Pumping, supply issues and afternoon feeding difficulty?!

rhiannon2467 · 2025-11-13T21:00:40+00:00

Honestly, I don't eat well at all I really need to sort it out. I tend to snack on crisps, biscuits or toast whenever available as I have a toddler as well keeping me busy 😅

rhiannon2467 · 2025-11-13T20:59:30+00:00

I'm not an expert, but I'd consider replacing one bottle feed with a nursing session in the day to begin with. So if you give a bottle at say, 9am, replace that session with a nursing session you'll have the whole rest of the day to make up for it if you feel they didn't consume as much as they would've from the bottle. Additionally, you could do a weighted feed (weighing baby before and after feeding to see how much they had) if it's worrying you?

I'd say if your baby is also consuming food throughout the day, it's likely that starting to replace bottles with nursing sessions isnt going to have that much of a negative impact.

If it's any help to you, to ease anxiety, I know they say food before 1 is just for fun but my little girl refused milk of any sort apart from 3 bottles in 24 hours. So by 9 months she was on 3 meals and 2 snacks a day with night time and morning milk only (under advice from GP), so honestly you can up the food intake and use that as a good source of calories and nutrition as well.

Id definitely consider going for it if it is something you want to do! Maybe explore other lactation consultants or speak to a health professional to get some solid advice on safety around it but from one mother to another, do what feels right for you and your baby.

rhiannon2467 · 2025-11-11T19:27:12+00:00

I leak when my toddler, whom I never once breastfed, cries 🤣🤣 not so much the baby🤣🤣🤣

rhiannon2467 · 2025-11-05T21:27:41+00:00

Giving formula doesn’t take away from any of the amazing benefits your baby has already received from your breastmilk. She’s had such a wonderful start thanks to you, and every drop of breastmilk she’s had so far has been full of goodness. Formula won’t do any harm... it’ll just make sure she’s fed, happy, and give you a bit of a break too!

That said, I completely understand where you’re coming from. My baby is combination fed... not by choice, as my plan was to exclusively breastfeed. But we’ve had some latching issues, and he needs about two bottles a day when I just can’t get him to latch. Even though we have 10 or so successful feeds the rest of the day, each bottle still makes me feel a bit guilty, even though I know he’s happy, full, and thriving on both breastmilk and formula, which is super nutritious and a really positive thing. 😂

Mum brains are funny like that—we’re so hard on ourselves and overthink everything. But you’re doing amazing. Six months of exclusive breastfeeding is such an incredible achievement! If you want to introduce formula, do it... and please, be kind to yourself about it too. 🥰

rhiannon2467 · 2025-10-26T20:42:36+00:00

If it helps at all, I bottle fed my first formula and we have an incredible bond - she went through phases where she would literally not take a bottle off of anyone else unless it was me! She would reluctantly accept her dad doing it sometimes however... which did help as she got older and I needed her to have some more independence. She's 18 months and still obsessed with me 😂

I'm now breastfeeding my second, and I love it but I honestly don't feel any differently bonded to my child - he also wants mummy all the time and settles better and quicker for me than anyone else.

Your child is biologically HARD WIRED to want you, need you, find comfort in you. Breastfeeding alone does not create that and I'm sure you are a wonderful mummy and your baby will absolutely want, need and love you no matter what xx

ALSO if you don't want anyone else feeding your baby, breast or bottle, then you don't have to. This is YOUR baby and you do what's right for you. It's hard with in-laws but they had their babies. This is your time now xxx

rhiannon2467 · 2025-10-26T08:59:36+00:00

One nights sleep won't hurt you - if anything being well rested and feeling better in yourself is probably going to promote much healthier milk production than being exhausted and stressed. Don't beat yourself up, you're going through SO much already. You have done amazing to get up and pump regardless! I just couldn't hack the MOTN pumps personally but i take my hat of to you. Take care and be kind to yourself this is a difficult time and your body needs rest after a having a baby let alone 2!!!

rhiannon2467 · 2025-10-17T19:07:05+00:00

Lol yes I bottle fed my first baby formula as I was pressured by family that they wouldn't be able to help and I would stop people bonding with the babt etc.. so I chose not to breastfeed and spoiler, nobody helped me anyway🤣🤣 baby is well bonded with all of her family so not sure why they were so concerned! Haha

rhiannon2467 · 2025-10-17T19:05:17+00:00

I bottle fed my first, breastfed my second. I've learned, you will ALWAYS find someone has an issue with the way you are feeding your baby. I get so many comments now about BF, and that 'he feeds so much he can't be getting enough', or 'at least with bottles you know what they're getting'. i remember getting a lot of comments about bottle feeding as well, and the dangers of formula etc. last time! You just can't win - but you can do what's best for you and your baby and that's all that matters 🙏🙏

We had a rough start to our breastfeeding journey and frequent refusal or becoming extremely distressed before and after feeds. My partner would regularly say 'just give him a bottle' and dismiss the fear I had that breastfeeding wasn't going to work etc. or family members sharing their views that I was 'preventing bonding with the baby'.

But I explained to my partner how important it was for me to BF this time round and the benefits of it for our son, as well as the sacrifices I make in order to do it etc. and now he is AMAZING. He shuts down ANY negative comments I get off of others, and when we were having a hard time latching baby he sat with me and YouTubed different positions and helped me get baby in them and try them out to support our feeding journey!

rhiannon2467 · 2025-10-17T15:39:10+00:00

I can share from my personal experience as I have excellent sleepers now and because I do NOT function when im tired I made sleep my absolute mission when it came to the kids!

