Sigh....I am pretty frustrated at this point.

[A_Marie]

I don't think we will be breastfeeding for much longer.

In the hospital we were giving her 4 oz bottles every 3 hours except at night when I was letting her sleep about two five hours stretches and I was nursing her overnight but not cosleeping. I also nursed her whenever she was upset...which was a bit more often than usual...think blood draws and vitals checks. We are supposed to feeding her between 28 and 32 ounces a day....there is a special metabolic additive to her formula which adds calories without amino acids and proteins in it.

Frankly at home its hard to get all those bottles in. We are cosleeping but I just let her nurse the first night and we came up way short on bottles She had three left over bottles because she sleeps for longer stretches here. Now I am trying to get up in the middle of the night and give her bottle but if she has been latching on etc she won't eat a whole one. OF course she won't really stay asleep unless she is nursing and I am laying down with her either. So the bottles become more importnat. But last night I ended up so engorged I pumped 5 ounces which for me is an unheard of amount.

The metabolic tests have not come back but she didnt gain any weight this weekend while she wasn't getting over night bottles. To be frank with this many calories going in there shouldnt be any days when we don't lose weight so I don't feel like I can decrease the formula by any amount at all.

I really really want to continue to nurse her but I may have to just give it up to save myself from mastitis and keep that supplement in her.

AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I am so frustrated.

[Purple]

I don't think we will be breastfeeding for much longer.

In the hospital we were giving her 4 oz bottles every 3 hours except at night when I was letting her sleep about two five hours stretches and I was nursing her overnight but not cosleeping. I also nursed her whenever she was upset...which was a bit more often than usual...think blood draws and vitals checks. We are supposed to feeding her between 28 and 32 ounces a day....there is a special metabolic additive to her formula which adds calories without amino acids and proteins in it.

Frankly at home its hard to get all those bottles in. We are cosleeping but I just let her nurse the first night and we came up way short on bottles She had three left over bottles because she sleeps for longer stretches here. Now I am trying to get up in the middle of the night and give her bottle but if she has been latching on etc she won't eat a whole one. OF course she won't really stay asleep unless she is nursing and I am laying down with her either. So the bottles become more importnat. But last night I ended up so engorged I pumped 5 ounces which for me is an unheard of amount.

The metabolic tests have not come back but she didnt gain any weight this weekend while she wasn't getting over night bottles. To be frank with this many calories going in there shouldnt be any days when we don't lose weight so I don't feel like I can decrease the formula by any amount at all.

I really really want to continue to nurse her but I may have to just give it up to save myself from mastitis and keep that supplement in her.

AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I am so frustrated.


Oh I am so sorry! I wonder if you can keep pumping for a little while and store the milk. Then as she gets bigger she could have a bottle of breastmilk a day after her special bottles have been emptied. Maybe? That may be just too much to do which is totally understandable.

[Sue]

I don't think we will be breastfeeding for much longer.

In the hospital we were giving her 4 oz bottles every 3 hours except at night when I was letting her sleep about two five hours stretches and I was nursing her overnight but not cosleeping. I also nursed her whenever she was upset...which was a bit more often than usual...think blood draws and vitals checks. We are supposed to feeding her between 28 and 32 ounces a day....there is a special metabolic additive to her formula which adds calories without amino acids and proteins in it.

Frankly at home its hard to get all those bottles in. We are cosleeping but I just let her nurse the first night and we came up way short on bottles She had three left over bottles because she sleeps for longer stretches here. Now I am trying to get up in the middle of the night and give her bottle but if she has been latching on etc she won't eat a whole one. OF course she won't really stay asleep unless she is nursing and I am laying down with her either. So the bottles become more importnat. But last night I ended up so engorged I pumped 5 ounces which for me is an unheard of amount.

The metabolic tests have not come back but she didnt gain any weight this weekend while she wasn't getting over night bottles. To be frank with this many calories going in there shouldnt be any days when we don't lose weight so I don't feel like I can decrease the formula by any amount at all.

I really really want to continue to nurse her but I may have to just give it up to save myself from mastitis and keep that supplement in her.

AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I am so frustrated.

((((Alicia)))) Could you pump to try and maintain supply while you are getting everything sorted out? Or use a SNS for one or two feedings a day, just to keep a minimal supply, in case you can go back to nursing full time?

[Kerry]

I'm drawing a blank about your situation - does she have a metabolic disorder? Why was she hospitalized?

