Reply to Wean to formula, keep nursing, or something in the middle (exclusively pump, combo feed)?

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[quote=Anonymous]Breastfeeding my five month old is a slog. Not sure if it’s worth it anymore.

We had a little trouble getting started (she was a lazy nurser, had to triple feed and supplement for 10 days until she got on track) but she’s been EBF since she was about a month old. But it’s a struggle. We went right from trying to keep her awake for a full feeding to trying to keep her engaged for a full feeding. She’ll nurse for minute or two, then pop off to smile and coo and watch whatever’s going on. Then it’s a struggle to get her back to eating. This isn’t a recent problem - it’s been tough to keep her engaged since she was probably 10-12 weeks old, and it’s just gotten worse over time. She has a huge bottle preference (she gets pumped milk while I’m at work) despite us using the newborn nipples and doing paced feedings. She honestly I think just likes being upright and watching the world.

It’s so hard to get her to nurse that if she goes a few days without any bottles (she always takes a full 6 oz from a bottle) she’ll start waking hungry in the night (she’s been STTN since about 12 weeks). So I make sure to give her at least a bottle every other day or so. Which means even on weekends or vacations, I’m doing some pumping. And I’m constantly having to step away to a quiet room to get her to eat more, missing out on family time and time with my toddler, and making it hard for me to watch both kids.

She’s my second. My first (though a tougher baby in lots of other respects) never had any issues nursing. I weaned him at six months for fertility reasons, and I was sad to do it - nursing him was so much easier than carting around bottles and a warmer and everything. I was really looking forward to nursing this baby for a full year, but at this point, it’s not enjoyable, just stressful.

Plus, my supply isn’t fabulous. I always have just barely enough, so I’m having to do lots of pumping to get her what she needs. So that’s stressful too.

I think if this was a few years ago, I would just wean. Fed is beat, I generally think the benefits of breast milk are overstated. But - COVID. I’m vaxxed and boosted, she’s obviously not. Though I did get vaccinated when I was pregnant. But I’d love to be giving her antibodies if she gets COVID. Plus, other illnesses. With a toddler around, we go through a lot of colds, HFM, assorted other things. The immune benefits to breast milk are real.

I could try combo feeding, but I suspect with my mediocre supply, if I slowed down my pumping and started adding formula, my supply would drop off really quickly. So I predict an attempt at combo feeding would really just be a slightly slower wean. Maybe I’m wrong about that though?

I’m also considering moving to exclusively pumping. If I were to do that, I’d get a willow pump so the endless pumping wouldn’t interrupt my day so much. That actually sounds a lot more pleasant than what I’m doing now. Maybe keep nursing first thing in the morning and the dream feed (the easiest feeds right now cause she’s sleepy).

Added wrinkle:I’ve had a really awful case of PPD that’s just starting to get better. I didn’t have that with my first, but when I weaned him (slowly as recommended) it really messed with my emotions and mental health for a few weeks. Since my mental health isn’t solid already, I’d be nervous about making it even worse. Plus formula is sp expensive.

Sorry for the length - lots of confounding factors. What would you do?[/quote]

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