Babies: 0 - 3 Months

EP blues

My lo will not for the life of me breast feed. I have talked to repeated lactation consultants, tried droppers, dr browns, feeding an ounce then bfing... Pretty much whatever. He gets frustrated every time and screams and screams. When he does latch it's good, but then he pulls off repeatedly. So I've been EPing. This is wearing on my nerves. Every time I go to the dr i leave crying because they make me feel like I'm a giant loser. They keep asking me when I'm going to get him on my breast like I am just neglecting him. It's almost like in their eyes EPing is worse than formula. He was jaundiced and we supplemented with formula at first. It takes almost 2 hours to feed him every time between pumping and him actually eating. Now they've put him on Zantac because they are saying he probably has acid issues so this will help to get him back to the breast. My DH has been off for the last two weeks so I've been getting a break, but now he's going back to work and I feel like I'm going to go insane. My DH only wants me to BF. he keeps talking about how much money formula is and how if I don't give breast milk then the baby isn't getting immunities. I don't really want to go to formula but my boobs ache and I haven't slept in years. I just am not sure how I can EP and meet the needs of my lo during the day without help. Anyone else?

Re: EP blues

  • I wish i could give you advice, but i feel like i wrote your post myself
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  • This may not be the answer you are looking for but here it is. Count yourself lucky that you can pump and get milk. We are EFF not by choice and it's been a sore subject between DH and I. Your LO is still getting BM, it's just in a different way. They are
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  • There is a lot of pressure put on us to "Exclusively Breastfeed".  Sometimes it just doesn't work.  DS wouldn't latch, he would just scream and scream and scream.  I started pumping but we had to initially supplement with formula because

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  • Formula isn't failure. Pumping isn't failure.

    Not feeding your baby is failure.

    If you're feeling down, step back. Take a break. We are formula feeding because of similar frustrations. You have to do what works for you and what
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  • I don't have much to add but could have wrote your post two weeks ago.  I just now can tell my horrific breastfeeding story without crying.  My baby is now formula only, and it is better for both of us because breastfeeding was a nightmare fo

  • imagesmfdjo:
    I gave up, I don't know if that makes me a bad mother, but my baby is now eating and that is what is important to me.nbsp;
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  • It could be that when you LO pulls off it's because the flow is too fast.  You could try feeding after pumping a while.  Also, you might find that a nipple shield helps--it was a good stepping stone for us and we only needed it a couple days.

  • We exclusively pump as well. My lo did the same thing. She was not patient at all and just screamed. Itd take so long to calm her down Abd then feed her.

    I had no idea how people would react to my pumping only. My mom, a public health nurse a
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  • I can totally relate to your situation. I now EP due to issues early on.  It is not easy and I hate it but i want her to have my milk so I do it. I haven't had to supplement yet and she's 10 weeks so I'm happy. I will do this for as long as I can and
  • It makes me sad that women are made to feel like bad mothers for doing anything other than exclusively breast feeding. I am BF'ing, but I could never EP. It would drive me nuts.
    I love the PP's use of EF! As long as you are feeding your baby, you ar
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  • imagekimmlet:

    If I don't have to go back to the hospital because he's not thriving then I'm succeeding.

    Don't stress about wh

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  • imagemarkhamgurl:

    I think I want to print out your reply and post it up on my fridge.  I'm struggling terribly with B

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  • I EPed with my first and keep going back and forth witht the decision to do it again with DS.  Right now he is mostly BF, with DH giving him his late night feeding in a bottle, and he also gets a bottle when we are out.  I just find pumping easi
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  • I EPed for ds for 14 months. He needed the BM due to an early birth but couldn't latch. He also had wicked reflux. I knew I was going back to work, plus I liked knowing how much he was eating, so EPing it was. I did try for a while to get him to latch whe
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  • I know how you feel. I was made to feel like a failure by family members and numerous LCs when I was trying to figure out why my nips were constantly in horrific, pull my down to my knees screaming pain every time he latched and it never went away. I h

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  • Maybe consider switching pediatricians?  Sounds like you're not getting the support you need.  EPing is a hard job and sounds like you're doing it well.  Just hang in there and keep going at it.  Maybe one day he'll latch for you an

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  • Thanks everyone for your kind words. I'm glad to know that I am not alone. It's just so upsetting when you are there. I think at this point I need to take the day by day approach and just say today my baby had breast milk and that is good. And then if it
  • I EPed for the first 4 weeks because in the hospital and for the first couple of days at home DS wouldn't latch and would just start screaming when I tried to BF. When he was 4 weeks I randomly tried again and he latched perfectly and has been doing great
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