The Breast Feeding Support Thread

holding

yellow hen wrote: »

I need some advice. For a couple of reasons, I want to introduce one bottle of formula a day to my exclusively breastfed baby. I plan on doing it as last feed before bedtime. My problem is though, I can't know how to manage my supply and prevent engorgement. She is currently stretching out her night feeds and I sometimes wake up bursting with an ache in my boobs. I think I have an oversupply at the best of times. How do I manage skipping a feed?

If you wanted to replace a feed with a bottle of formula, I wouldn't pick the evening cluster feed. It has so much going for it - giving the baby sleep hormones, comforting her during the crazy evening time (total witching hour, except 3 hours long IMHO), boosting your supply for the rest of the day, and also giving mama a chance/ excuse to sit on your butt and catch up on Lost (was that just me?!). If you have the choice, I'd pick another feed, such as a morning or afternoon one.

If you pump just enough so that you're comfortable while you miss a feed, you'll find that you need to pump a little less to achieve that every time, and eventually you won't need to pump at all as you'll have adjusted. You could stash the milk and use that for the swapped feed for a while too instead of the formula if you wanted.

holding

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Hi all, I have a question about transporting expressed milk. In just over two weeks, I have to travel to the other side of the country for a weekend of exams. I'll be bringing my then 3 month old and my husband with me. The exams are 4 hours long (1 each day) with about an hour getting to the exam centre and back to the hotel, so she will want at least one feed during my absence. I've been expressing milk with no problems and freezing it anyway "just in case" since she was 3 weeks old. I'm just wondering how to manage the feeding. I don't think I can bring expressed milk with me because the train journey will be six hours long, and even with an ice box, wouldn't it thaw? I'd bring the pump but it's very heavy, and I don't know if I could pump enough before the exam when I'm there. I have a manual pump too, but I find it difficult to use (so far I only used it during a five hour exam to relieve engorgement but I have problems getting any decent quantity with it).
Would my husband be able to give formula just during the exams? Are there premade bottles you can buy?(I was thinking that might be the handiest given the hotel etc)

Just going by my own experience, but I think a 3 month old would be fine without a feed for 4 hours, especially if you fed her right before and right after the exam, if hubs was there waiting with her. That's the option I'd go for initially. If it's an afternoon exam, it might coincide with her nap etc.

What kind of pump do you have? It might be worth grabbing something like a medela swing or similar (operates on batteries and is lightweight) so you can pump on train on the way there, or a couple of hours before the exam. That would last 5 hours room temperature (http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/milkstorage/) if not longer.

LegacyUser

holding wrote: »

If it were me I wouldn't worry at all about the weight numbers, and just see how her form is, whether she has wet and dirty nappies, and whether she seems dehydrated. If all of those things are fine, I wouldn't worry.
http://drjaygordon.com/newborns/scales.html

The pump is no indication at all of how much milk she is able to remove herself from the boob at each feed. Some people are never able to pump an oz, but feed their baby grand.
http://www.mother-2-mother.com/pumping.htm

If you're earnest about building the supply back up, I'd decrease the top-ups until they have gone altogether.
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/blog/simonecasey/help-%E2%80%93-i-can%E2%80%99t-stop-top-ups

Thanks Holding, great articles.

I suppose I was making the point about not being able to pump much just to say that my options are limited to either formula or the breast, because I can't express enough milk to freeze for her. To be honest, I wasn't overly worried about her weight gain given that she's ticking all the other boxes - and is ahead of herself on some of them - but when she went a fortnight with absolutely no weight change, it got me a bit concerned.

I did decrease the top ups in the last few days and my supply built back up quite quickly, which was great. But she now has bad oral thrush again and I'm on my second dose of antibiotics for it (not including those for the septic sore throat...) and I think I've had it. She also has a bad cold and is struggling to breastfeed as she can't breathe through her nose properly. It's really not the way I wanted to finish up, but I'm going to move her fully to bottles. The last 2 days, she's had a breast feed around 6pm to carry her over between a 3pm feed and bedtime at 7pm, and I might try to keep that one going - it's not a full feed, more of a snack That seems to be the most regular one at the moment.

