This is long but I'm hoping that I can give insight to anyone dealing with anything similar. As a disclaimer, I have nothing against formula feeding. Breast feeding is what I had planned for all throughout my pregnancy so that's what all my knowledge and research went to. I also had already invested in products for breast feeding. I still supplement my LO with formula as instructed per his pediatrician.

I didn't get to give my son his first feeding when he was born due to us both having high temps after delivery. But we started nursing with his next feeding. He wasn't a natural latcher but he caught on pretty quickly. Because of the pain, I was alternating between breastfeeding and bottle feeding breast milk with my Medela bottles. I also pumped because no matter how long my LO fed off each breast, he still showed hunger signs. By the time my babe was a week old, I was producing 10 oz of milk in one 15 minute pump session. Since I was easily stocking up,increasingly sore from nursing, and just overall tired, I got a bit lazy about emptying my breasts at a decent schedule and ended up with mastitis. After 4 days of immense pain and a fever of 104 (and my husband finally accepting that something was indeed wrong with me) I got checked out and started antibiotics. By the time I was back to good health and feeling better, my breast milk reserves were gone and I had started giving my son formula. At this point when I pumped I only produced 1 oz from each breast, which was drastically lower than what I was producing just a week before. This caused me to become depressed and I figured breastfeeding was no longer an option. Trying to latch my baby on was a fail because he had gotten so used to the Medela bottles, he didn't want to work for his meal anymore. So I finally came to terms with formula feeding and I realized I needed more bottles. I chose to go with Avent Natural bottles because of the fact that they're supposed to be best for babies who alternate between breast and bottle . After a few days of feeding him with his new bottles, I was feeling brave and decided to try to latch him on. He latched in less than 5 tries and I was so happy! I truly think those bottles are what saved us. Now we are back to breast feeding, my nipples have toughened up, and my milk production is slowly increasing. It gets better and it gets easier :)