Help! Switching to formula :-(

Adriane

Okay, here's the situation. My daughter is 5 weeks old and up until a week ago was exclusively breastfed. Last week I got sick and my milk supply plummeted. I went from getting 9 oz per pumping to only getting 3 oz. I tried to continue nursing but even after nursing for an hour, she was still hungry. I didn't know what else to do so I started supplementing formula. This is where it got tough... Adalyn started spitting up a lot when I would give her breastmilk but she did fine on formula. After a long discussion with my husband we decided to switch her completely to formula. She is doing great with it but I am not. My breasts are engorged, I'm in pain, and I feel like I failed her by giving up on breastfeeding. Any advice on how to help make this process less painful both physically and emotionally would be appreciated.

Kindell

Cold cabbage leaves in the bra. Its amazing lol. Replace every hour or so

Mrz_Jackson

Well physically hot showers an hot rags workd for me . An I've never breastfed so I can't help emotionally sorry

Adriane

@kindell I bought some cabbage today and it helped a little but I'm still soooooo swollen. Hopefully it goes down soon

musicmomma

I am HERE for you!!! I was in just about the same situation as you. Although I had to stop breastfeeding cause from the get go I would only get 8 oz total for the entire day when I pumped every two hours and nursed in between. (Hope that makes sense). I was disheartened and stressed out, which only worsened my supply, it was becoming horrible for my mental health, he never seemed to get enough when he did nurse, he didn't latch well so I had to use a nipple shield which ripped my nipples to shreds and I just knew I couldn't do it anymore. Especially when I would go back to work. I know I'd never be able to pump enough for what he needed in daycare.
I was absolutely so depressed over it cause we all know breast is best, but I just had to lean on my husband for support and he really talked things through with me, let me cry on his shoulder, and he made me really comfortable with the decision. He helped me a lot by saying two things: first he said it would give him the opportunity to give him bottles in the middle of the night, he wanted that bonding experience too and second, this may sound silly, but it really did make me feel better, he said that he and two of his older siblings were formula fed. (They're seriously a bunch of geniuses, not kidding, so that made me feel relieved that I wasn't cheating my son out of major development).
As for the pain, what I wish I would've done for myself was wean my body. Like still pump but less and less and for shorter and shorter periods of time. I just stopped so they got way engorged and super sore. It took three days for the pain to subside and about a week for them to not feel hard anymore. It's been two weeks now since I stopped and my boobs feel normal again although I'm still leaking. Not sure how long that's gonna last.
I would do cold compresses on your breasts to numb the pain. I know warmth would probably feel better but that encourages let down and I would think it'd signal your body to keep producing.
Sorry it's so long but I hope it's helpful to you! Good luck and just know you're not alone!