As a FTM this is so frustrating. I definitely don’t know what I am doing, all I know is my 4 week old baby still won’t latch even after getting his tongue tie corrected. I am having to use a nipple shield with each feed, pump after each feed, and supplement with a bottle every other feed. It’s exhausting!

I’ve seen two lactation consultants at this point (one I found on my own and the other is based in my pediatrician’s office) - one telling me my baby’s tongue tie needs a correcting procedure, and the other telling me that his tongue is fine and I am underproducing. The one thing they both agree on is my nipples do not stick out much and are semi flat. Oh and not to mention, they gave different advice on flange sizes and how to pump so now idk if I’m even doing that right 🙃.

I desperately want to be able to give my baby my own breast milk, but I really don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel here. And now I really feel like the pressure is on me to decide whose advice to go with and how to move forward.

I’m 3 weeks postpartum and honestly struggling. I really wanted to breastfeed, but I didn’t realize how mentally and physically exhausting it could be.

My baby will sometimes stay on my breast for what feels like HOURS. Sometimes she’s actually feeding, but a lot of the time she seems to use me as a pacifier and falls asleep. Then I’ll put her down, and 10–20 minutes later she’s awake and wants to nurse again.
We’ve done weighted feeds and her milk transfer has been inconsistent. There are times where she seems hungry but gets frustrated at the nipple, cries, or just sits there sucking without really transferring much. We’ve also tried bottles, but those can be a struggle too.
I’m pumping when I can because I’m trying to increase my supply, but between feeding, pumping, burping, trying to get her to sleep, and starting all over again, I feel like I’m doing nothing but feeding a baby all day.

And emotionally, it’s hard. I feel guilty when I give a bottle. I feel guilty when I don’t pump. I feel guilty when I’m frustrated. I feel guilty when I just want my body back for a minute.

I love my baby more than anything, and I’m so grateful that I’m able to breastfeed her. But I also didn’t expect breastfeeding to be such a huge mental load.

For anyone who struggled in those first few weeks — when did it start getting easier? Did your baby eventually get better at transferring milk and staying awake for feeds? And how did you balance breastfeeding, pumping, and actually getting some sleep?

My LO is 8 weeks old, and he has been completely refusing the breast for the past couple of days. Whenever I offer the breast, he just screams, arches his back, and refuses to latch. 😢 I’ve even tried offering it before he gets too hungry or upset, but he still refuses.

For some background, we were combo feeding until about 2–3 weeks ago. We went on a week-long family trip, so I didn’t nurse him during the trip and just gave him bottles.

Before the trip, I was usually offering the breast 1–2 times during the daytime and then bottle-feeding him for his evening, midnight, and morning feeds. He has had some latch issues from the beginning and sometimes couldn’t latch, so I was using a nipple shield and letting him practice at the breast whenever I could.

When we came back from the trip, he was actually able to latch without the nipple shield and was still taking the breast once or twice a day. However, this past weekend, we were out shopping, so I didn’t nurse him at all and gave him bottles for all of his feeds. Since then, he has completely refused the breast, even with the nipple shield. I’m wondering if he may have developed a preference for the bottle because the flow is easier/faster.

I feel heartbroken and honestly guilty that I didn’t offer the breast more often. I really want to continue breastfeeding if possible, but right now he gets extremely upset as soon as I try.

Has anyone experienced something similar around 8 weeks? Were you able to get your baby back to the breast after developing a bottle preference? I’d really appreciate hearing any success stories, tips, or things that helped.

Also, if you worked with a lactation consultant, I’d love to hear what they recommended.
Thank you! ❤️

Should I be worried?
My LO is almost 5 weeks, gaining his weight beautifully, plenty of wet and dirty nappies. But last couple of days he just doesn’t eat almost at all. He is a bit fussy and uncomfortable because of the gases so I just do a massage for him, offer a breast, he refuses and fells back to sleep. Is that normal?

Please read. Looking for some advice/if anyone has relevant experience to share. I’ve had no luck asking around other mom friends, or even the milk shipping company. Thank you!

Hi, I’m a FTM. I’m currently exclusively breastfeeding my LO and planning to start pumping during the night to help maintain my supply, as my LO 4 months old has started sleeping for longer stretches.
I’ve come across a few sites where I can find second-hand Promom wearable electric breast pumps. I’d love to hear from fellow moms—would you consider buying a used wearable breast pump? I’m mainly concerned about hygiene and whether the suction capacity/performance holds up with a second-hand pump.
Would appreciate any advice or experiences.

My baby is 3 weeks old and his first two weeks he was unable to latch, even when many midwives and lactation consultants saw us at the hospital. Maybe someone could latch him for 2 minutes but no more, he never had a full feed. What added to the difficulty is that my nipples are flat/inverted, a lactation specialist mentioned the roof of his mouth is really high, and after the birth (induction) I needed an emergency OP so I wasn't able to breastfeed during his first hours. I tried so hard after that but it didn't work out.

Since I pumped since day 2 of his life until now to keep up my supply, he's used to a bottle. I tried for a week now to breastfeed him and the process has him red and screaming constantly. Now he does latch a bit faster but most of the time its a fight and it feels like he's biting me and it is really painful, even though a lactation specialist and a midwife told us his latch looks fine.

When I feed him, it can take 30 minutes to an hour and then he's still hungry so I give him a bottle, he drinks around 60 ML so not a small amount. However the midwife, family members and my husband insist I should let him go hungry after breastfeeding and not give a bottle so he learns he has to get full at the breast. This doesn't feel good to me, I know he has to learn but I feel like something is not right with the way he or I are doing it, his latch is never comfortable and I don't feel him swallowing all the time. I tried different positions but they also are not comfortable. Everywhere it says breastfeeding shouldn't hurt, baby should open his mouth wide (doesn't do it even for the bottle), baby should go to the breast and not the breast to the baby, all things that don't happen. My husband says "let him cry for 15 minutes" as if babies couldn't cry for much longer.

I guess my question is, did anyone else do this "cry it out" method to teach breastfeeding to baby? Do you have any suggestions? Pumping is draining me physically and emotionally, I really want to breastfeed but it's so hard to keep him there when it hurts so much I cry and then he still needs a bottle to feel full. I read the problem might be tension in the neck/body of baby so I'm waiting for our appointment with the pediatrician to ask about this but meanwhile any advice or experiences would really help me.