My first baby was exclusively breastfed. No trouble latching except I needed a nipple shield on one side for a bit. My mental health suffered from PPD and a “boob or bust” mentality, so this time I wanted to be open minded and do combo feeding.

Well, baby 2 refuses to latch. I sat there for an hour after he was born trying to get him to even try. Lactation consultations said I’m doing everything right with positioning and stuff, it’s the baby who doesn’t want to. He will only take bottles. He won’t even take a pacifier, just bottles.

So I tried pumping. I hated pumping so bad last time but I wanted baby 2 to get a little breast milk. Same problem as last time - barely anything comes out. I was getting 2 oz each breast the first week, 1 oz each breast earlier this week, and now it’s dwindled to a half ounce. I was giving him 4 breast milk bottles a day and the rest formula and now it’s almost all formula. I’m sure it’s gonna dry up. I’m so busy taking care of the new baby and toddler that I don’t think I pumped enough.

Total fail. I feel bad about it, even though my mental health is a lot better this time around. I just feel like I maybe didn’t give it my best, my baby deserves more. It’s bad enough he has to be in the swing all the time while I do stuff for my toddler. Anyone else having a similar time feeding?