You should look at overall weight gain WEEKLY, rather than daily. Do you have access to a Medela Baby Weigh scale so you can keep track of how much she's taking directly from you?

[Kathy 4J mom]

I missed what all was going on. I will go back and try to read posts to figure it out.

How long will it take for the test results to come back?

Did the dr. limit you on breastfeeding? Or are the bottles just supplements to get the extra calories in (without proteins and amino acids)?

What is her weight right now, what was birth weight & lowest weight, and how old is she now? And what is her output like?

There is a difference in not gaining weight and losing weight.

Right now- my biggest suggestion is as much skin to skin contact as possible. Diaper only, in a sling next to your skin, you can put a button up shirt over the both of you.

((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))) to all of you.

[A_Marie]

I'm drawing a blank about your situation - does she have a metabolic disorder? Why was she hospitalized?

You should look at overall weight gain WEEKLY, rather than daily. Do you have access to a Medela Baby Weigh scale so you can keep track of how much she's taking directly from you?


I'm drawing a blank about your situation - does she have a metabolic disorder? Why was she hospitalized?

You should look at overall weight gain WEEKLY, rather than daily. Do you have access to a Medela Baby Weigh scale so you can keep track of how much she's taking directly from you?

The 6 days before we were hospitlized we focused on supply...had a three day nurse in where we never left the house and nursed 24 hours a day. We also supplmented for two days with 1.5 ounces of formula after each feeding. We saw a lactation consultant who had basically nothing to say except it was too late to correct a latch problem if there was one. We were in the hospital for ten days because she had lost weight in the 6 weeks following her two month check up. I was getting nervous because I hadn't seen a change in her clothing size. She was 6 12 at birth...10 11 at two months and then when we were admitted to the hospital she was 10 5.

I had to stop breastfeeding in the hospital because I couldn't get her to gain weight from my breastmilk even with pumping and adding human milk fortifier to the pumped amount. I was able to pump about 18 - 20 ounces and of course she nursed past the amount I was pumping. I was nursing her on the other breast the entire time I was pumping out that amount. We at that point had also added baby food to try and increase calories. We were getting about 50calories from that. So they put her on formula and an additive which is for kids with inborn metabolic disorders.


She gained about three ounces in the five days that I was bfing and adding in human milk fortifier and food. After the formula additive and formula she has gained 1.5 lbs. Her t3 is on the low side which is apparently adding to her need for calories as well.
The tests have to be sent to the states so it will be at least two more weeks til we know about metabolic disorders.

I want to breastfeed. Hell I fought throughout a ten day hospital stay in a room with four roommates, not speaking the language and with three other children at home to continue....I don't want to give up. But I am literally terrified to have another loss...or even really a stall. I plan to continue to breastfeed but am also worried about managing engorgement etc. I am also worried I won't be able to keep my milk up with crazy irregular nursing patterns.

[A_Marie]

I missed what all was going on. I will go back and try to read posts to figure it out.

How long will it take for the test results to come back?

Did the dr. limit you on breastfeeding? Or are the bottles just supplements to get the extra calories in (without proteins and amino acids)?

What is her weight right now, what was birth weight & lowest weight, and how old is she now? And what is her output like?

There is a difference in not gaining weight and losing weight.

Right now- my biggest suggestion is as much skin to skin contact as possible. Diaper only, in a sling next to your skin, you can put a button up shirt over the both of you.

((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))) to all of you.


Did I say in my crazy last post that she is up to 12.5 lbs now? She is four months old and 25.5 inches long. She was in the 90 percentile at two months and dropped off the charts by the weigh in 6 weeks later. She had 5-6 wet diapers before but is now FILLING 8 - 10 diapers a day. She was not dehydrated or anything when I brought her in but she is certainly upping her output by a lot now.

[~PQ]

The 6 days before we were hospitlized we focused on supply...had a three day nurse in where we never left the house and nursed 24 hours a day. We also supplmented for two days with 1.5 ounces of formula after each feeding. We saw a lactation consultant who had basically nothing to say except it was too late to correct a latch problem if there was one. We were in the hospital for ten days because she had lost weight in the 6 weeks following her two month check up. I was getting nervous because I hadn't seen a change in her clothing size. She was 6 12 at birth...10 11 at two months and then when we were admitted to the hospital she was 10 5.