YellowHen, I did have a bottle at bedtime for about a week (before any of my other issues started!!) and I never managed to sort the milk at night. She would feed from me about 9pm, then go til 3/4am with no feed and there was milk everywhere!! Never mind the ache, I was leaking like mad. I was told by a midwife that if I wanted to combo feed, to do that feed as a bottle from the start because it would give me a stretch of sleep, because my OH could do it. I suppose I made the mistake of not doing it from the start, and it never quite worked for me, so I ended up going back to a breastfeed then. What I did find, especially when the weather got hotter was that an afternoon feed worked well with a bottle or top up. It just seemed to be the time of day that I was at my tiredest and there was never quite enough in there. Then she could cluster feed from after dinner (around 6:30 or so) until bedtime. Maybe that could be one to try? It didn't become obvious to me until about 5/6 weeks, when she was a bit more settled though.

lazygal

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Hi all, I have a question about transporting expressed milk. In just over two weeks, I have to travel to the other side of the country for a weekend of exams. I'll be bringing my then 3 month old and my husband with me. The exams are 4 hours long (1 each day) with about an hour getting to the exam centre and back to the hotel, so she will want at least one feed during my absence. I've been expressing milk with no problems and freezing it anyway "just in case" since she was 3 weeks old. I'm just wondering how to manage the feeding. I don't think I can bring expressed milk with me because the train journey will be six hours long, and even with an ice box, wouldn't it thaw? I'd bring the pump but it's very heavy, and I don't know if I could pump enough before the exam when I'm there. I have a manual pump too, but I find it difficult to use (so far I only used it during a five hour exam to relieve engorgement but I have problems getting any decent quantity with it).
Would my husband be able to give formula just during the exams? Are there premade bottles you can buy?(I was thinking that might be the handiest given the hotel etc)

Could you not contact the exam admin and ask about their policies on feeding breaks during the exams instead of going through all that hassle?

jlm29

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Hi all, I have a question about transporting expressed milk. In just over two weeks, I have to travel to the other side of the country for a weekend of exams. I'll be bringing my then 3 month old and my husband with me. The exams are 4 hours long (1 each day) with about an hour getting to the exam centre and back to the hotel, so she will want at least one feed during my absence. I've been expressing milk with no problems and freezing it anyway "just in case" since she was 3 weeks old. I'm just wondering how to manage the feeding. I don't think I can bring expressed milk with me because the train journey will be six hours long, and even with an ice box, wouldn't it thaw? I'd bring the pump but it's very heavy, and I don't know if I could pump enough before the exam when I'm there. I have a manual pump too, but I find it difficult to use (so far I only used it during a five hour exam to relieve engorgement but I have problems getting any decent quantity with it).
Would my husband be able to give formula just during the exams? Are there premade bottles you can buy?(I was thinking that might be the handiest given the hotel etc)

Anytime I've had to transport milk, I use an avent insulated bottle bag. On a few occasions, ive put a little bag of ice cubes in there, along with a couple of bags of milk, and they wouldn't have even started thawing after several hours. If there's any ice crystals still in the milk, it's good to put back in the freezer. You would need to contact the hotel to arrange access to a freezer though.

IvyTheTerrible

holding wrote: »

Just going by my own experience, but I think a 3 month old would be fine without a feed for 4 hours, especially if you fed her right before and right after the exam, if hubs was there waiting with her. That's the option I'd go for initially. If it's an afternoon exam, it might coincide with her nap etc.

What kind of pump do you have? It might be worth grabbing something like a medela swing or similar (operates on batteries and is lightweight) so you can pump on train on the way there, or a couple of hours before the exam. That would last 5 hours room temperature (http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/milkstorage/) if not longer.

Thanks, I think I'll manage by feeding her before and after the exam, she's really starting to space out her feeds.
Bringing my electric pump is not really an option, it's this one: http://www.dtf.fr/en/pumping/26-fisio-box-pro.html which weighs 4kgs.

lazygal wrote: »

Could you not contact the exam admin and ask about their policies on feeding breaks during the exams instead of going through all that hassle?

