BFing dilemma

Does anyone else out there not enjoy BFing your baby?
I must admit I am not one of those mums who has ever really loved BFing. But lately I have been dreading it.

My 6mo DS has recently become very rough in the last week or so with biting and also pinching me with his hands while feeding. Not sure how much more I can take! as well as the damage from biting I have loads of bruises and scratches from pinching. He is very physically strong which is a good thing most of the time just not during feeding. He even pinches when he is very calm and settled. I have tried taking him off and saying NO but it has not worked thus far.

Feeling a bit over it and wondering if it is time to switch to formula. Not really sure how to go about this. Unfortunately I can't express enough to have more than one or 2 bottles per day. I keep saying to myself that I made it to six months and its ok to switch now but then think again that I went through so much establishing BFing it would be a shame to give up before i had originally intended to at 12 months.

Talked to my DP about switching just now and he wasn't supportive sad he wants me to stick with it. So now I also feel really guilty, kind of like as a SAHM I should be BFing as I am at home with DS all day. Also there is the extra cost of formula when we are only on one income to consider.

So feeling a bit stink about things and need someone outside of my situation to give advice.

But anyway, wondering if anyone else been through something similiar?
Or if you haven't been through this already, would you stick with it and hope things improve or make the switch to bottles?

I know exactly how u feel as i felt the same with my first, we had huge drama's feeding right up until 4 months old and i too kept telling myslef just make it to 6 months and then u can give up and at 6 months i couldnt get him off that boob quick enough but as soon as i had dried up i actually realized that at 6 months he was actually feeding quite well and i was starting to actually enjoy it so i really regretted not feeding him longer. When my daughter came along it was a whole different story we had a few drama's but this time i knew it would get better and it was tough for the 1st 6 months but after that it gets so much better and easier to the point you start wishing they never stop cos u cant be bothered with bottles and enjoy feeding in bed too much lol

My advice would be to give it a bit more thought and time before u make the decision and i just wanted to add that i think its lovely your DP is encouraging you to keep breastfeeding.

I can see why you're not kin on bf.

I love bf the only part i don't like is the biting. It was seriously making me sad. But the biting was just getting worse for me. He bite the same nipple every time. I came on here and everyone gave me alot of support and now i express all of his feeds. Little man is teething so i tried everything i could to get him to stop. He even bite me threw breast shields. I got so nervous about him biting that i maded him a bottle of formula and he wouldn't drink it, so i took to expressing.
He never scatch me or pinch me that hard. But he did grab my nipple & try and pull it off.

Have you tried holding onto your baby hand to stop scatching or pinching. I use to get little man to hold my finger or my shirt.

Do what you find is best for you & your baby. Getting to 6 months is good.

I dont know anything about bf I never have and I personally have no regrets regarding that.Its totally a personal choice and your the one that has to do it.I was lucky had a really great supportive midwife,People will tell you lots of negative things about formula feeding how there bigger and smarter bf my boy is 5 months 68 cm,7 and a half pounds.was saying mum before 5 months and can pull himself fawd on knees I would be terrified to think what hed be like breastfed lmao.Best of luck hun and if you dont want to dont let any one guilt you,long as there fed and cared for isnt that all that counts really

Ouch!

When my little one was getting a bit rough I would distract her by trying to read her a book at the same time or giving her something new to hold in her hands. A juice bottle with colourful spoons and rice in it also seemed to distract her immediately (if she was getting rough I'd just hold it up in her line of sight while she was feeding).

I would also get up and feed her while walking if it was really bad. Sometimes singing was enough and when she was older I was even able to have something on TV (like Giggle and Hoot) for her to somehow watch with one eye!

I also have a lot of bright chunky necklaces, which often kept her hands off me, though it can also be annoying having someone claw at your necklace!

Is he too big to swaddle for feeds?

I think the most important thing is not to stress (ie do what is best for you)! Maybe check with a midwife and see what they suggest, then you can pass that info on to your DH. Well done for making it this far!

btw if your husband is such an advocate of bf maybe you could recommend he did lol

Does anyone else out there not enjoy BFing your baby?
I must admit I am not one of those mums who has ever really loved BFing. But lately I have been dreading it.

My 6mo DS has recently become very rough in the last week or so with biting and also pinching me with his hands while feeding. Not sure how much more I can take! as well as the damage from biting I have loads of bruises and scratches from pinching. He is very physically strong which is a good thing most of the time just not during feeding. He even pinches when he is very calm and settled. I have tried taking him off and saying NO but it has not worked thus far.

Feeling a bit over it and wondering if it is time to switch to formula. Not really sure how to go about this. Unfortunately I can't express enough to have more than one or 2 bottles per day. I keep saying to myself that I made it to six months and its ok to switch now but then think again that I went through so much establishing BFing it would be a shame to give up before i had originally intended to at 12 months.

