Rhys is feeding every 2 hours approx for about 10-15 mins each time most of the time and he seems happy enough but at night he only feeds for about 5 mins at a time every hour and I am getting to the point where I am tempted to give him a bottle but don't really want too! Just need some reassurance and advice that I am doing the right things with him! He will be 4 weeks old on Thursday and tuesday just gone was his due date! He had regained his birth weight by two weeks old and is gaining when he was weighed last! He has also decided he likes my left boob better than my right and messes about with the right for a good 2 or 3 mins before he latches on but on the left he latches on straight away!
Sorry for the waffling think it's tiredness talking! Thank you for reading and any advice you can give too!

Xx

hey! you are doing great to have nearly finished your first month

breastfeeding was a lot more stressful/painful/tiring than i expected or was lead to believe - i can absolutely sympathise with you about how worn out you must be, i remember vividly elijah being up every 2 hours and i honestly thought that i was going to either a) actually die or b) go completely insane, but neither happened and remember it really really will get better.

his tummy is very small just now so he cant eat lots and hold it so little and often is really common - i personally think that having a preference is pretty common too, elijah has always preferred lefty to righty , i wonder if its something to do with me holding him differently in a different arm..hm

elijah got thrush in his mouth at 2 weeks which went on for 2 months, affecting his latch and causing me pain, so i decided to give him 1 bottle a day (daddy gave it to him) and it really helped me - having 4 hours off in the evening meant i got a bit of sleep and managed a shower/poor nipples had a rest - i think it is the thing that actually enabled me to carry on breastfeeding. mixed feeding isnt for everyone but it helped me keep going and after 4 months we went back to exclusive breastfeeding...i think if i hadnt made that compromise (it was a compromise to me) i would have given up all together.

im so happy that we managed to carry on - pain free, cost free closeness which no horrible inlaws can steal! haha you are doing your absolute best for your baby, but remember to do what is best for you too...the sleep loss is an absolute nightmare, but please remember that it gets better, and soon you will have a little boy who can sit up, and laugh and will definitely sleep longer - he is growing well and you are doing brilliantly

You are doing absolutely great hun. You are a month into it already.

I can totally appreciate the tiredness. There is nothing worse than being so tired and not sleeping.

I can't offer much advice on the bf as I only managed it for the first 24 hours as the hospital kept telling me Lily was hungry and she ended up being attached to me from 11.30pm to 5.20 am and my (.)(.)'s ended up sore and chapped, so I gave in and moved to the bottle instead.

I do regret not trying to do any longer though.

Maybe try what Mari says and maybe give one bottle a day at bed time to give you a little break x

Thank you ladies!

Mari, did giving a bottle cause any confusion about latching on? And did you express for the bottle or use formula?

Laura, 24 hours is better than I did with Aron and I am surprised i have managed to bf Rhys at all! I was lucky in hospital as they happened to have some bf counsellors there and they spent a couple of hours with me helping to get him interested etc!

I tried feeding laying down last night and although I don't actually know how long he fed for, I did get some sleep! I know it's naughty but I used to do it with Jake!

The other problem I have with Rhys is he won't settle in his Moses basket!! So he is permenatly attached to someone! He isnt fussy as to who, most of the time! Sometimes only mummy will do though!

Xx

You are doing brilliantly hun, it will get better. I rem the 2hr feedings with both my boys. I introduced a bottle aftef 2 weeks just one a day at the 10.30pm feed and both of mine had no trouble switching between the 2. Xx

Hi Hun i was exactly the same. I resorted to giving Mia a bottle for her last feed. She'd take about 3 or 4 oz and it gave me about 3 or 4 hours sleep so i was ok with waking every hour or two after that. Maybe you should try it too? They don't get confused when it comes to latching on. By 7 weeks i was in floods of tears as she fed constantly and i was getting no sleep. Had to put her on hungry baby milk after that.

You're doing great though. It's really hard when they don't feed for long and it's frequent. Do what's best for you too not just bubba. A happy mummy makes a happy baby (and it's not just a cliche). Well done mummy

Dee
x

I did give Jake a bottle last thing at night but he was about 3 months by then, and he coped with swopping but Rhys is so much younger and it worries me he won't cope! I really want to carry on bfing as in the most part as I am really enjoying it! The little piglet has just fed for 20 mins and is sparko on me now!!