I would if it was a written exam but it's an oral - for each exam we have 3 hours of prep and a 1 hour exam. Unfortunately, we won't know what time our exams are until the evening before, we only know the days. (And you can be asked to come in from 5am!) And they said you can't reschedule unless you have a "serious illness" or are a carer for someone with a serious illness.

jlm29 wrote: »

Anytime I've had to transport milk, I use an avent insulated bottle bag. On a few occasions, ive put a little bag of ice cubes in there, along with a couple of bags of milk, and they wouldn't have even started thawing after several hours. If there's any ice crystals still in the milk, it's good to put back in the freezer. You would need to contact the hotel to arrange access to a freezer though.

That's a good idea. It's an aparthotel with a kitchenette in the room, so there is a very small freezer.

jlm29

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Thanks, I think I'll manage by feeding her before and after the exam, she's really starting to space out her feeds.
Bringing my electric pump is not really an option, it's this one: http://www.dtf.fr/en/pumping/26-fisio-box-pro.html which weighs 4kgs.


I would if it was a written exam but it's an oral - for each exam we have 3 hours of prep and a 1 hour exam. Unfortunately, we won't know what time our exams are until the evening before, we only know the days. (And you can be asked to come in from 5am!) And they said you can't reschedule unless you have a "serious illness" or are a carer for someone with a serious illness.


That's a good idea. It's an aparthotel with a kitchenette in the room, so there is a very small freezer.

They're great bags. I think I had milk (and ice cubes) in it for 5 hours recently, and the ice cubes hadn't even started to melt.

tinkerbell

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Thanks, I think I'll manage by feeding her before and after the exam, she's really starting to space out her feeds.
Bringing my electric pump is not really an option, it's this one: http://www.dtf.fr/en/pumping/26-fisio-box-pro.html which weighs 4kgs.


I would if it was a written exam but it's an oral - for each exam we have 3 hours of prep and a 1 hour exam. Unfortunately, we won't know what time our exams are until the evening before, we only know the days. (And you can be asked to come in from 5am!) And they said you can't reschedule unless you have a "serious illness" or are a carer for someone with a serious illness.


That's a good idea. It's an aparthotel with a kitchenette in the room, so there is a very small freezer.

But you are the primary carer for a newborn baby and are breastfeeding, that would go into the same category. They have to accommodate you and your baby.

rainbow kirby

Nearly 12 weeks now and he's still feeding like crazy. Used an app last week to log how much he was feeding - he's going to the breast 20 times a day and spending 3-4 hours a day there. It's absolutely draining and tbh I'm starting to wish I hadn't pushed so hard to get things working in the first place, at least if he'd been on formula I could hand him off to his dad a bit more often.

holding

How is he at night rainbow_kirby, and does it hurt at all? Things will calm down, it's just a case of managing until you get there. Have you tried looking into a carrier or sling - baby can sit in there, latched on and happy, while your hands and body are free to do other things. It will not be like this forever, really and truly.

rainbow kirby

He was very settled at night for a couple of weeks, but this week he's back to feeding every 2-3 hours at night. I have a sling but he won't feed in it, it has to be either sitting down or lying down, and if I'm lying down he'll only feed on my left side.

holding

If it's a break from his usual, then it's probably a temporary growth spurt. I haven't the Wonder Weeks handy to check, maybe someone else does. If he's only 3 months, then it might be worth trying a different shape sling, for example a ring sling he can lie back in rather than a buckle one where he's sitting up to feed. Are you home by yourself with him a lot? I would try and get Dad to pick up a few activities with him when he's around, like taking him out for a long walk in the evenings while you get a break. There are a lot of things that Dad can do to give you a break that don't involve feeding itself, like playing, singing, taking him out somewhere.

Have you tried expressing yet? That might be a good back up if you want to hand him over for 2 hours plus.

spottybananas

Sounds very similar to my son rainbow kirby, he fed every 1-3 hours day and night until he was about 5 months old. He has only ever stretched out to 2-3 hours at night, but he's just not a good sleeper so it's more sleep related than feeding related at this stage (14 months). I second getting dad to do other stuff, so you can just feed, hand baby over, and just have him handed back 1-2 hours later.

