you have already gotten great advice so i will only say this, similar experience to you, could only feed with a nipple shield, feeding took FOREVER, i was permanently glued to the couch... i lasted close to 3 months, after probably about 5 weeks of AGONISING whether to switch to formula. i also attended breast feeding clinics etc for help. I have now switched to formula. She takes about 10 minutes to feed. It is unbelievable. She also gets way more play time now, as before she spent so long feeding, by the time i'd change her she would be up for 10 minutes then time to go to sleep. Not much time for fun and interaction etc, especially once they get a bit bigger and want to interact and discover things. I also find I am bonding with her WAY MORE with bottle feeding, sounds strange, but feeding with a fussy baby using a nipple shield for hours on end was not my idea of fun. Now she takes the bottle beautifully and stares up into my eyes, it is adorable and warms my heart. She also seems so much more content with the bottle, rather than battling at my breasts trying to get the flow to come faster.

That said formula has not solved any of the other issues, like sleep etc. But for me, just the fact that it now only takes 10-15 minutes to feed is an absolute godsend. And I also feel a lot free-er, in the fact that if I needed a break, I could go out and leave her with daddy and not have to worry about expressing milk or leaking enormous milk jugs etc. I can now SEE how much she is getting, as opposed to always wondering whether she had drank enough as it was always ME who was ending the feeding session, because it just went on so long.

anyways good luck with your decision... i know exactly how you feel, just try not to agonise over it for too long, you probably know what you want, its just making the decision and sticking to it, and being positive and happy about the next step - there is way too much pressure these days to breastfeed and it made me seriously depressed because it wasn't working out for me, it shouldn't be that way. hugs xx