I'm so tired and have sore, bleeding nipples from where Jamie keeps biting on me with his tooth. I'm so tempted to give Jamie formula so I can sleep and I know I'll regret it. I really want to get him to 6 months because of all the allergies in our family and its only one more week and then he starts weaning. I know he'll still be mainly bf but I don't mind if he has formula then.

I really just need a kick up the backside to keep going. It doesn't help that hubby gave him a bottle of formula when he was 6 weeks (I had a migraine and was being sick but wasn't happy when I found out) and he went 5 hours between feeds at a time he was barely going more than an hour and slept for all that time.

Sorry really just a ramble. I know if I give in I'll regret it as I'd be doing it for my convenience and not what's best for him (and should say I don't care what other people give their children) and just needed to get it out

hun express the milk, if you in pain and its for one week, express the milk, plus will get him use to having a bottle too if thats what you want to do.

i can see why you want to get to 6 months before formula, but if you in pain express for a couple of days or at least a couple of feeds a day to give your nipples a break.

I think you need to do what rights for you and not what we tell you (although we're usually right)!!!!

If it were me I'd stop bf instantly as I hated it and made me miserable and ruined the early days with my baby! But thats just me and my opinion!

Why would god invent cow and gate if he wanted us to bf?????????????????

Do whats right for you!

What you want to hear - Woman its only a week, toughen up! You have done it for 5 months you can continue to do it! If its that painful express for a few days and give your nipples a break. Slather on lanishol (sp?) at every opportunity.

What I want to say - Dont be so hard on yourself You have done bloody fantastic exclusively BF for 5.5 months. Very few people achieve that.
Tbh I dont think it makes much difference now if you switch to formula early. He has got so much goodness and protection from what you have already given him.
Dont fret about allergies. Caitlin was BF for 8 weeks and turned out she had a friggin milk allergy so severe it was passing through my BM to her and making her ill so I had to stop. My mum BF me exclusively for 6 months and I ended up with a nut allergy and exzema. Its natural to want to to the best for our little one's but there is only so much you can do. BF is fantastic, and certainly does offer health benefits that formula doesnt BUT it isnt some magic liquid. People do get allergies/illnesses regardless. I too was upset quiting BF as OH has diabetes and knew there was a link there with prevention and BF (the MWs used this to encourage me to BF). I ended up in tears to a consultant at allergy clinic who was able to tell me that type 1 diabetes is often genetic and I could BF Caitlin for 2 years and if she was going to get it she would still get it because she has her daddys gene's. We can be so hard on ourselves sometimes.

I can 100% understand why you want to do it one more week to say you exclusively BF for 6 months. But after that, I personally would switch his feeds to formula bar waking and bedtime if you can (though a night time formula may get him sleeping longer).

You have done so well to get this far.... and in the grand scheme of things whats a week? Do what makes you happy - Jamie will be happy and healthy regardless!

i will be back to helpfully lecture you after tea

snoopy makes sense...did i say that? Oh my. (love you really snoopy). I coul tell you to pull your socks up and man up its only a week but reading that post i was thinking oh hon get some cow and gate down his neck. Even if you buy a single serve carton for one bottle for a rest and do that for a couple days just to let yourself heal. Its so close to six months a couple bottles wont harm its not gonna affec allergies and might just save your sanity! Either way i applaud you for how fantastic you have been so far. Im trying to stick to it atm and a bottle of formula at bedtime is keeping me going. Or like someone said express it x

I agree completely with Snoopy... I would say come one girl sort it out it's only a week but I don't think that or believe that.

It doesn't matter how long any child is breastfed for MW's say that just 1 feed is enough to give them our antibodies etc.

If you are in pain and unhappy then continuing to breast feed is not in Jamie's best interests. What is in his best interest is having a happy mum. He doesn't care where his milk comes from.
One formula feed before bed will help you get some more sleep an you might feel better in the morning anyway I would get some lanolin (or whatever its called over there ) on and have a little break tonight x

I wanted to get to 6 months too but I brought a bedtime bottle in before that and then managed to feed her to almost 7 months before switching to formula full time. I felt much better for it and it meant OH could put Arwyn to bed a few nights a week

Give it up girl! I applaud anyone who even tries breastfeeding, i couldnt stand the thought of it! Its only a week! x

snoopy21 wrote:

What you want to hear - Woman its only a week, toughen up! You have done it for 5 months you can continue to do it! If its that painful express for a few days and give your nipples a break. Slather on lanishol (sp?) at every opportunity

Lol that's exactly what I wanted you to say. His actually been a bit better since so perhaps his tooth has stopped playing him up (he was latching on, biting, taking a couple of sucks then screaming and giving up). We went to bed for a couple of hours between this afternoon and his been going longer between feeds since. Expressing really hurts at the moment but did remind me I had some milk frozen so defrosted some and hubby gave him a feed this evening.

I feel like I can keep going now but after everything you've said I won't feel so bad if I have to give him some formula now. I do aim to keep feeding him after that anyway but have a very love/hate (and mainly hate) relationship with it so I'm not going to beat myself up about it if I have to give up after that

Aww you poor thing - i remember how painful the biting was when bfing Have you tried nipple shields at all for when you're bfing? I know they saved me a lot of pain when i was first bfing, didn't think to try them when Milo started biting but they might help get you through another couple of weeks. Either way good luck, i hope you get a good nights sleep, get less nibbled on, and feel better soon! xx

Well doen you for getting to nearly six months, and whatever you decide, you have done brilliantly.

With regards to the tooth, yeah it hurts like hell each time they cut a tooth, but ne reassured, after a few days, they get used to the new feeling in their mouth and the biting subsides. BUT the biting for a few days kills, I know from painful experience, especially when they break the skin! Expressing does hurt a lot and can make it worse i found. I found the best thing was to just carry on but not easy (and not necessarily right) when in lots of pain.

Personally, I think adding a formula feed in to give you a break, is a good idea. And it sounds like if you are not enjoying it really then maybe it is time to hang in the towel, if you are not enjoying it and its making you tense amd in pain, its not worth it. He will be fine, whatever you decide.

Mandy xx

Natkat wrote:

Aww you poor thing - i remember how painful the biting was when bfing Have you tried nipple shields at all for when you're bfing? I know they saved me a lot of pain when i was first bfing, didn't think to try them when Milo started biting but they might help get you through another couple of weeks. Either way good luck, i hope you get a good nights sleep, get less nibbled on, and feel better soon! xx

I found shields good when first bfing but I tried when she was biting with her first teeth. DONT DO IT!!!!! It makes them bite even more!

MAndy xxx

Eeek!! I will remember that for number 2!!