I had to stop breastfeeding in the hospital because I couldn't get her to gain weight from my breastmilk even with pumping and adding human milk fortifier to the pumped amount. I was able to pump about 18 - 20 ounces and of course she nursed past the amount I was pumping. I was nursing her on the other breast the entire time I was pumping out that amount. We at that point had also added baby food to try and increase calories. We were getting about 50calories from that. So they put her on formula and an additive which is for kids with inborn metabolic disorders.


She gained about three ounces in the five days that I was bfing and adding in human milk fortifier and food. After the formula additive and formula she has gained 1.5 lbs. Her t3 is on the low side which is apparently adding to her need for calories as well.
The tests have to be sent to the states so it will be at least two more weeks til we know about metabolic disorders.

I want to breastfeed. Hell I fought throughout a ten day hospital stay in a room with four roommates, not speaking the language and with three other children at home to continue....I don't want to give up. But I am literally terrified to have another loss...or even really a stall. I plan to continue to breastfeed but am also worried about managing engorgement etc. I am also worried I won't be able to keep my milk up with crazy irregular nursing patterns.
(((A))) Breastfeeding is the ideal choice... BUT, it's NOt the only acceptable choice. Formula is an acceptable substitution when breastmilk just isn't practical or possible. Your baby will continue to grow and thrive on it. you won't be less bonded. You already transferred those early colostrum immunities, you already had the important early bonding... I am not saying to give up on BFing, but seriously chica- don't make yourself crazy, exhausted, or sick trying to make this happen. Don't feel guilty if it just CAN'T happen. She's going to be okay without it! You don't have to BF, you don't have to pump and store.

I'm not saying this to in ANY way discourage you, but more to let you off the hook if you've reached your limit. If you still want to try, go for it- I'll cheer that on too! If you're just done though, because she's not thriving with it, because you're physically exhausted too now, well good job for doing what you have done!!

[Kerry]

When Leo was young I had chronic insufficient milk syndrome and he had FTT. What I did was breastfeed, using breast compression, and then feed him an additional 1-2 oz. of formula (and later, donor human milk) through a tube at the breast (a homemade SNS) after most feedings. Is that something that you could do?

If she is able to breastfeed, there is no reason why you should give that up. You can give her supplement and still breastfeed.

Also, what your LC said about not being able to correct a latch problem this late in life is patently FALSE. Leo's latch continued to improve over a six-month period. The bigger and stronger he got, the better his latch and suck became.

YOU HAVE MILK. You may not have enough to fully meet her needs, but you have milk and there's no reason why you shouldn't be giving it to her, and then using formula (or donor breastmilk, if you choose) to fill in the gaps. Have you considered taking domperidone to try to increase production?

Have they ruled out any kind of organic problem that would cause poor growth, such as cystic fibrosis or a congenital heart defect?

[Kerry]

Also, here is my VERY LONG story about my struggles with Leo. I wrote this for another board I'm on, so I'll just C&P. There might be some information here that you find helpful.

I am an OB nurse and lactation consultant, and I breastfed two other children until 4 years old with few/no difficulties, so I figured I wouldn't have any huge difficulties with #3. THe first challenge came when he was born a month early and had to spend 10 days in the NICU for breathing difficulties. For the first several days, I wasn't allowed to hold him, let alone feed him. I was pumping every 3 hours, night and day, trying to bring my milk in and produce enough to give him only breastmilk once he was able to take oral nutrition (he was on TPN for the first several days). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to pump ANYTHING for the first 3-4 days, and after that, I was only getting 5-10 ml at a time for the next several days after that. My supply was coming in VERY SLOWLY, which I believe was due to emotional stress. At this time, I started taking an herbal milk production blend to help increase my supply.

The first time I was able to breastfeed him was when he was 6 days old. He was on an every-three-hour feeding schedule and once they gave us the green light to feed him by mouth, I tried to make it to the hospital for at least a few of his feedings each day. I asked that they leave the NG tube in and give his other feedings by tube, rather than by bottle. The first time I fed him, he latched and sucked somewhat effectively for about 5 minutes. It was way more than I hoped for, and I was very glad that we were able to do that.

Two days later, he was transferred back to my "home hospital" for transitional care and to get him onto full oral feedings. I was able to sleep in one of the hospital rooms as a boarder mom, and he roomed in with me the entire time, so we could work on bonding and feeding. I was able to talk the pediatrician into pulling his NG tube and his IV, and treating him like any newborn who was just learning to breastfeed, and put him on full breast feeds. Because I was a nurse there and an LC, they gave me a lot of latitude on dictating his plan of care, which I appreciated.

