so was formula / breastmilk fed from birth.

She will now feed from me but only using a nipple shield. I am trying to wean her off this but having no luck at the moment.

I am really struggling to know if she is getting enough milk from me and it's making my breastfeeding journey stressful and not enjoyable. The older she gets the more fussy after feeding she is getting. I know they have growth spurts so don't know if we just in a middle of another one!! She will feed on both breasts at every feed and I am putting her back to each one at least 3 times. Some feeds she can be content afterwards but some especially in the afternoon/evening she is so fussy and mouthing away after feeding and I feel like I have nothing left. I know the shields help her feed initially and she gets a good drink every time but when she needs to work more for the milk they are more a hinderence and she get annoyed and is on and off feeding and getting nothing out. I will pump after some feeds and will still get milk out so I don't think I have a low milk supply?!

I attend in person breastfeeding support groups and they all say she is getting enough milk from me and I don't really need to continue topping up anymore but when she is screaming and distressed and still mouthing after I feed I just don't see how she had enough and will give her a bottle

She gets plenty of wet nappies and usually 2 poops in a 24hr period but that's with 2 bottle tops up. I haven't been able to completely cut bottle top ups out as when she is crying and crying how can I not feed her?! Once she gets her bottle top up she settles down...

- Does anyone have experience weaning their baby off a nipple shield? I just know if we loose the shield she will latch so much better which should mean she gets more milk

- Does anyone breastfeed/ top up and this is just a normal part of feeding?

Thank you!

[PenguinBlue]

hello, I think it sounds like you’re doing well especially considering her nappy outputs which is usually a v good indicator on how much milk they’re getting.

At the support groups, are they weighing her and is she tracking along her centile? If she is, then they’re right that she’s doing well but I don’t think it’s right that they’re telling you she doesn’t need a top up because her gaining weight is a combo of both breastfeeding and the top up. And they should support you with a plan to reduce top ups whilst keeping an eye on her weight before you stop completely.

Just a few things I would add to answer your queries:

1. Witching hour (fussiness and feeding lots) is very very common until they’re 3 months old. I believe it’s a combo of them being overwhelmed with their surroundings during the day and also getting your supply up but v normal!

2. Have the breastfeeding support groups helped with the reduced use of the nipple shields? I used one with my son and it took until he was 5 months to get weaned off them as they are very different to your actual nipple. I was told to try when he’s sleepy or to take it off halfway in a feed and see if they notice. My son got a bit upset so I never bothered and the only reason we stopped was when we were on holiday and I couldn’t get them out of my bag but he just latched 🤷🏽‍♀️ however, if you think her latch on the shields is not good, then there is a chance she is not extracting as much milk in her feeds. The support groups should help you get a good latch with a shield as well.

3. If you would like to reduce the top ups then speak to your infant feeding team. In my trust, they infant feeding midwife was IBCLC trained and was excellent. I found them much more useful than the HV bf groups (who aren’t trained usually to IBCLC).

From my experience, you can do breastfeeding and top ups but now that she’s bigger, you could consider replacing one of the feeds with a bottle entirely which would give you a break and perhaps reduce the need to have the second top up as well. However it’s completely up to you and what you’re comfortable with. It sounds like you’re doing a great job. The first few months are not easy at all so pls don’t feel otherwise x

[Fruitandflowers]

Breastfeeding was one of the hardest and most upsetting (and painful) things I've ever been through. I really wanted it to be the magical bonding experience I had imagined and other mums looked so natural at it... but my LG ended up back in hospital for best part of a week as she couldn't feed - I had masses of milk but she couldn't get it from me and no-one could tell me why - lactation consultants, bf support groups... I had to pump around the clock and it still wasn't enough to satisfy her so we also did formula top-ups. I was trying all the time and even with shields she wasn't able to get anything like what she needed. Plus I kept getting mastitus and sometimes it was just too painful and I worried my wincing was upsetting her. She was about 8 weeks before she managed it, still using shields. By then we had kind of gotten into a routine of combination feeding - expressed bottles, formula bottles and bf and it meant I could get a bit of a rest some nights and could be away from her for short periods of time. The BF support workers were always trying to get me off the shields and back to exclusive BF but it was the only way it worked for ages and I was fine with that as I was finally beginning to enjoy the whole thing and felt like it was working. I didn't really get the need to stop using the shields, save for convenience. At some point I or she just seemed not to need them, or I forgot to use them, not sure which. I was warned that she may get confused but she was a ravenous baby that she didn't seem to mind how she got the milk as long as she got it It sounds like you're doing great and if the baby has regular wet nappies then they should be getting enough. Just do whatever works for you and the baby. I was told that the most important bit of BF is the first couple of weeks and after that it's great if you can - a happy baby is a fed baby - even if you're only expressing once a day and the rest is formula, they're still getting something for their immune system.

[Txtea]

Sounds like you're having anxiety about it. Which is normal you're still only 9 weeks pp. If her weight is going up, don't worry. Idk if anyone has told you but breastfeeding is fkn hard, it's different for every mother. Keep going and I suggest trying like an oz from the bottle then put her directly to your breast, no shield. That is how I got my son to bf. I had to use bottles at first and pump. The more she feeds from you the more milk you'll produce! Trust the process. I'm 11 months into bf and still wonder every time if my son gets Enough and he's like 99%ile 🤣