Aveen

Hey ladies, my wee man is 6days old and I'm not sure if I can continue. My nipple especially left is in bits. Had a friend come and double check my latch, which as helped. My left nipple seem to be an inner and pinch to help him latch. It's the tiredness of feeding all night, sleep great during the day but at night he come mad. Also it can take up to an half hour for 12 mins of actual feeding. And he's seem to be over eating or reflux because he's spitting up loads.
Feeding is effecting my family and I'll really think of stopping cause I know I can't do it for much than 6weeks.

rainbow kirby

Holding - I do pump a bottle most days, he's fairly good at taking a bottle of EBM from his dad. This isn't a break from his usual, he's like this all the time.

Aveen

Hey ladies, my wee man is 6days old and I'm not sure if I can continue. My nipple especially left is in bits. Had a friend come and double check my latch, which as helped. My left nipple seem to be an inner and pinch to help him latch. It's the tiredness of feeding all night, sleep great during the day but at night he come mad. Also it can take up to an half hour for 12 mins of actual feeding. And he's seem to be over eating or reflux because he's spitting up loads.
Feeding is effecting my family and I'll really think of stopping cause I know I can't do it for much than 6weeks.

annoyedgal

Aveen, nipple shields are a total lifesaver ! They got me over some tough times at the start! I used the aveda silicone ones. Helped baby to latch and give your nipples a much needed break! I got two packs as seemed to be always sterilising them! They are not recommended long term so I mostly used on my 'bad' side where the nipple was slightly inverted.
Tried to use them on and off then so he wouldn't get dependent on them! Really worth a shot. The purple lashinoh cream is fantastic, put it on after every single feed till your nipple heal.
Just take it day by day. Once I got the first 7 wewkd over it was so so easy and have never looked back! Don't focus on a time frame for now just day by day. Always having a well fitting bra helps loads and going topless when possible , just initially. Fair play to you for getting so far , it's tough now but your at the hardest part. It will get so much better!

jlm29

annoyedgal wrote: »

Aveen, nipple shields are a total lifesaver ! They got me over some tough times at the start! I used the aveda silicone ones. Helped baby to latch and give your nipples a much needed break! I got two packs as seemed to be always sterilising them! They are not recommended long term so I mostly used on my 'bad' side where the nipple was slightly inverted.
Tried to use them on and off then so he wouldn't get dependent on them! Really worth a shot. The purple lashinoh cream is fantastic, put it on after every single feed till your nipple heal.
Just take it day by day. Once I got the first 7 wewkd over it was so so easy and have never looked back! Don't focus on a time frame for now just day by day. Always having a well fitting bra helps loads and going topless when possible , just initially. Fair play to you for getting so far , it's tough now but your at the hardest part. It will get so much better!

Well done, it does get easier with time, if you can bear to stick with it. The first couple of weeks are rough. I know your friend checked your latch, but have you seen a lactation consultant? Has your baby been checked for tongue tie, etc? Or if you could phone a cuidu or la leche league counsellor for advice, it might be helpful. Usually nipple shields aren't recommended unless advised (and supervised) by a professional. I used them with my first, and he cried and cried for a whole day. I didn't know why he was crying- I didn't make the connection between the crying and the shields. I actually (morto) brought him to the doctor. The doctor told me there was nothing wrong with him, I'm sure he thought I was a neurotic ftm. When I got home, I fed with no shields and realised he was hungry all day!!! Anyhow, the moral of the story is that the baby might not get as much through the shield as they would without, and your supply might be affected.
Good luck! And don't be afraid to reach out for help. Check out the lll website, or the cuidu one or the for information on the iblce web for details of someone you can contact.

Marz66

Aveen

Congrats and well done on getting this far. It shouldn't be so sore. Would you get a lactation consultant out to your house? I couldn't have continued without one. One of the things people need to continue with BF is support, it was the single most important for me so don't be afraid to go and look for it. Supportive family are great but imo you really need someone with specialist BF advice.

