Am I damaging my child?

Question

It’s currently 6 am and she’s been crying since 1 am.  FIVE HOURS.  Soon as she comes off the boob she’s crying and screaming.  My boobs are completely finished.  Drained and pained.  My sanity is gone.  I am giving myself a 10 minute break from her in the living room.  I can still hear her screaming.  Will she have neglect issues from this?  I absolutely HATE breastfeeding.  Why does the thought of fulfilling my child’s most basic need have to bring so much anxiety and stress?  I hate this.

Answer

No you arent damaging your child, she will be okay. Can you get someone to come over and take over for bit? It's always better to set baby down and calm down... alot of times baby will calm down too.. I dont know your feelings on this but if you have to maybe give her to someone else and let them give her a bottle. I had to do this the other night with my husband, baby ate and fell asleep for 3 hours and we picked up on breastfeeding at the next feeding no problem. 
I find if my baby is too tired she wont latch and gets frustrated and wont settle. 
Remember it is okay to not breastfeed, fed is best. All baby needs is a happy mom and if breastfeeding is effecting your mental health then it's not worth it. I quit with my first due to anxiety and she is perfectly healthy 2 year old now. No matter what you do, you are awesome! 
Good luck mama

Answer

If you hate breastfeeding then why are you doing it? Switch to formula and enjoy more sanity and time with your baby.

Answer

It’s better for you to step away. Taking care of yourself needs to be a priority. 
Just put baby down in a safe spot and have your break away from the baby.

Answer

I'm a new mom and I don't have an answer, but she shouldn't need to be on your breasts that long and your breasts aren't designed to be latched on for that long. Maybe she needed something else but she just doesn't know how to tell you. Is she getting enough milk from you? I don't produce enough milk and we started using formula about two weeks ago. It was really hard for me to accept that at first, but I had to remind myself that I've tried my best and it's okay not to have enough milk. As long as I'm feeding him and he's growing. Not sure if this was helpful but just wanted to share that it's okay not to offer your breasts. Just keep trying to figure out what she needs. You got this!

Answer

Someone commented this video on utube and it works for me. search colicky baby sleeps, put it loud, so she can here over cry. You got this! Hopefully when shes done cluster feeding she will sleep for 5 hours. This has been the hardest part for me, feeling like theres no milk left and LO still wants the boob. I end up throwing diapers at the wall🙈

Answer

Maybe shes goimg through a growth spurt. Im sorry i dont know what your LO could be needing other than Maybe ur little one is just comfort nursing & using u as a pacifier. Have u tried a pacifier? My LO wont take one but i give him the side of my finger to suck on & hes fine with that instead of the boob for a little while so that my boobs get a break. 
Mine cried a lot when he had trapped gas. On a few occassions we had to resort to gripe water because burping, sitting upright, bicycle kicks just did mot work. 
Recently my 5 week old is tired in the mornings & should go back to sleep but instead fights the sleepiness & is a bit fussy until he finally gives in & falls asleep...at the boob.

Answer

Does your hospital offer a breastfeeding support group or other assistance? Mine does (for free) where you bring your baby and feed her in front of the lactation consultant after she is weighed. Once you are finished they will weigh her again to see how much milk she took in. Another thought is you can always pump instead of feed directly from the breast...I received a pump paid for by insurance. Good luck!

Answer

You’re not a bad mom. Do what’s best for the both of you. You’re not going to damage your child for taking a break. And it’s also okay if you switch to formula. I feed my son formula. He is healthy, thriving, and he takes to a pacifier for soothing without issues. He sleeps like an angel and he’s happy. Totally different baby than the baby I was trying to breastfeed. When I was trying to breastfeed, we were both miserable. I wasn’t producing and even if I would’ve, I mentally couldn’t have handled it because of my anxiety. Kudos to moms who can, but I wasn’t one of them and it’s okay if you’re not either.

Answer

Baby will be fine. She needs a mom who's in her right mind, and if you're feeling overwhelmed, putting her down somewhere safe, setting a 10 minute timer, leaving the room, even pop in headphones or earplugs so you can't hear her, is a great and important thing to do. 
Better yet, grab yourself a snack and a big glass of water and revitalize yourself a little bit. You're doing baby no favors by stretching yourself too thin. 
Next step, a pacifier if she'll take it and a bouncing on exercise ball is a great way to soothe a fussy baby. 
I got a set of AirPods when my first was born. Being able to put in headphones with no cords to get stuck on your baby is amazing when you just need to tune out your whiny child for a little bit. Enjoy that little luxury while you can too, toddlers are much more difficult to ignore, I'm currently learning 🤦🏻‍♀️ grab yourself some wireless headphones.

Answer

You’re not damaging your child at all. If anything you’re doing the right thing. Things can turn out a lot worse if you get way too overwhelmed and frustrated. Walking away to calm yourself and recoup isn’t wrong at all as long as you’re putting them in a safe place. I did it with my son and I’ve done it recently with our daughter. She’s super colicky so for 3 hours every morning and 3 every night she just cries. All I can do sometimes is put her in her bassinet in our room, shut the door, and do something to take my mind off it. The other day I went to the kitchen and did the dishes and so about 10/15 minutes later I went in and got her. She got her “anger” out haha and I was much more relaxed.

Am I damaging my child?

Let’s Glow

Glow is here for you on your path to pregnancy

25+ million

4.8 stars

20+

Getting Pregnant

Pregnancy

1st Year (Baby & You)

Baby Products