After the first day, he had lost a bit of weight, so the ped wanted me to start supplementing. I began pumping after feedings and fingerfeeding him what I was able to get (around 15 ml). We did that for a couple days, and the ped promised me that as soon as he started gaining weight, they'd let us go home. On the second night's weigh-in, he had gained 5 grams, so the following morning I held the ped to her agreement (she tried to convince us to stay an extra day but I felt like I was going crazy there and I felt like we would be able to do better at home). So after 10 days in the hospital, we were finally sent home. He was sleepy and had kind of a weak latch, but he would rouse every 2-3 hours to eat, and would nurse for 20-30 minutes at a time, so I thought all was well. He would have 1-2 poops a day and enough wet diapers. I continued to pump after some of the feedings and supplement with 15 ml a couple times a day. I brought him in to be checked a week later (at three weeks) and his weight gain was low-acceptable, so I stopped with the pumping and supplementing., thinking that we were doing okay with the breastfeeding. Around this time, he started waking at night and crying for 2-3 hours straight. Nothing would console him. I thought maybe he was developing colic.

At about 4-5 weeks, I brought him into the hospital to be weighed, and I discovered that he had LOST 5 oz. The crying every night, I learned, was due to hunger. He was not getting enough to eat and was losing weight again. The nurses at the hospital commented that he looked cachectic (fancy word for starved - skinny limbs, loose skin, just not *well*). Ped wanted me to start supplementing. I started pumping again after feedings and giving him what I was able to pump (only around 4-5 oz/day). At that time, I experimented with a homemade SNS, which worked really well, so I began giving all his supplements that way, at the breast). I also asked the ped to write me a prescription for Domperidone, a drug that increases milk supply, which he did.

I began bringing him into the hospital every 4-7 days to be weighed, and then calling in the weights to the ped's office, at their request. His weight gain was VERY slow and he had dropped off the growth charts. Some days he would gain an average of 4 oz/week, and other days he would only gain an average of 2 oz/week (appropriate weight gain is 5-8 oz/week). At 2 months old, I brought him to the ped for his checkup and after plotting his weight on their growth chart, the ped said "If you were any other parent, I would insist at this point that you need to start supplementing with formula." Up until this point he had not had ANY formula, only breastmilk, and I was insistent on keeping it this way. I said that I didn't feel like I have done everything I could yet, and I will work on pumping more so that I can give him more breastmilk supplement. I began pumping after every single feeding, as well as pumping between feedings. If I wasn't nursing him, I was hooked up to the pump, sometimes for an hour or longer while I played on the computer. But no matter how much I pumped and how much Domperidone and fenugreek I took, I was only able to produce about 6 oz of EBM a day to give to Leo. But I gave him everything I was able to pump through the SNS after nursing him.

I remember one night when he was about 9 or 10 weeks old, I was up in the middle of the night feeding him and he was crying and didn't seem very satisfied. And I just LOOKED at him, undressed, and I really SAW how he looked. How skinny and malnourished he looked with his huge head, skinny face, skinny limbs, ribs sticking out. And I realized that he needed more than what I was able to give him, even with the domperidone and all my pumping. So that night I gave him his first ounce of formula (through the SNS of course). I remember crying for hours that night, feeling like a failure and that this was the beginning of the end of breastfeeding, but knowing in my heart that it was the right decision.

I continued to pump after feedings and supplement him with EBM and about 4-6 oz. of formula per day. After a few days of this, someone from breastfeeding.com emailed me, saying that she had a couple hundred ounces of breastmilk that was a year old and she was going to throw out, but she thought she'd offer it to me, as she thought that even expired breastmilk was better than formula. That is the first time I considered trying to obtain breastmilk through private donation. Because she lived across the country, the shipping would have been too much so I declined her offer. But at that time, I learned about a website that facilitates exchanges of privately donated breastmilk - www.milkshare.com. I joined the site and immediately found a woman in Phoenix, 2 hours away, who had 200 oz. to donate. That weekend, M and I drove down there and picked up the milk. I was able to then discontinue the formula and switch him to donated EBM. I feel so grateful that he only needed formula for about 5 or 6 days.