Rainbow kirby

I really don't mean this in a patronising way but what got me over the constant feeding was "accepting" it. As in start the day off not thinking I wonder will I get a good break from the feeding today but today, I'm going to be feeding all day, I'll organise some nice food for myself and some nice box sets and make the most of it. Or go out to a coffee shop or hotel where u know they have comfortable couches for sitting on! Some days will still be hard but if you make your peace with it mentally it can help. And u can still hand the baby over to be winded any chance u get!

ectoraige

Aveen, is this your first child? Our first was bottle fed and it would take him over an hour to feed, not including time to sterilise and prepare the bottles. The other two were breast fed and it was so much easier in comparison. New babies are extremely tiring for the first six weeks no matter how you're feeding them - after that they are just tiring Try to accept that instead of blaming the breast-feeding.

Aveen

Not my first, I have a DS of 18months. God breastfeed has been breeze compared to the last.

We had a better night here, but I decide to combine feed until my wee man is on bottle full time or my milk has dried up.
Watch my other wee one at 18months want to play with me and I can't is heart breaking. I'm happier this time than last time giving in. Still not that easy part of me is upset and other relieved but my family life is so important, I can't continue my mental health is all over the places due to tiredness and pain post section

hollymartins

Aveen wrote: »

Not my first, I have a DS of 18months. God breastfeed has been breeze compared to the last.

We had a better night here, but I decide to combine feed until my wee man is on bottle full time or my milk has dried up.
Watch my other wee one at 18months want to play with me and I can't is heart breaking. I'm happier this time than last time giving in. Still not that easy part of me is upset and other relieved but my family life is so important, I can't continue my mental health is all over the places due to tiredness and pain post section

I remember going to my GP for a UTI when my boy was 2 weeks old, I told him I was finding the breastfeeding difficult and he said not to put myself under pressure and if I'm overwhelmed then there's nothing wrong with going to formula, better to have a mother who is a happy state of mind than one who is consumed with guilt over not being able to breastfeed. It works for some but not for others. I can only imagine how hard it is when you have a toddler aswell.

I did stick with it in the end, I just gave myself realistic targets, like getting to the weekend, then aiming for the 4 week mark. Then when I could express milk my husband was able to take the evening feed, topping up some EBM with formula as I couldn't express enough to keep him satisfied.

He is three months old now and I hope to keep breastfeeding until 6 months, if you had told me that in the early weeks and I wouldn't have believed you.

LegacyUser

I have an 11 week old and a 23 mth old.Breastfeeding was very hard at the start, but the toddler gets used to it.You have one hand free which is very handy.But you have to give it a couple of weeks for the toddler to get used to it.I changed to bottle recently because my LO wasn't gaining weight and now my toddler is getting annoyed because I have no free hand, where I did before.There's no winning!!!
I'm not going to tell you to keep doing it or not, only that it will get easier (to have two).You're in a period of upheaval right now, and it's chaos.It's very hard and the guilt is a killer.But give it a few weeks, and the guilt eases a bit and things settle.If you do plan to combo feed, have a good plam as to what and how you are going to do it.I intended to, but really, I probably didn"t have enough of a structure about it, so it hasnt really worked.I'm hoping a lactation consultant will help me out, but I'm afraid it might not work at this stage.
Hang in there Aveen on all fronts.It's tough going from one to two kids, but time will help.Look after yourself.

Aveen

Thanks ladies for all the support

Gave my last breastfeed last night, have been expressing today, boobs are sore but hopefully ease, I'll drop the time expressing over next few days to dry up slowly. He'll have for a week to two weeks of breast milk :-)

I delighted I could give what I did, for so much further than I did with my first.

Well done to all you woman breastfeeding and thinking about it, you are all doing an amazing job.

