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Oh honey I'm so sorry!! Come here ((hugs))

I felt this way last week when Cobi and I got thrush. It was a week of him popping off and crying cause it hurt for him to eat. I nearly started feeding formula cause he wasn't eating enough and my supply went down.
I'm so glad I pressed on though! Really it's so worth it. And you said you already love so much about it, just try a little longer hun! I know it's hard but good things come to those who wait. We're here for you.

You have to figure out what is best for you, there is no wrong answer here. No matter what, you are a great mom to your baby. Big hugs!

I'm sorry it is so hard- it wasn't much easier at a month or at 6 weeks for me. At 6 weeks I was crying to my mom on the phone asking her when she started to like breastfeeding- she said at 3 days. I had to hang up after that answer. Being on HB helped me a lot, knowing that it was a struggle for others too.

On my bad days I would practice breastfeeding for 10-15 minutes, then stop and pump and have my husband give the rest if he was home. I think there was a big correlation with the 8 week point of it getting easier: my son gained more weight, got a stronger latch, and started sleeping more at night. I realized around that time that we hadn't been using the shield and that things were much smoother- I wasn't dreading it anymore.

No personal experience yet, but I have heard that between 6 to 8 weeks it does get better, so I hope it does improve for you soon. ((hugs))

Aw, I feel for you! My daughter is only 3 weeks old and it's been a real challenge so far. I'm in the same boat as you as far as the low birth weight/pumping/supplement situation goes. Today when I found out that she had gained back her birth weight it was a massive relief, but I still wonder when breastfeeding will get easier. I have been lucky enough to avoid any major issues so far, but there are times when I feel like I am nursing around the clock and it sucks so badly. I look at my husband, who isn't tied to baby 24 hours a day and feel so jealous.

That said, I think if you have made it this far you are probably over the worst of it. You have done a great thing to make it to this point and you should give yourself credit for that because it's a big deal and many people would have thrown in the towel already. You should do what's best for you, but for what it's worth I think you can do this!

You have worked so hard! You are amazing momma. It gets better after about the second month. I am not sure it is ever really easy and I'm still nursing my 1 year old. It is all consuming making sure they gain weight and you eat and drink enough. I worked so I had to make sure I had enough at daycare. But it is also so rewarding to be successful. To see them gain weight and know you have done that.

I recommend going to la leche league and a lactation consultant. La leche will have many women who can support you and they aren't all crazy hippies.

We're at 9 1/2 weeks & things are FINALLY starting to fall into place. We've dealt with tongue-tie & milk/soy intolerance, which both caused terrible tummy issues, and oversupply/letdown which hurt me AND also attributed to tummy issues. The tongue tie caused her to be a not very sufficient sucker so until we got that clipped at 7 weeks (which was incredibly difficult to even find someone to do it) she was eating every 45min to 1.5 hours MAAAYBE doing one 3hr stretch a night. Sigh. I wanted to throw in the towel TONS, one day would be great & the next is be asking DH to go get formula.... ESPECIALLY knowing it was the dairy in my milk causing the problem.

Ultimately you have to do what is going to work for you. If you think you'll regret quitting even in the slightest then don't! Hold out. Get your hands on every resource you can (kellymom.com is my ebf'ing bible) & just take one day at a time! If you're okay with stopping then stop, you've certainly done an awesome job already.

For now, until you decide, take a breath & go read: kellymom.com/bf/normal/love-breastfeeding-24-7/

@winniebee: I wanted to quit every. single. day. The only thing that got me through was I would set time limits. "I'll get to 1 month, then quit." Then the DAY would come and it would be a good day (the first one in weeks) and I'd say ok, I'll make it to 3 months. Then again, I'd cry every. single. day. The DAY 3 months hit was a good day... so I said ok, let's see if we can make it to 6 months. And so on. And I still quit at 7 months because I dried up by accident due to stress and taking sudafed and not knowing it's a lactation suppressant.