Around this time, 9-10 weeks, I went back to work. The very first night back, I came down with mastitis, and was working while running a 102 temperature and feeling like I was going to die. One of the OBs prescribed me some abx, which I began taking the next day. It helped, but my milk supply took a huge hit. I went from being able to pump about an ounce at a time, to less than half an oz. In a 12-hour shift at work, with pumping 4-5 times, I was only able to get around 4 oz. of milk. Luckily I had the frozen donor breastmilk, as Leo was taking around 20-25 oz. of EBM while I was gone (I believe that because he was getting so little from me, he was making up for it while I was gone). It was then that I really realized that my milk supply was truly insufficient. He continued to gain weight at an acceptable rate, and I was supplementing him with an average of 12-15 oz/day of a combination of my EBM and donor breastmilk. I continued to pump after and between feedings to try to bring my supply up in hopes of weaning him off the donor milk, but every time I tried to cut back on the supplement, his weight gain would slow way down (I was still bringing him in once or twice a week for weight checks).

Two weeks after the first time, I developed mastitis again (just a recurrence of the first bout, which didn't completely clear). Again, my supply took a huge hit and I was able to pump next to nothing at work. This time I was on ABX for three weeks, and the mastitis went away for good. I can completely understand why some women would choose to wean with recurrent mastitis. Other than the flu, these two bouts of mastitis left me feeling the sickest I've ever been in my life.

So my life revolved around feeding him as often as I could, and pumping every waking moment when I wasn't feeding him, trying to boost my supply. I started to feel really frustrated and depressed. I felt like I wasn't making any progress on boosting my supply. No matter how often I pumped, I wasn't able to get more than 4-6 oz. over the course of a 24-hour period. My life revolved around pumping and I felt like I wasn't bonding with my child. So when he was around three months, after a night of soul-searching, I decided to stop pumping except at work. I would just breastfeed, give him the donor EBM as supplement, and as my supply dwindled away due to not pumping, I would increase the amount of supplement until he was fully sustained on donor milk, with some formula if necessary. I remember crying and crying that day, when I came to my decision. I believed in my heart that my pumping round the clock was the only thing keeping my supply up, and when I stopped, my supply would go away. I vowed that I would continue to give him all supplement at the breast with the SNS until the day came when he no longer wanted to breastfeed. At least I had that for as long as it lasted (which I was convinced would be by the time he reached six months).

After a week of doing that, I was surprised to discover that he continued to gain weight at a steady pace, in spite of me not pumping. I was still able to pump the same amount at work (4-6 oz over a 12-hour period). Apparently the discontinuation of pumping was not the end of our breastfeeding relationship after all! It was at this time that I really began to relax a bit and start to enjoy my new baby. We were in a routine - breastfeeding on demand as often as possible, and getting around 12 oz. of donor EBM per day. I found a local milk donor was Leo was around 4 months old, and over the course of a few months, she provided us with nearly 2000 oz. of frozen breastmilk.

During this time I started to investigate reasons for our difficulties. I took him to a PT to do cranio-sacral therapy. It was at this time that I learned about high palates and "bubble palates" and how that can affect milk transfer, causing slow weight gain. Leo's palate was extremely high, which causes him to not be able to drain the breast effectively. This in turn causes diminished milk supply and poor weight gain. Even though there was really nothing we could do about it, it was a relief for me to finally understand WHY we have had so many difficulties.

Because he was getting so much EBM while I was at work, I stopped supplementing him when we were together, except when there were stretches of more than 2 days of me not working. On those stretches, I would give him 4-5 oz. of supplement in the evening. Around 4 1/2 months, he stopped liking the SNS, so I would give him his supplement in a bottle. Once he hit six months, I started giving him a meal of solid foods in the evening, and I was mostly able to cut out all additional supplementation when we were together.

I was afraid once we started solid foods, that my milk supply would drop, but I was surprised to find that my supply remained steady, and even gradually increased over time. I was consistently able to pump 6-8 oz. at work during three pumping sessions. And again, once Leo turned around 8 months old, my supply increased again, and I'm now able to pump 8-9+ oz. during my shift. I believe this is due simply to Leo being bigger and stronger, and being a more effective nurser.

Leo is now almost 9 months old and is still going strong with breastfeeding. I'm still taking the domperidone and don't plan to wean off it until after he's a year. I'm still pumping 3x during my 12-hour shifts at work, and will drop it down to 2x at around a year, and then down to once around 14 months or so, with the goal of stopping pumping at work by 18 months. Because he gets more from me and is eating a big meal once a day at dinnertime, he only takes 15-20 oz. of EBM when I'm at work, so my supply of donor milk should last until he's at least 12-14 months old.