Happy mum = happy baby :-)

tt2014

Hi ladies, im just a bit stuck and need some advice, im due this week and have been hand expressing colostrum on advice from the hospital as our little one needs surgery when hes out, got about 20mls out since friday and all of a sudden it seems to have dried up tonight and im not getting much out, could it be that labour is approaching? Im just worried hes going to be hungry when hes and he wont have enough to eat, thanks in advance

Lucuma

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Nearly 12 weeks now and he's still feeding like crazy. Used an app last week to log how much he was feeding - he's going to the breast 20 times a day and spending 3-4 hours a day there. It's absolutely draining and tbh I'm starting to wish I hadn't pushed so hard to get things working in the first place, at least if he'd been on formula I could hand him off to his dad a bit more often.

Wrote a reply to this but it didn't post. Well done!! It's an amazing thing you've done giving him the best start in life even though you find it hard. I'd love to get to 12 weeks, I'm at 8 weeks tomorrow. My current goal is 2 months- 6 days to go! Then I'll take stock.
At least you have no issues with his weight, so you can see the results before your eyes. My one is still fairly petite. And that wouldn't be me or her Daddy's or here sister's build so I do wonder......is it the breastfeeding. Anyway. That's weird he'll only feed on the lhs lying down! Does that mean u don't do the night feeds lying down then? Coz the other side would become engorged if u did (or does that stop happening by 12 weeks?)
I still have the same problem I had since the very 1st night- she's murdered with wind! I don't have the discipline to go off dairy or coffee completely at the moment though. I did try!

yellow hen

My little girl is just turning 3 months and she's exclusively breastfed. She's also quite refluxy which she is on medication for. She currently feeds on and off at least half of the day. She also uses me to put herself to sleep. I've tried mam soothers but she refuses to take them. My little boy is going to be off Creche now for 2 months and I won't have the luxury of feeding half the day but I don't know how to curtail it? And how do I train her to put herself to sleep rather than use me?

LegacyUser

Yellow Hen, we had a little refluxer in our first. We couldn't feed to sleep because we had to sit her up for 20 mins after each feed. I guess that's your first start. Our second has been breastfed til very recently, but is a pretty windy baby so she doesn't feed to sleep either. I literally feed her til she's full (breast or bottle), then prop her up wrapped in a blanket, insert soother and wait. Either that or rock her in a standing position. It's painful but it gets better as time goes on and you will benefit in the long run. We use Tommee Tippee first soothers, she takes them but she wouldn't take Avent ones - go figure.

Lucuma, we're on week 11 and she's still bothered by gas. Brings wind up like a little trooper though, big man belches! It's improved a lot in the last week again, but it can still disturb her sleep. I honestly feel that it was my flow that caused a lot of the trouble, because I've recently spoken to a friend with a similar problem. She had a lot of milk, a quick flow and the baby was very bad with wind. She's actaully spoken to a lactation consultant who helped her a lot - taught her to feed on alternate breasts to reduce the flow and supply a little bit , gave her a few different positions, showed her how to hand express off a bit before a feed if there was too much there to reduce the flow. Apparently it's made a huge difference to the baby. Maybe you could consider that, if it's still an issue? I'm bottle feeding now, but I'm going to try to bring my supply back up and combination feed, since I stopped due to sickness myself. The consultant is helping me out with this too, she seems very good.

Lucuma

Yellow hen:
If you can afford one I couldn't live without the swinging musical chair- e.g. Jolie one they sell in Smyths. That plus dodie is the only thing that gets me through the day. The usual routine is I put her swinging with the music (or white noise/birdsong noises) tuck a blanket in well around her so she's cosy and then as Bizzy says above I "insert soother" and wait :-) I dip it in gripe water first. Typically she spits it out, I re-dip + reinsert and I may have to do that twice and then usually after the 3rd re-insertion she falls asleep.
She will take Avent or Mam soothers- prefers Mam. I often use the collar of her dress or the edge of the babygro to support the dodie as well to stop it falling out.
I think the world is divided into babies that take soothers and those
who's parents didn't try hard enough :-D
Bizzy- I really don't think it's oversupply with me. On the contrary I think I have just barely enough supply to not need top ups- but it's teetering on the edge.
I had latch checked by hospital LC and she told me to shove more areloa into her mouth which I try but at this stage I think her latch is her latch. It's not perfect but it's grand. I've never had a bleeding nipple or skin come off & I don't usually hear slurping noises when she's on (or if I do I hold it in her mouth til noises stop)
I really need to come up with a strategy for night time. Would like to keep bf but I have to find a way to get more sleep, I can't go on like this too much longer. My husband doesn't seem interested- I thought he'd help me wind her at night but he's dead to the world & sleeping through it all & when I started a conversation about it (hoping he'd help me come up with a strategy) I got 'don't look for sympathy off me, you wanted this baby'. Ha, it didn't take long for that line to get trotted out!
I really just want another adult- one less sleep deprived than I- to discuss the current situation & come up with ideas how to fix it. I am thinking of pricing a sleep specialist. Last night for the first night since baby was born, I tried 1 of the night feeds sitting up. It was so hard coz I'm sooo tired the last thing I feel like doing is sitting up but lying down feeding is just a disaster with her wind.
Was your windy bf baby just as windy on the formula Bizzy?

