Almost threw in the towel

holley79 wrote: Annika almost got a bottle of formula last night. Over the weekend she has started biting and severly pinching me. Annika's sleep schedule got thrown out of whack this weekend because of all the visiting and being gone till late each night. She did not want to go to bed last night and I was in tears. She bit me so hard and pinched me so hard I told DH I was not nursing her anymore. I'm not pumping I'm not nursing she is going to be FF and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. Finally around 10 I got her to go night night to have her wake again at 1. It took me an hour to finally get her back to sleep.

The entire time I was "fighting" with her to get her to sleep all I could think was I'm not a good mom, I can't do this, I'm not fit for this position, this poor child was born to the wrong person. I spent most of the night after she was asleep crying. I finally admitted to myself that I probably have PPD. I don't want to quit nursing. My goal was a year and I'm not sure if I'm going to make it.

I'm sorry this got long. I just need a break. I have only been to dinner twice w/o Annika. She is always with me when I am not at work. I guess I just need to learn to take the smiles with the cries and just take it one day at a time. I don't want Annika to feel I resent her or anything like that. I don't resent her I resent the fact that I feel like I'm totally out of control.

Thanks for listening. Maybe getting away this weekend will help.

gr33n3y3z replied: Awww your a good Mommy hun

I went through that also with them biting me a lot and I had that bottle ready to go I'm telling you I was like bite me again and your getting it lol
At that point your emotions are running rampid and you just want to give up.
And the pinching OMG it just help their other hand to they couldnt do it soon they got the idea.
When my kids bite me I took them off and wouldnt give it to them then I would wait about 5 min. and all went well.
Hang in there hun

Our Lil' Family replied:
I have thought the SAME things before! You are not alone in this, trust me! I won't say that you don't have PPD because I don't know if there are other issues but if you are basing it on those thoughts...I'd say you don't and they are totally normal. You were tired, frustrated, and trying to deal with a baby who wouldn't sleep....those are normal feelings to go through at those times! I hope you both get more sleep tonight and you're feeling better about it tomorrow!

mckayleesmom replied: Hugs . I think everyone has reached that point at time or two...Its normal. I would definantly talk to your doctor about your issues...just to be on the safe side. Maybe she is getting teeth in and is taking the frustration out on you.

coasterqueen replied: Is she teething? The same exact thing happened to me this past weekend. It was a freakin' nightmare. I thought it was just because we were camping but when we were home yesterday she was the same way and when I gave her some motrin she finally calmed down. I think her 2 year molars are coming in.

I've felt the same way many times and even did this past weekend. Even at Megan's age I'd still feel guilty. I was trying to tell myself it would be ok if we quit now but I know it wouldn't be for me.

holley79 replied:

She is teething big time. I had some Hyland teething tablets in the medicine cabinet. I remembered them and decided what did I have to lose, right? Well they seemed to alleviate it a bit. This morning before I nursed her I gave her another dose of them and we didn't have the biting issue. We still had the pinchers though.

I have tried covering my breast with my T Shirt, my hand, etc and nothing works. She pinches me from beneath.

Thank you ladies for your support and . The mean so much to me. I don't know who I would have gotten this far without ya'll.

coasterqueen replied: I'm not sure what to say about the pinching. Can you hold her hand while she's nursing? If Megan pinches me I hold her hand. If she throws a fit about me holding her hand I explain to her why I'm holding it and if I let it go and she doesn't again the nursing session is over. Not sure if that would work for Annika or not.

As far as the teething do the tablets or something cold to chew on before nursing and that should alleviate that problem. Also tell her "no biting" before she nurses and chant it a bit at the beginning of the session. This always worked with my girls, they seemed to understand that.

boyohboyohboy replied: Holley, I so know how you feel! Jake has taken to biting me as a sign when he is done, he takes his front teeth and just bites, before I even know what he is doing, and when I am snoozing while he nurses that is quiet the wake up call!

I also have a pincher who has turned the under side of my arms black and blue. the worst behavior he has started, is while he is nursing he takes his foot and props it on my chest, and then trys to straighten out his leg, which means he digs his heals into me, so its either on my chest or on my arm..
these kids do not make it easy.
I am in the same boat as you, I want to nurse till we reach the one yr mark, but man how hard is this!

