hi,
maybe someone can help me with a few questions. first some background info. i worked very hard to bf successfully and ran into many challenges that would have sent others running to the bottle...for that i am personally proud. i never thought we'd make it this far (even though lo is still quite little, almost 4 months) and everyday i bf has been a personal triumph
that said...i did introduce bottles of ebm in the 4th week per Tracy's advise (she's brilliant of course
) and dh gave evening bottle, 1 per day, until blocked tear duct which led to syringe feeding, too many bottles and then a refusal of both pacifier/bottle, all this around 2 months. i think it coincided with a growth spurt/decline in milk production due to illness and i ended up nursing round the clock for many days, he was making up for lost calories, i was human pacifier, we weren't yet on Easy, growth spurt, decline in milk, etc. well, it was too much for me and i was beginning to feel negatively and had been pumping in between feeds well i was exhausted and decided to stop pumping and just do daily bottle (when he eventually took one again) with formula. i wanted to wean at this point but the daily ff gave me a break and then we did two and then three (i was weaning and it was working) but i decided that i enjoyed the balance and had nothing but positive feelings and gratitude for our bf at that point. well, fast forward two months and one formula switch (last one he did not like, took on avg. a two ounce bottle at three months
) and now he loves his new formula. here's my question (sorry so much info, hee hee): now he nurses for barely 5 minutes and drains his bottles. i have upped his bottles to 4 oz and he drinks them well, but still bobbing on and off boob. i should tell you i am lopsided and producing very little on one side, i have known this for two months and tried to remedy to no avail. the other boob seems plentiful, but he doesn't seem to stay on long. the other night for the first time ever, he refused the breast and then drained a 4 oz bottle...after only 1 hour 45 minutes since his last bf. he never goes too much longer than 2.5 hrs between feeds but he seemed real hungry at 1 hr 45 min. do you think my ds likes his new milk so much that he's showing preference for bottle? do you think 5 min. on one boob and 2-3 on the less plentiful boob is too little for a full feed? is he self-weaning? i was planning to wean slowly but completely when i introduced solids @ 5-6 months. it's ok if he is self-weaning...not sure i have enough milk because of lopsided boob and he's bigger now and i NEVER wanted to do mother-led weaning
but of course it's emotional either way. if anybody has food for thought i would greatly appreciate it!