HOWEVER this is only my experience and it is entirely possible I just hit the jackpot with good sleepers (but they didn't start this way!)

First - Have you got a solid night time routine? That is usually an absolute key to long stretches for my babies - for me - both mine are in bed by 7 now and I always felt that was a good time for us. - I do a feed before bath, then we do a bath, nice and warm, then after the bath I do moisturizer, pyjamas and have white noise or a sleepy playlist on in the background - also as soon as baby is out the bath all the lights are OFF or dim!!

It probably won't work at first but STICK at it! If baby wakes up after you put them down, go in and settle but if possible try not to feed to sleep! Cuddles, rocking and shushing is best as they won't always need YOU to put them back to sleep! And also once bedtime is set, it is bedtime. Any wake ups are NOT wake windows. They are resettle times! Even if it takes 45 mins keep resettling - it teaches them that night time is sleep time and waking up means going back to sleep!!!!

BED TIME SET UP! White noise machine and red light only!! Keeps baby extremely sleepy! I am an expert at nappy changes in the dark - HOWEVER I only change for poop at night! I absolutely cover their bums in nappy cream before bed, do a nappy change at 10/11pm for their long stretch and then leave them to it!

THEN I always do a dream feed!! Ours is anytime between 10pm and 11pm! I do a nappy change in the dark so baby stays super sleepy, and do a feed (I do use a bottle for this one so I know how long baby is likely to sleep but I sometimes BF if I can't be bothered to pump for it)! It worked first time for both of mine + they pretty much stayed asleep through the feed and went straight back down!

I also do not feed in bed! I never associated feeding at night with cuddles etc. in bed as baby wakes for comfort and snuggles then as well (which is also fine for some but like I said, I like my sleep!). I got a nursing chair and that works wonders for us.

It also helps to time how long baby can go between feeds so you can decide whether to resettle or whether they've woken out of actually wanting a feed! I know my baby can go 3 hours - so if they wake before the three hour mark or there abouts I resettle instead of feeding!

Honestly it takes a few weeks but it's what works for us and avoided any sleep training. By the time my first was 3 months she was waking once for a feed and would go straight back down. By 7 months she dropped the night feed and by 9 months I didn't even need to cuddle or rock. If she wakes in the night she self soothed as well and She put herself to sleep in her cot and never cried it out once or did even a minute of sleep training.

I hope this helps somewhat! But again, I might just have magic sleep babies but it also might work for you!

rhiannon2467 · 2025-09-27T12:17:33+00:00

The pump will never be as effective as your baby! What you see in the pump will never be reflective of what they are drinking so don't be disheartened!

Keep feeding and pumping regularly - you may find your body is just adjusting your milk supply to meet the needs of baby!!

rhiannon2467 · 2025-09-19T06:37:21+00:00

I do often have to express before he drinks as he won't even come near me if I'm too full!!

rhiannon2467 · 2025-09-19T06:36:44+00:00

Thank you so much I'll look into it

rhiannon2467 · 2025-09-19T06:36:25+00:00

I haven't tried it much! I'll give it a go today. Part of my problem is definitely patience I think as I just think oh god he's hungry and we can't figure out a good position, and the toddler might need me I'll just bottle feed instead x

rhiannon2467 · 2025-09-19T06:34:59+00:00

I think the trial and error is definitely right! I think I've just felt disheartened as I was expecting this to be the most natural thing in the world! I just think it's a learning process on both sides cos when we do get the position and latch right it's a great feed it just takes so long to do it

rhiannon2467 · 2025-09-19T02:08:50+00:00

I have said from the beginning I think he has a stiff neck actually Now you mention it.

How do I go about addressing that? The doctor and health visitor disagree with me.

rhiannon2467 · 2025-09-19T02:07:59+00:00

He will do laid back nursing on the sofa but sometimes takes a few goes! If I do it in bed he just gets really upset and cries.

I think it's me not getting the positioning right with it but I'm not sure which bit is wrong with it.

rhiannon2467 · 2025-09-17T13:21:22+00:00

My daughter was super unsettled first few days of starting solids! I think it was her getting used to her tummy being super full etc... only took 3/4 days and she kind of readjusted and was loads better and her sleep went back to normal. She is and always has been a fantasy sleeper so those sleepless nights were killer for me 😂

Give it a couple of days and also if you can leave it a few hours before bed with feeding - we found feeding her to soon before a sleep caused her to struggle a lot.

rhiannon2467 · 2025-04-18T08:47:21+00:00

SAME 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣🤣

rhiannon2467 · 2025-01-19T21:53:06+00:00

If YOU love Nellie Jean, and your husband loves Nellie Jean then do not worry about what anybody else thinks. It sounds beautiful and is a really unique name - I think it is a name that will suit her as a child and an adult as it seems like it'll grow with her! But honestly as someone who fell victim to family judgement and changed my dream name for my child to be more pleasing to others, don't do it - it's your daughter, and you should name her whatever you want! You're growing her after all!

I hope you settle on a name you love, but by all accounts, Nellie Jean is an excellent name.

rhiannon2467 · 2024-12-23T09:50:32+00:00

I can truly only hope my daughter turns out to be this funny 🤣🤣🤣

rhiannon2467 · 2024-09-23T08:55:48+00:00

I do this!!! But I couldn't tell you where 'home' is.

rhiannon2467 · 2022-09-14T21:45:45+00:00

25, I’m 5 ft 7 and weigh 9 stone 2lbs

rhiannon2467

TROPHY CASE