Hello ladies -

My daughter was born 3 weeks early and had a had time latching, so we had to use a nipple shield. We have tried weaning her off of it, but have been unsuccessful so we are continuing to use it. The issue we are having is just the mental load of her feedings. More and more they are becoming a fight with her to latch and then to eat consistently without long periods of comfort suckling. They last 45+ minutes of inconsistent feeding sucks and comfort sucks, then she rests for a short time and we start the process all over again. This has been going on since she was born (she is 5 weeks now).

She is growing and having the right number of diapers, so I know we are successful with her feedings, but honestly I’m at a breaking point mentally. It’s so taxing fighting with her to feed, and then having to repeat the process so often.

We have seen lactation consultants several times...positions used are always good, latch is strong once she gets there, she just seems to be a fussy eater.

I am going back to work in 2 weeks so she will be getting a bottle (breast milk) most of the day, and I am considering switching to exclusively pumping and bottle feeding her moving forward. I feel incredibly selfish for this thought, because it has more to do with my mental health than anything.

I am looking for advice from those moms who have switched to exclusively pumping. How did you know it was the right time? What helped make the decision for you?

P.S. Please no shame on this - I tried asking for guidance on this subject here before and was met with lots of pressure to continue exclusively breastfeeding and shame for considering switching to pumping.