Unable to Breastfeed

Hello girls,
I just wanted to know if others who wanted to breastfeed and weren't able to felt upset about it. I was hospitalized for the first two months after my babies were born and I just finished one of my antibiotics (flagyl) that I was prohibited to breastfeed while I was on. Now I am mourning the fact that I was only able to breastfeed for the first couple of weeks. I normally do everything as naturally as possible and the fact that I can't this time really bothers me. Additionally, I had planned to breastfeed until they were at least a year old and now I feel I've been robbed of this bonding time. If the babies have anything wrong with them or have cried for five minutes or more, I think it's because I am not breastfeeding them. Did any of you feel this way? If so, how long did it last? Thanks for your help,
Lydia

 

I just wanted to give :hug: and say that, although I don't know all of the circumstances (age of babies now, etc.), maybe you still can bf! My aunt's milk had dried up b/c of a similar experience and she was able to get her supply back and nurse successful until her DS was four months old. I would check out the BF Forum HERE. It's worth it to talk to these ladies and see if you can get some help. They are very helpful and, in fact, they're the best!

 

I bf exclusively til 3 months, then they started daycare and no way was i producing 60 oz after that...started supplementing half formula...it was hard, but i got used to it...felt good i was still giving them bm....then around 5.5 months or so i was only producing a few oz, not enough to justify pumping 3x a day.
It was a hard adjustment for me to make but quite honestly now I dont think anything of it and realize formula isnt poison...and they are growing just fine
I do miss the bonding though but at the same time I dont feel like bf twins was the same kind of bonding as if you had one baby...i always tandem fed and they were never looking at *me*...so sometimes it felt more like a chore...i miss it but at the same time, not that part of it...

 

:hug: It is so hard to want to do something for your babies and not be able too. I am so sorry. I struggled so much with my decision to stop pumping and go to all formula. I cried over it all the time. But it was best for me and my family. I BFed my older DD for over a year, so naturally I thought I would do the boys too. Circumstances change. However, I dont feel like I bonded any less with them due to giving them bottles. We still had plenty of cuddle time and just holding them while they were sleeping. Hang in there.

 

I'm so sorry that things didn't go as you had planned. I still feel guilty some days even though I am pumping for DD. If you have truly given up on BF, know that it's ok. Even those few weeks gave your babies something wonderful.

On the other hand, if you are willing to work at it, you can recover your dream. I was able to bring in my milk and BF my adopted daughter 5 years ago. It should be easier for you! If you want more info, here is a great resource for how to start over when it's not right after birth. relactation boot camp

 

Hugs to you!
I would also like to suggest the breastfeeding forum-if you would like to give breastfeeding a try-from what I have read you can relactate in most cases. Good luck to you!
I hope you feel better soon!

 

I'm sorry you are having a hard time with this. I think I would be just as upset as I BF my first DD. I am exclusively pumping for my twins and have more than enough to supply them. I think that you could get your milk back by using some meds and pumping. Then maybe you could switch to BFing. But if you weren't able to get the babies to latch on, you could at least be giving them your BM.

I hope you find some answers and are able to do what you wish. :hug:

 

:hug: After pumping for a month and only getting about 1 oz a DAY (yup- a day, despite pumping every 2-3 hour around the clock), I threw the towel in. It took another 3 months before I returned the pump to the hospital supply place because I felt so guilty about it. But in the end I was still able to have bonding time with my girls and sometimes things are out of our control, but everything still turns out ok. :hug: