Something wonderful has happened

[lee09]

My breastfeeding journey has been a tough one. Long story short, I've used nipple shields since the beginning, which led to a drop in my supply (whether that was all in my head or not, I still don't know), which then resulted in me comp feeding for peace of mind. I've regularly tried to attach DS without the shields, but up until the last week or so, it still resulted in sore, bleeding nipples.

And now, it's working! No pain, no blood! I'm thrilled and I feel so positive about breastfeeding, and so pleased I stuck with it for as long as I did.

BUT, when I began comp feeding, I resigned myself to the fact that it might lead to weaning altogether. Now I have hope that we can turn things around, but my supply is nowhere near what it needs to be to meet all of DS's needs. I don't mind giving him a bottle for his last feed for the night, but I'd like to cut out all other bottles - he takes about 150-200ml over the course of the day. I'm nervous - topping him up gave me the security to know that he was always full and satisfied. DS hasn't come off the boob satisfied and full since he was a newborn. I go by the clock now, and worry less about hungry signs. Those bottles were my security blanket, and insecurity is part of how I got here in the first place! I hope I can do this, and move onto exclusive breastfeeding until he's ready for solids. Wish me luck!