Big big big hugs to you. I had tons of problems with milk blisters as well. I spent many a night massaging, pumping, holding diapers soaked in hot water to my breasts, and eventually stabbing myself with a sterilized needle (NOT RECOMMENDED). It was awful. But I look back and I'm so proud I made it as far as I did, and Wagon Jr. did not get sick at all until the WEEK I started him on formula when he was 7 months old. And he was so fat and chubby and healthy all because of my milk.

When I was at my lowest, I sent out an email to the few moms I knew and every single one of them said they had gone through the exact same issues as me, physically and emotionally. (It also didn't help that I emotionally dreaded every feeding.) One of the moms even had to go to the ER to get milk aspirated out of a clogged duct several times and years later still has the "ball of cheese" in her breast that some day she will have to get removed. Hearing that other moms went through the exact same issues as me and had just a hard a time as I did helped me get through it.

So lean on us!!! You are NOT alone!!! And if it's time to throw in the towel, it's time!!! Tyler will be healthy and beautiful no matter what because his momma is so dedicated to helping him grow up to be a strong and healthy boy.

I'm so sorry you're struggling! I truly feel for you. Whether you choose to keep going or not is a totally personal choice, and please, please, please don't feel bad if you choose to stop. For a lot of us, breastfeeding is just really hard.

I've been through a laundry list of breastfeeding problems - flat nipples, baby not gaining weight, nipple shields, cracked nipples that caused my baby to ingest and spit up blood (and me to rush her to the ER in the middle of the night because I didn't realize it was my blood, not hers), a two and a half month battle with thrush, undersupply, milk blisters, oversupply, and crazy plugged ducts - one of which required 12 hours worth of doctors visits to rectify. Eight months later, we're still breastfeeding and I love it, but it was definitely a battle to get here. I cried a ton. In the beginning, I made it my goal each day to breastfeed for just one more day. I nearly quit a couple times, but like @mrs. wagon, on a day that was going to be my last day, we'd have a good day, and it would convince me to keep going.

I worked with a lactation consultant, which was a huge help. Also, if you decide to keep going, I encourage you to build a breastfeeding support system. Whether it's this community, your friends, or a group like LLL, having someone cheering you on can really make a difference. The encouragement I received here, from LLL, and from a couple dear friends made it so much easier to keep going.

I thiknk you can see that.you are not aolne in struggling with this based on all this feedback! I just wante to chime in to say the irst weeks were a strugglee for me too--verted nipples, slow weight gain, cracked nipples and toe curling pain at every latch. It started to get better between 6 and 8 weeks.

We had a fussy period like you mentioned and i cant remember how long it lasted but we got through it slowly. I think sbe was less fussy at night and i made sure she ate well then and tried not to force it. By the time i went back to work it was all in good shape and now we are doinx great at 6 months. Good luck!

You've gotten tons of great advice and you are definitely not alone in your struggles!

We had a rough go for the first month. I couldn't get LO to latch on at all without extreme fussing from him and major frustration from me! I was ready to throw in the towel and exclusively pump and i had set 4 weeks as my deadline. Then, 3 days after the 4 week mark, he just flipped a switch and decided he wanted to breastfeed and he was nursing every 1-2 hours that day. I was sooo happy about this but then I got clogged ducts, mastitis, blisters, and I felt like a walking milk factory because LO would cluster feed for hours in the evening. Then I went into oversupply and I was constantly questioning how much LO was getting, if he was getting enough or too much, etc.

At around the 8 week mark things got much better and we are definitely in a groove now.

I am so glad LO has been nursing and sleeping better for you. My best advice is to put your happiness first in this situation. A happy mama = a happy baby (and the added stress can affect your supply).

@winniebee: oh winnie so happy to read this comment from you... Honestly for every 10 bad days there will be one good day and it will be enough to get you through to the next!!! YAY for solid blocks of sleep (he's growing!!!!!!) and keep tapping us for support as you go through your BFing journey.... it's definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to do, hands down, no questions asked!!