LegacyUser

Lucuma wrote: »

Bizzy- I really don't think it's oversupply with me. On the contrary I think I have just barely enough supply to not need top ups- but it's teetering on the edge.
I had latch checked by hospital LC and she told me to shove more areloa into her mouth which I try but at this stage I think her latch is her latch. It's not perfect but it's grand. I've never had a bleeding nipple or skin come off & I don't usually hear slurping noises when she's on (or if I do I hold it in her mouth til noises stop)
I really need to come up with a strategy for night time. Would like to keep bf but I have to find a way to get more sleep, I can't go on like this too much longer. My husband doesn't seem interested- I thought he'd help me wind her at night but he's dead to the world & sleeping through it all & when I started a conversation about it (hoping he'd help me come up with a strategy) I got 'don't look for sympathy off me, you wanted this baby'. Ha, it didn't take long for that line to get trotted out!
I really just want another adult- one less sleep deprived than I- to discuss the current situation & come up with ideas how to fix it. I am thinking of pricing a sleep specialist. Last night for the first night since baby was born, I tried 1 of the night feeds sitting up. It was so hard coz I'm sooo tired the last thing I feel like doing is sitting up but lying down feeding is just a disaster with her wind.
Was your windy bf baby just as windy on the formula Bizzy?

She's pretty windy! As you say though, her latch was just her latch when bf, I didn't think there was much wrong with it. It was checked by loads of people and seemed fine. But she used to gulp and gulp initially, I think milk was hitting the back of her throat at speed and she couldn't swallow it at the start of feeds, not helping the wind.

Bottles haven't really changed it much to be honest. She's a little grunter at nights!! We had a few bad nights last week or two where she was awake with the wind around 1am, kicking legs like crazy. I spent an hour or two every night circling her legs and bicycling kicks, lying her on her side, her tummy etc, rubbing her tummy. Eventually her tummy softened and she'd fall back asleep again. Wind may or may not have come out. I think it's just her to be honest. I see a very gradual improvement and the more time she has to lie and kick during the day, the better. But even last night at bedtime, I fed, burped, laid her down and off she went - grunting and kicking in her sleep! I took her out again, circled the legs, turned her to each side, moved legs up and down - wind came out and silence reigned (for a while, anyway).It doesn't help that she's all snuffly with a cold right now. But I can't complain, she's sleeping pretty much 8-5/6 so at least I get a block of hours.

Lying down breastfeeding was a nightmare. I had to sit up. Frequently fell asleep propped up by pillows (and used to make sure that she was well supported and protected in the event of it happening), but it wouldn't work lying down.

I'm going to go back to suggesting the lactation consultant first to you? The reason being that this girl did not have latch issues, it was more the wind issues, apparently the baby was very uncomfortable all the time, specially at night. The consultant's advice was aimed to address that and she followed up on it in detail. A LOT of detail! I'm not sure a sleep consultant would do that - although you could always ask. I'm sure the cost of both is similar enough, but you can claim the LC back on most health insurances if you have it.

For what it's worth, if you can get help to consider bottles at night and bf during the day, that might be the way to go. I do have friends who have done that and it's very successful. The challenge is implementing it and bringing your supply down at night. That was my mistake, I should have got help at the point myself.