Talked to my DP about switching just now and he wasn't supportive sad he wants me to stick with it. So now I also feel really guilty, kind of like as a SAHM I should be BFing as I am at home with DS all day. Also there is the extra cost of formula when we are only on one income to consider.

So feeling a bit stink about things and need someone outside of my situation to give advice.

But anyway, wondering if anyone else been through something similiar?
Or if you haven't been through this already, would you stick with it and hope things improve or make the switch to bottles?

It's a phase! My advice would be don't give up!~!

I went through exactly the same thing with DD, she would pinch me so hard I had bruises on my chest and upper arms.

She also did the biting but for such a short time. My SIL who's a nurse with 4 kids advised me to put teething gel (seda gel) on her before feeding. Then when she bit to take her straight off, say "No" and put her down and walk away for a minute.

She didn't bite hardly at all after that smile

I loved bf'ing and continued til DD was 20 months, if you enjoyed it before and this is the only reason you want to stop I would say stick it out, it WILL pass smile

BTW I also bought one of these to give DD something to play with (instead of pinching me) while feeding.

http://www.mummabubbajewellery.com.au/mummabubba-teething-jewellery-product-range

I've never really loved it or disliked it. It's a job that I get done. I felt the same with dd - and I fed her for 13 months.

Some women like the closeness and feel that it's bonding time, but I much more enjoy time cuddling him and talking to him than feeding.

I fed dd for that long because firstly, it was something I really wanted to do for her. They get your antibodies through your milk which helps prevent illness - they are immune from all the colds and coughs that you have become immune to throughout your entire lifetime for as long as they're breastfed. It's natural and I figure it's the way God intended me to feed my children.

Secondly.... I wanted SO BADLY to prove mil wrong - she told me that bf babies never get nice and fat like FF babies and her attitude toward me feeding was that it was disgusting. And she blamed all of dd's sleep problems on me bfing. Well both my babies have been chubby little things and thrived on my milk. And this time my baby is sleeping quite well and it is purely due to doing things different to last time. Take that woman!!! lol

As for your dilema - I'm not sure why you feel you wont have enough milk to express... whatever you express will be the same amount of milk that he is getting at the moment by breastfeeding. You don't have to fill a bottle up - just whatever you have is enough, providing you are feeding him the same amount of times that you would usually throughout the day.

I would either wrap him up so he cant pinch, or arrange a wrap in such a way that his hands contact that instead of your skin. And for the biting - there has been heaps of advice that you could try for this in one of my_little_blessings posts recently - she had the same problem.

My friend wears a necklace that ds could play with when feeding. Its like they need something to do with their hands and I agree the twisting your other nipple or pinching your skin wears thin pretty fast! <img src='http://www.huggies.com.au/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='<_<' />
Maybe a little something for them to hold like one of those soft baby toys thats like a hanky with a wooden head. They do get distracted around now, so its just a matter of finding another way to do it effectively without being hard on you in the process. A quiet dim room etc.

Thanks everyone for your replies smile
Feeling better about things today, giving it another go - didn't go out and buy a tin of formula first thing in the morning as I had planned to last night haha.
First feed I tried holding his hand which worked for a little while, then he reached up with the other hand and pinched under my arm OUCH haha little monkey!
I think I am going to try the neaklace idea for a while and giving him toys for the next few feeds to see how we go. I found that he is a little too big and boisterous to wrap unfortunately, its almost like its a fun challenge for him haha. We do feed in a dark room anyway as I find if there is anyone else in the room it goes like this - drink drink talk talk smile drink talk smile drink drink- etc which is so cute but a little frustrating when you are left sitting there with your boob out for all to see. So maybe he is just getting bored alone in the room with me.

I DO feel lucky that my DP is so supportive of BFing. I probably wouldn't have managed without his support in the early days. But yeah sometimes I do feel like telling him to try it and see how it feels when he pushes me but I know he is just trying to do best by DS.

Hoping this phase passes soon.

Just to add to this topic... I bottle feed my little one and she is 5.5 months old. She is constantly trying to pinch my face as I am feeding her. I think it is a stage they go through and not dependent on the type of feeding. Either way it is frustrating.

Well as much as I am pro-breastfeeding (and am one of those mums who do love the bonding, closeness etc) I also understand where you are coming from. My DD gets a bit rough sometimes and I get frustrated. She likes to jam her fingers up my nostrils and pull them... it really hurts! Sometimes what works for us is if I wear a really chunky necklace that she can play with or put something like a soft toy in her hand. They do the scratching, pulling etc as a natural behaviour but it's not always pleasant!

I'd encourage you to try a few things before giving up but if you are simply not enjoying it and it's getting in the way of enjoying your bub then it might be time to move on. I do know the biting for us improved once her teeth came through and after a rough patch around the 6 - 7 month mark breastfeeding became easier and more enjoyable again.

Whatever you decide, you have done so well to get to this stage BF and should be proud of yourself smile