Honestly, no point having a hungry baby, if you wish to continue to breast feed try a vitamin suppliment call marshmellow, i think it is made by blackmores.  still top up with a bottle after feeding from the breast otherwise you will end up with an uncontent infant.  Infants vary from small eaters to large eaters.  Some children starts solid foods early, the recomendation in the medical field recomend solid foods at 6 mths but not before 4mths.  This is a technical term in advisory by the medical profession.  Starting infants on solid foods prior to 4mths, like rice cerials can lead to food allergies later in their lives. 

Do what you think is right for you and your child... everyone has an opinion about the breast and the bottle, if you are happy doing what you are doing now and your child is happy continue to do what you are doing

Good luck with your baby

I breastfed ebony till she was 5 weeks of age, I had to stop due to a lack of supply for her.

How I found this out was I had been expressing as well as breastfeeding. I had to express while ebony was on the other breast. I was feeding her one night as well as expressing for the next day, I tried for 30 mins to express will only 10 mls for my efforts not to mention ebony was very unsettled and still very hungry. From that moment on I went on to bottle feed her.

my advice for you would be do what you feel is best and what you feel comfortable with.

Trust your instincts and do what is right for you and your baby.

Good luck

I've linked it above but incase it gets missed there, will add it here as well. It is possible to combine breast and formula feeding and if you're having a hard time of either but don't want to go all the way from one to the other, this is an alternative most people won't tell you about.

Breast is best but working in a hospital I have seen just how tough some of the peer pressure is from some staff. I have even seen nurses isolate bottle feeding mums. Don't feel you should have to do something just because you feel pressured to. What does your heart tell you? Are you doing it because of the peer pressure or are open to other possibilities to increase your milk supply?

There is very little point in telling you to cut out the formula if other methods haven't been given to help you increase your supply. It's possible to increase your supply while still having top ups (for bubs sake)  and then slowly wean off them. This is something that can be done gradually. Really having to give some formula is not the end of BF and there are plenty of mums who comp feed all the way through their BF.

Here's some things you can do.

-Feed bub off one side until they are no longer sucking really well then swap to the other breast until bub stops sucking really well. Take a break,change bum, burp etc and then repeat this. Basically  BREAST_REST_BREAST REST_BREAST and then if bub still needs some more milk offer a small top up of formula from a cup or syringe (this reduces the chances of nipple confusion and also makes sure that bub is taking what is needed rather then what bub is forced to have as bottles can make that happen)

-Get a script for some pharmaceutical galactaglogues like maxalon, motillium etc. Or look at some herbal supplements like fenugreek . These will help increase your supply.

-in between feeds express milk. This will not only increase your supply but then you'll have EBM for bub to have as a top up instead of formula.

In the end it's up to you what you do but there is no denying that breastmilk is the better option and it is possible despite this early setback to still give bub that best start. Contact your local breastfeeding support group (in Australia 1800 mum 2 mum) for more info.

I totally agree with Mystical. I wrote an article called "When Breast Isn't Best" about it, as well. What's important is you and your baby's health - both physical and mental.

Sometime to consider though would be to "supplement" with breast milk instead. My first had to be on the bottle for weight gain reasons as well, but I pumped for a while to give him that as well as formula.  

My friend Clare is a lactation consultant and is understanding of every persons individual situation, her website is www.bubboo.com.au she offers other services as well, I would suggest that you have a chat with her.

But in the end you need to do what is right for you and keep up what is working, or try breast feed first and if still hungry top up with a bottle, this way if you want to feed you will build up your milk supply until you don't need the top up feed any more.

All the best and keep at it as it wont happen overnight

If you think your child is being more satisfied with the formula then I say go with it. My son was not being satisfied by my breast milk and I really did not want to give him formula but after giving him one lot of formula we never looked back, he is a healthy happy 3 year old and I would not change my decision for anyone. Do what you think is best for your child.

Good luck

 Lexi xxx

The simple answer is your the mother, if you think bubs would like more milk then you give her what she needs..

Don't let anyone talk you into anything you don't want to do. If you want to continue with the formula then I say do it. 

Same thing happened to me, they kept telling me don't give the bottle keep trying. I almost starved my little boy..  Until I had five mothers practically screaming at me to give him the bottle..  I passed them the bottle gave them my son and said you do it. I was in tears... When I came back after they had finished feeding him he was the happiest I'd seen him since he was born. I felt so bad...

He stacked on the weight and was such a happy little bubs after that...

You do what you feel is right...

What do you want to do?  Would you like to keep breastfeeding or are you at your limit with it?  I tried with my first 4 to breastfeed, but never made it successfully past 3 months (started supplement feeding).

Your body will produce more milk the more your baby goes on for a feed.  And yes, at 2 weeks, it will feel as though she is on all the time.  But she needs to be if she has some health issues.  Besides, it is the perfect excuse for you to sit down, feet up and relax!!!!!!

Her not being satisfied could be that you are still producing a lot of front milk which is very watery and doesn't satisfy a baby for long.  If you have to be feeding her all night, then do it.  You can lay on your side in bed with her and sleep while she feeds.  I do it all the time, and it works (with #5).

Ultimately, you have to decide what is right for you.  The debate of breastmilk vs formula is a hot one, but I personally think what is best for bubs is the choice you make that keeps everyone happy, you and bubs included.

I agree with winja here - if you can it would be ideal to keep breastfeeding and there are many ways to increase your milk supply. You can call the ABA (Australian Breastfeeding Association) and they can give you some things to try, and if you have a community midwife in your area (usually at the Community Health Centre) they may be of a great help too as I know mine was to me. The Breastfeeding group on here can also be a great support so look it up & blog what is happening and I am sure you will get some great advice.

perhaps you need to get a second opinion? there are lots of way to increase your milk supply so you can continue feeding you just need more information.

drinking lots of water will help and maybe go see a natrapath for some herbs to give you a boost. please dont allow anyone to tell you to give up if your not ready breast IS best for your baby and most breastfeeding problems can be corrected if you have the right information.

maybe join the breastfeeding group on here for some more support believe me the majority of breastfeeding mums have problems to begin with but if you stick with it you wont regret it.

take care and do try to contact a breastfeeding consultant in your area to give you more support and ideas.

Hey there I had a bad experience with my lactation consultant too. While breast milk is obviously best and breastfeeding better than bottle, not everyone can do it. Their job is to encourage mothers and tell them they're doing a good job but some do over step their mark and ram it down your throat. I was one of those people. She really hounded me to keep at breast feeding and I ended up getting really distressed and it did me more damage than good. I was so distressed that I didn't want to go in there to feed my son and had someone think I was avoiding him because of post natal, which was definitely not the case. I suffered from childhood abuse so breast feeding was not an option for me. I tried, believe me... Before I had my son I was determined to give him ONLY breast milk. He would not latch on properly, I felt uncomfortable because of my previous trauma, he was losing so much weight, not getting enough milk. I ended up sticking up for myself from her peer pressure and telling her that breast feeding isn't for me. When she insisted I just stuck up for myself and said look no, he isn't feeding properly, it's causing me distress, I'm not happy and baby isn't happy. This isn't going to happen thanks for your help. I learned to trust my own intuition and in my own quiet time, told myself that bottle feeding is okay. After 2 weeks I didn't produce enough milk for him and he was lactose intolerant anyway. Do what you feel is best for you and your baby. If mum is distressed, baby is distressed. That's the conclusion I came to.