@regberadaisy: lol! I was reading your post and while it was such a great response, I kept giggling at the errors! I figured you were typing on your phone in the dark!!!!

@winniebee: Yea for good sleep! It makes a world of difference when you can start the day with better sleep behind you You're doing awesome!

@winniebee: If he's gulping then maybe he's gassy?.. My mom brought something to my attention when I was struggling with DD like that (latch suck cry unlatch repeat)... All baby's know is their tummy hurts, they don't "know" the difference between hurting & hungry. I noticed when DD was real gassy or had deep gas bubbles (she was a gulper too & would swallow tons of air eating) she'd act like she was hungry & wanted to nurse but would fuss tons.

Have you tried a pacifier maybe? I know for DD when she's gassy & needs to burp but is hurting so she wants to suck, if I give her the pacifier while I pat her back, or even just cradle her, she burps easier!

I just sway this post now, I haven't posted much about it, because from all my breastfeeding courses I took for work I knew how to manage all of our issues, but me and Sawyer haven't had an easy time with breastfeeding. I have flat nipples, so even before he was born I wore breastshells for a month, and then I wore them for the first month of his life. Even with that, he was unable to latch on my right side because it was too fibrous for the first 3 weeks, so we used a shield, and then spent week 3 weaning it off because he was finally strong enough to latch on that side. He has low weight gain in the first week and a half, which finally resolved itself around week 3 as well. The low weight gain was especially frustrating because I also had crazy over supply, and he was so fussy from the fore milk/hind milk imbalance that I just felt terrible. It took block feeding him until he was 6 weeks old to finally get that under control, andy Saywer as well, gets mad even now at 8 weeks when the letdown slows, which leads to us fighting it out to get him well fed enough (I end up changing feeding positions every 2 minutes after the letdown slows at the 4 minute mark). Luckily he still only feeds for 10-12 minutes total, so at least he is speedy.

It is normal to have our struggles, and I think setting small goals is key in getting through. That being said, when the cons outweigh the pros in your mind regarding continuing to breastfeeding, there is no shame in doing whatever will make your Mom/baby relationship more comfortable.

@winniebee: @Mrs. Jacks: Liv definitely had green, frothy poop and would SCREAM after feedings for like a week, and my LC told me about the foremilk thing. When I got that under control, she got better and she never had a green poo again.

I can tell you, I considered calling it quits around the 6 or 8 week mark. It seemed to reach a peak of bad right then, and then all of a sudden it got better and easier and was just FINALLY natural. Someone over on WB at the time kept me going as she ran into the exact same thing as me. She told me to set mini goals, and each time I reached them, re-evaluate then. So I set my sights on 3 months. Then 6. Then when I got to 6, I said "Im doing this for a full year." Liv is 11 months now and still going. And I dont plan to stop fully at 12 months. Ill aim for 18 (am and pm feedings) and then re-evaluate then. It gives you an end in sight and something to work towards.

I remember the frustration and the screaming and the crying (me, not her ) but I promise it becomes a distant memory. That being said - if you decide that its not working out-that is ok. You have to do what is best for both of you.

Also, I do think its possible that he is getting his 2.5oz in 5 minutes. Babies are very effective at emptying the breast, and combined with your fast letdown, it is very plausible.

@winniebee: I think you are being such a trooper. I think meeting one more time with a LC is a good idea and even if you end up pumping and bottle feeding your baby is still getting all the good stuff he needs. You are a great momma!

@winniebee: just a quick thought as my 3 month old sleeps/bf's/fusses on me - she started getting really fussy on my boob probably a month and a half ago - sooo frustrating. After a lot of experimentation and time spent trying to figure her out, it turns out she does it because she's tired. She's one of those babies that hates falling asleep for some reason, and nursing makes her sleepy, thus pissed off. I've found if I nurse her while walking around and jiggling her, or especially while gently bouncing on our yoga ball, she is distracted enough to calm down and eat. Not fun, but what we have to do to get milk in her. Wanted to offer that tidbit i case it helps you too! Good luck!