Faliure to Breastfeed

Nichole - posted on 06/30/2010

My son never wanted to latch on to me. He just would lick me and it was a battle to finally get him to latch. Then my milk never kept him full, and I would run out before he was done eating. But I didn't want to give up so the nurses had me try a feeding tube next to my nipple so he got both me and the formula while sucking on me.But he was smart and find a way to simply suck on the feeding tube. So by the time he was 5 or 6 days old I gave up. I felt so guilty, so inadquet. I couldnt feed my own baby. Made me feel like a bad mom, then every time you turn around people complain or look at you cuz you formula feed...

Valarie - posted on 05/30/2010

I am a first time mother and was bound and determined to breastfeed! I made my husband buy me the best brestpump we could find, I stocked up on nursing bras, nursing pads, moisturizers the whole nine yards. I had everything I needed, and not cheap either.

The day my son was born he would not latch so my nurse gave me a breast pump and left me to figure it out on my own. I attempted to pump one breast and ending up blacking out. I had lost a lot of blood and my body was stressed! I attempted twice more to pump and the colostrum would only amount to drips at the bottom of the bottle.

When we came home I tried everyday at least 3 times a day to pump and never got more than 1/2-1 oz at a time.And my son still would not latch. After two weeks I decided to go back to my OB and speak to one of the nurses. She helped me to get my son to latch and I was thrilled! I was sure my milk would "drop" now, I was wrong. After 3 1/2 weeks of trying, crying, stressing, and mass amounts of frustration I gave up and put the pump away.

I felt like I was the WORST mother ever in life. My son is now 6 months and he is very healthy and developing just fine. I was terrified that my son was going to be below average in all aspects because I couldnt give him what I should have been able to. To make matters worse, a friend of mine had a baby around the time that I decided to stop trying. She was able to breastfeed but after two weeks decided that she didnt like the way it felt so she was going to stop. I was so jealous that she was able to provide for her child what I couldnt for mine and almost resented her being, what I considered, selfish.

I agree that there was nowhere to get support. I felt so alone and so horrible. I wish I had found you ladies sooner!

Heather - posted on 04/21/2010

I was able to squirt my boyfriend with milk when I was 7 months pregnant, my daughter was nursing within 15 minutes of birth.

However at 2 weeks old she had not gained even half of what she should and was lethargic. I was so sleep deprived I was hallucinating and exhibiting other signs of psychosis. My boyfriend was doing every thing he could to help me, but he had to work and there was no way to have people stay with me 24hrs a day.

I went to see a breast feeding consultant, who asked me 3 times if I had had a breast reduction. All 3 times i answered "no".

She then told me to rent a breast pump and explained the procedure of sterilizing and the pumping schedule. I asked "so when do I pee?" her answer was "your husband has to help you". .....help me pee?? The consultant could not figure out what was wrong, latch was fine, my supply was fine, but still my daughter was not getting what she needed. When I left there, I realized that I had not kissed my little girl in a week, because I was so stressed out.

I felt guilty, stressed and ashamed. I made the decision to put my daughter on formula.

I didn't find much support, though our pediatrician was supportive.

In 4 days of being on formula, my daughter gained almost a pound and I was finally not resentful of her for wanting to eat.

I don't regret my decision to put her on formula one bit, though I have been made fun of and criticized for it.

I know I did the right thing for my family.