He went from being off the bottom of the growth charts at 2 months, to 5% at 3 months, to now he's at 25% for length and weight and 40% for head. He's incredibly healthy and is meeting all his milestones. He LOVES to breastfeed and shows no signs of weaning prematurely. Every day I thank G-d that I didn't give up, in spite of all our troubles. At several points, I was sure that the breastfeeding relationship was doomed and I wouldn't have laid odds at still nursing at 6 months.

Anyway, that's my story. Sorry so long!

[mowse]

I really want to encourage you to look into an SNS or even do a makeshift one like Kerry did. Its like she is getting the best of both worlds...the special formula and breastmilk. It doesn't have to be either or...you can do both and your baby can thrive this way.

[Kerry]

I've used both, and I've actually found that the makeshift ones are much easier to use (as well as a whole lot cheaper). All you need is a small bottle, a nipple, and a 5-french feeding tube (which you should be able to get from your local hospital or order online). Here's a link to info:

http://www.bflrc.com/newman/breastfeeding/lact_aid.htm

[Kathy 4J mom]

Did I say in my crazy last post that she is up to 12.5 lbs now? She is four months old and 25.5 inches long. She was in the 90 percentile at two months and dropped off the charts by the weigh in 6 weeks later. She had 5-6 wet diapers before but is now FILLING 8 - 10 diapers a day. She was not dehydrated or anything when I brought her in but she is certainly upping her output by a lot now.

copy and pasting from about.com b/c it is pretty mainstream not b/c its correct
"# 2 weeks - regains birth weight and then gains about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds a month
# 3 months - gains about 1 pound a month
# 5 months - doubles birth weight"

based on this
birthweight 6lb 12 oz
2.5 months 9lb 12 oz - 10lb 12 oz
5 months double 13 lb 8 oz

Does your fortifier add calories?
I also agree with Kerry about your LC advice- a client of mine has a 5 month old that didn't latch for 3 months who is now fully breastfeeding.
Also agree with her about breast compression.

Jack Newman may have info addressing "late gaining" which she doesn't really fall into but may be applicable. I haven't looked for it yet, because I'm going to see him talk about it at the end of April.

((((((A)))))))) I'm not throwing all these things out to overwhelm you. I know you sought out medical care b/c you were concerned by what you "saw" not based on numbers. And your senses about your baby are more accurate than numbers.

[stickcow]

I'm sorry you're going through all this.

I hope the test results come back quickly and that you're able to figure out a good solution to the nursing/supplementing worries.

[collier]

((((((AM))))))) It is ok. You are benefiting from modern medicine. She is too. Please remember that you don't need to suffer and you are doing all you can do for her. ((((((hugs)))))))

Best,

[collier]

(((A))) Breastfeeding is the ideal choice... BUT, it's NOt the only acceptable choice. Formula is an acceptable substitution when breastmilk just isn't practical or possible. Your baby will continue to grow and thrive on it. you won't be less bonded. You already transferred those early colostrum immunities, you already had the important early bonding... I am not saying to give up on BFing, but seriously chica- don't make yourself crazy, exhausted, or sick trying to make this happen. Don't feel guilty if it just CAN'T happen. She's going to be okay without it! You don't have to BF, you don't have to pump and store.

I'm not saying this to in ANY way discourage you, but more to let you off the hook if you've reached your limit. If you still want to try, go for it- I'll cheer that on too! If you're just done though, because she's not thriving with it, because you're physically exhausted too now, well good job for doing what you have done!!

Yes! Yes! Yes! This!

[A_Marie]

(((A))) Breastfeeding is the ideal choice... BUT, it's NOt the only acceptable choice. Formula is an acceptable substitution when breastmilk just isn't practical or possible. Your baby will continue to grow and thrive on it. you won't be less bonded. You already transferred those early colostrum immunities, you already had the important early bonding... I am not saying to give up on BFing, but seriously chica- don't make yourself crazy, exhausted, or sick trying to make this happen. Don't feel guilty if it just CAN'T happen. She's going to be okay without it! You don't have to BF, you don't have to pump and store.

I'm not saying this to in ANY way discourage you, but more to let you off the hook if you've reached your limit. If you still want to try, go for it- I'll cheer that on too! If you're just done though, because she's not thriving with it, because you're physically exhausted too now, well good job for doing what you have done!!

Thanks PQ I needed that. in a big way.