i’m so sad about it 😔

my wee boy has had latching issues (which we’ve worked on and he seems to have the hang of it now) and i am coming to the conclusion that i have supply issues on top of that.

at around 3 weeks old my health visitor advised me to start giving formula top ups as baby was still 8oz away from his birth weight and had lost weight since his last weigh in. he was screaming every time he came off the breast so was quite clearly starving, plus he wasn’t doing the right kind of poo nappies (or very many of them, sometimes 2-3 days without a poo)

reluctantly, i started with the top-ups. just an ounce after each BF, but that soon needed to be 2, then 3. he gained 5oz in two days when i started, then another 6 over 4 days, taking him over his birth weight.

breastfeeding support have called and visited me, witnessed me feeding him, i’m trying fenugreek tablets. they’ve also asked me to keep a diary of what i’m managing to pump and to try for 6 sessions a day (after feeding, an hour after, morning, afternoon, once during the night if possible) as it is, i only seem to be able to pump about 10-15ml in total (from both breasts combined) at any given time, so i think i have a supply issue. don’t know if it’s just me, or if it is because i had to introduce formula so the “supply and demand” has been affected.

breastfeeding was so important to me, i feel so let down with my body, and i’m just so upset i can’t get it to work 😔😔