Xx

If you want to keep going with what you're doing it's entirely up to you hun. I'm sure the wee dude will be ok with one bottle if you choose to give it to him. I had to do this for my sanity. It also helped me get a little sleep. Good luck with whatever you choose x

hey i didnt express at the time because we had thrush so it was really painful to feed (and you have to throw any unused milk away!), so first we used aptimil but that stopped him pooing and then we went to hipp organic which was great....we just used the ready made cartons because we were both so knackered i wanted to sleep not express or learn how to mix formula!

we didnt have any problems with elijah - his latch was a bit off cos of the infection but since then he has been fine, even now he will take a bottle with no problems which is good to know (if i dont feel confident feeding in public, i always have a bottle, but as yet have never used it )

for me the risk of confusing elijah outweighed the advantage of having a few hours to get myself together - luckily for us he was completely fine latch-wise. i wanted to wait until he was older before introducing the bottle but at least now he will take it fine and latches on well

and as for sleeping with the baby..hm well i was never ever going to do that either (haha ) but i still wake up with elijah propped up with pillows in my arms and my boob out - attractive! but if its the only way you can sleep, and you feel safe...do it

We call the sleeping on mummy a "mummy wallee" a throwback from Jake when was old enough to give it a name! The boys still call it that and Aron is dead chuffed I am not pregnant anymore and he can have them again!
Am going to use cow and gate as that's what I used with the boys and Rhys had a couple of cup feeds in hospital and seemed ok with it then! I am going to try him on a bottle tonight and see how it goes! We have had a really quiet and sleepy day today so if it's a nightmare then I have more energy to cope with problems tonight!! Fingers crossed he doesn't get confuddled!!
Thank you again for all your advice and encouragement ladies! You are all stars!!

Xx

Forgot to say about feeding while out that I don't have a problem with it! I got used to it with Jake and as Rhys is quite good then I can stick him up my jumper and he gets on with it! But I still find it a little nerve wracking sometimes and worry people will say something!

Xx

you are doing fab!

i feed Edith during the night and we lie down to feed, she usually ends up spendig the rest of the night in with us then tho as she only ever goes 2 hours max after BF. i do know tho that she doesnt take nearly as much during the night, even from a bottle.

I have been mixed feeding her from about 3/4 weeks, i BF through the night and up to about 2pm and then bottles til last feed, just for my sanity mainly as she was permanently attached to me between 5 and bed time.

she hasnt had any nipple confusion, good luck lovely, you are doing a fab job!

From everyones experiences it sounds like we should be ok with the bottles too then! Just going to do the one bottle first I think! So will let you all know how it goes later!!
Xx

i feel for you, its so stressful and lack of sleep is a killer, ava fed like that until 16 weeks, she has always favoured my right to left, now i'm weaning her off i only use the one. we introduced a bottle at a month old and i expressed, she wouldn't take it off me at first (think she was distracted by my milk) OH fed her and I never had a problem with nipple confusion.

it sounds like you're doing great though , i don't know how people cope when they have other kiddies too, well done you x

Pinky it's not too bad as my other two are that much older so understand why Rhys is attached to me a lot of the time!

First bottle went down well at 10.30pm but has been coming back up since! My not sicky boy has been rather sicky!! I gave him his bottle and he took it well, he had about 3oz the piggy! He didn't sleep for any longer though after and he had no problems latching on after! I have 2 more cartons of milk so will try him with those for the next 2 nights and see how we go! OH is going to do tonights feed and I am going to go to bed after rhys' last booby feed and sleep for more than 2 hours together! Just stressing a little about it as its OH's first time feeding a baby! And I am not 100% comfortable about not actually being sat there to watch him!

Xx

haha! thats fantastic that he took to it (3oz!!! haha), i remember being told elijah would sleep longer when he had a bottle but, alas, for us that wasnt true - it just gave me a break. depending on how tired you are you could still sit and watch your oh, but if i remember rightly by that point i just wanted to close my eyes im sure he will get the hang of it really quickly, there isnt much to get wrong really except being puked all over and there aint much you can do about that

I am totally paranoid when it comes to leaving Rhys without me! Think it's a throwback from Aron being so poorly as a baby!

Not sure if we are going to do a bottle tonight as Rhys has been very sicky today and I am not sure if it's the bottle or cause he has a cold! Although I could try and express some for OH to give him!

Xx

yeah expressing is probably a happy medium - it might be the type of formula or something? or just cause he is poorly (aww ) i havent been away from elijah for more than 2 1/2 hours even now haha my hubby thinks im obsessed (well hes my baby!). i will admit that i found it hard to relax when eli was very small in case he needed to be fed etc but i got to a point of tiredness where i just couldnt keep going!

sounds like you are doing great though, and your post sounds more optimistic than the first couple! thats got to be progress

I am feeling worse atm but think I am just having one of those days! I am totally knackered today and still annoyed at OH from yesterday (as per post in lounge!!) he's not said sorry yet!

He was fine with cow and gate in hospital when he had the cup feeds but then again it could be the amount he had rather than the type! When he was sick this afternoon it was quite yellow and looked snotty! Sorry TMI there! So think it could be his cold, he isn't really bunged up at all but is a little snuffley so not sure whats going on!

The longest I have left Rhys is about 10 mins to go and drop the boys at school! I even find it hard to sleep upstairs when OH has Rhys downstairs! It's not that I don't trust him, I just worry about my boy! I am overprotective I think cause I stress about Jake and Aron going to their dads, still! And the only person they get left with is my mum, they haven't stopped alone with OH yet for more than an hour or so!

Xx

OMG I just expressed 3oz! Can't believe it as per my post in lounge!!

Xx