[erinellakal]

I am totally on the fence about the next step of feeding kalen.

Right now I am pumping 4 times a day and bottle feeding him breast milk and formula to supplement. He is a really big eater so I really and truthfully cannot keep up with his feedings. When I decided to pump and supplement I was going on the 6th day of him nursing every hour and a half ! He is just a big, chubby ravenous baby boy!
I pump about 6 oz at a time. He is now drinking 6 oz every 2-3 hours, except at night, he goes 5-6 hours. So he gets usually 3 or 4 formula bottles a day, I alternate every other.

Part of me wants to stop pumping all together and just formula feed him. Part of me wants to try nursing him exlusively again. Part of me wants to keep doing what i am doing now.

I go back and forth and back a forth. Each option has its pros and cons. DH said he doesn't care as long as I am WIC if i decide to formula feed.
If I got back to nursing it is going to take some work to get my supply back to normal, its used to being "drained" at 7am, 12pm, 5pm and 10pm.
He is just over 10 weeks and this is way farther than i got with either of my DDs. So i feel pretty good about how far we've gotten with breastfeeding/pumping.

AAHHHHH!!!!!

I am soooooo undecided!!!!!

Give me your thoughts and opinions PLEASE!!!

[angelic_ky]

how old was he when he was wanting every 30 mins? cos that may have been a growth spurt... when Gabby hit 7 weeks she wanted to be feed about every 15min to half hour and she did that for a week

[s4ssyc4tw3ndy]

My DS did the same thing hun...he would eat for about an hour every 2 hours and it was so overwhelming. I started to supplement to. But pumping like I was I did some damage by decreasing my supply and now I can't have a letdown unless he is latched on so I can't even pump. I do supplement him but I always feed from the breat first then if he is still unsatisfied I give him formula that way he gets my milk first. He will slow down. Mine now only eats for about 10-15 minutes and then he is done. He is 4 months old now. Good Luck Hun..

[erinellakal]

He was just shy of 9 weeks when he was eating like a maniac!

Its just very overwhelming to have to sit and nurse so much when i have my own 2 older kids plus the 2 boys i sit for and on wednesdays I have a 7 month old. I don't know how Val or anyone else with more than one other child does it, especially when they hit growth spurts. It just doesn't work for me! AND how do you get anything else done?
I really don't want to go all formula, i have the milk i might as well use it. But i guess I am just feeling selfish for not wanting to put the time and dedication into it anymore.....it sounds bad, but i am over it! But I still want to give him the best that I can......as you can tell I still have no idea what i want to do.

[erinellakal]

I feel like a bad mom for just quitting, like i said i have the milk i should use it for his advantage...and mine. I know what i should do, but i don't know if i want to do what I SHOULD do........... i feel like no decision will make me completly satisfied with it.......i have more thinking to do. I don't want to regret anything

[s4ssyc4tw3ndy]

Awww hun I know I had a hard time with feeding Sam bc of the demanding teens around here. Always on the go and made it hard. I didn't have to deal with younger ones though so I really feel for you there.I couldn't imagine...my DS is so attatched that if I get out of his sight he screams bloody murder.
Won't sleep unless I lay down with him and poor DH tries so hard but DS just won't let him. He loves to breastfeed but my supply is lower than what his demand is so I feel like a bad mom for that...but I am looking at some posts for so tips..
Hang in there I know its so stressful that you want to quit, I thought about it myself. The most important thing is that you are mentally healthy for the baby. Stress does alot of damage. Big Hugs!!!

[twinzplus3]

I don't get anything else done but I also wouldn't consider pumping. It's too hard. I'm too lazy. I would rather feed every hour on the hour than pump. . .bc I know it's just that much harder.

So if I were in your shoes, I would stop pumping and either formula feed or just breastfeed. That would make your life much easier. As far as not wanting to regret anything. . .I wouldn't look at it like that. There are things that I wished I've done, or want to do, or didn't do. . .but I do the best I can and I'm content to do so. The bottom line hon is that using formula will not make or break you as a mother. (And of course so no one dies of shock. . .I think if you can. . .you should keep giving as much breast milk as you feel like you can.)

[twinzplus3]

Originally Posted by s4ssyc4tw3ndy

my supply is lower than what his demand is so I feel like a bad mom for that...but I am looking at some posts for so tips!!!

This probably isn't true. . .if you start another thread there are lots of people here who can help.

[angelic_ky]

i don't get things done either; i just have Gabby as first priority, me as second (meaning if i need a break/rest when Gabby is sleeping then i will take it) and the house is third, my DH understand if i don't get any house work done and he will usually work something out for dinner... don't know how i would do it if i had older kids tho

[twinzplus3]

You know. . .you do it the same way. When the twins were newborns, taking care of them came first, homeschooling second, myself third and the house last. Like yours, dh does dinner and/or housework or whatever else is needed.

The thing is you have to feed and take care of the baby. It's not necessarily easier doing it with bottles (then you have dishes, and if you're pumping you have to mess with that) so I figure bfing is doing what I'd have to do anyways. It gets easier.