my baby's lost weight and I know she's not getting enough. she tugs and yanks and pulls and paws at me and its heartbreaking.

it's been a really emotional day.

I'm supplementing and my own supply is running out so OH's going out to buy some formula.

what's the bet way to supplement without it being the end of the road for me?

Aww hun, don't know what to say other than .

lost weight since when?

I would definately continue breastfeeding in the night. That's when I have most milk.

I noticed that the least milk I have is about 7pm, so maybe if your LO has milk at that time to suppliment with formula after a feed?


Good luck

If you want to keep breastfeeding, then keep doing it.


It's only the end of the road when you decide it is.

If you supplement, you can still go back to EBF. That's not to say it will be easy, but it will be possible. You already know how to encourage your supply and let down, so just use that to offset any further dent in your supply when supplementing.

To avoid nipple confusion or issues with LO being "lazy" at the breast, I recommend feeding from a cup when you aren't feeding from the breast.

Remember that every feed she gets from your breast is a GOOD THING.

I am assuming you and she have both been checked for any underlying health issues that may be causing a problem.

I don't feel I have time to check for health issues and I don't want to live day in day out in stress and having the two people I'm closest to (mum and OH) getting really stressed too.

She screams if you try and feed her from a cup or a pipette and that's what I'm worried about. the nipple confusion thing is the most worrying for me.

I feel so SO unhappy. I've been crying non stop for hours. I've failed

you haven't failed!! you've done great.

You have not failed you've given her a fantastic start and now she's lost weight you're continuing to be the great mum that you are and helping her out with that little bit extra...it doesn't have to mean the end of breastfeeding.

The issue with supplementing is that you might need to do it because you have low supply but then of course, because you're supplementing, LO is getting a formula feed and your body doesn't know it needs to produce milk. So if you can express (even if it's just a little) after feeding LO with formula, that will help your supply to keep up with what she needs. Also if you stick to breast only overnight then that should help because your prolactin levels are higher during the night so feeds or expressing during the night is 'worth extra' if you get me?

Nipple/teat confusion doesn't have to be an issue...imho a total refusal to take a bottle/cup is way more common than true confusion (when a baby has breastfed fine but after introduction of a bottle can no longer latch or refuses to go on the breast) And so many mums who are breastfeeding have their LO's take the occasional bottle of EBM or give their LO's a soother and manage to continue breastfeeding without any problems. I'm not saying it isn't an issue for some people, because it definitely can be, i'm just saying please don't stress too much about it (easier said than done i know)

You haven't failed though- you're just dealing with the situation you find yourself in.

Big hugs. Hopefully your LO will start gaining weight again and then you can gradually decrease the amount of formula and go back to exclusive breastfeeding, or even if that isn't possible, some people manage to succesfully combination feed.

Good luck!

It is possible to do both, my baby has two bottles a day and breastfeeds the rest of the time. He doesn't seem to mind where the milk comes from and i just express as much as i can to try and keep my supply from dwindling.
I know how you feel, I felt awful the first time i had to give Dylan formula, like I was rubbish at breastfeeding etc etc. Ideally I'd like to exclusively breastfeed but i'm doing my best as are you.
You are NOT a failure

Hi Redpoppy,

I am going through a similar thing. My little one won't latch on and thrashes around when I try to use the nipple shields. I am trying to express every few hours but I can barely manage 1/2 an ounce every time I express today.

I just wanted to let you know that there are other people going through a similar thing