I also feel like you, about feeling like you are just up and down with moods, and emotions. I think its lack of sleep on my part. hang in there, they seem to go in spirts of bad behavior then nurse ok, so if u can reevaluate the situation in a day or so. In the mean time, watch that little bitter close!

If you ever need an encouraging voice please feel free to PM me, we can stick to our goal together!


good luck

MyBabeMaddie replied: Making it as far as your have is incredible!!! You're my hero!! Don't beat yourself up about having thoughts about FF I couldn't even make it to my goal of 6 weeks of BF, I've already started to supplement night time feedings with formula

holley79 replied:

Nothing wrong with supplementing if that is what you want.

sammiandsarah replied: I'm new here but I just want to post to say good for you for not caving. I remember being so ready to throw in the towel more than once, but am so glad I didn't. Sometimes it just can be so overwhelming, can't it? I can remember sitting in my bed nursing Samantha and just wanting to run downstairs and get the bottle, but I just kept saying, "get through this one, get through this one" and now she will be two next week and she's still a great nurser. Keep it up!

Mary
Mom to Sammi and Sarah

kimberley replied: sorry i didn't see this post before. i am glad you are hanging in there but don't feel bad at all for supplementing. we all have our breaking points and nursing is really difficult right now at the age the girls are at because they are easily distracted and mobile. i have bruised legs, belly, bb's, not to mention the scratches on the underside of the bbs, from kicking, pinching and now biting!

will she not play with the nursing beads anymore? sometimes i can get Kaleigh to hold onto a toy or blanket so she isn't pinching or scratching me. and if she bites, i just unlatch her and refuse to nurse for 5-10 minutes. it usually makes her stop. hang in there.

holley79 replied:
Annika refuses to play with the nursing beads anymore. My bbs are so scratched and bruised also. Really stinks. Annika is doing better. I'm still doing the no pumping during the day though. Annika isn't biting right now. I chant the no bite song and it seems to work.

CantWait replied: I missed this one also Holley. How are things going?

kimberley replied: can you teach me that song?? i will chant it religiously!

yay for no pumping.. that must be a relief. are you still getting engorged or is your body regulating?

holley79 replied:
It's going ok. I was just exhausted is all. I think we all go through this at one time or another. I am not pumping anymore during my work day though. Annika is nursing well right now. She isn't biting as much as she was. She is still pinching though. I try all kinds of things to get her to quit pinching me but nothing works anymore.

I haven't had any supply issues with the no pumping at work. I appreciate the check in ladies. Things are getting better though.

CantWait replied:

KeanusMomma replied: Someone said something about nursing beads. Does that mean you've tried a nursing necklace? I never did that with my ds but it sounds like a great idea. Also, "nothing wrong with supplementing"??????? Pick up any book about breastfeeding and you'll get shocking stats and facts on just how BAD formula is for a baby. That said, your babe will prob be much healthier with breastmilk part time that with artificial baby milk full-time. I had a hard time breastfeeding in those first months, but after I read the right books, I realized it was my expectations that were getting me down. This may not apply to you, but I always got frustrated when ds would want to nurse around the clock and all night long. That is very common, esp with bf babies. It's better for them, because a hungry baby can be quite a screaming handfull. And, breastmilk is digested much easier, and therefore more quickly, than most other foods (like artificial baby milk). I learned ds needed me to be there for him, to nurse him on cue and through the night (we cosleep).

Other than that, I would say to concentrate on the good aspects of breastfeeding--it is so important to make it to that one-year mark! I love it when ds looks up at me with his innocent eyes, as if saying "thanks mama!" And when he was a little baby it was so great to know that if he did get upset, all I had to do to comfort him was put him up to my breast. He would go from a fussing frenzy to a contented little boy, grunting and rolling his eyes in pleasure. I could actually feel all his muscles relax as he latched on. Breastfeeding is great all around, don't stop!

KeanusMomma replied: Oh, and for books to troubleshoot these common problems or to learn more, "So That's What They're For!" is a good one, as are any by Dr. Sears

holley79 replied: Thanks Rachael. I really do appreciate the support. Annika only gets about 6 onces of formula a day during the week. When I am at home and w/ her we nurse on demand. Annika is a booby baby for sure. We have been very fortunate to not have as many problems as some have had. I probably would have quit a long time ago had I not had the support from this board.

Welcome aboard you have found a wonderful place.