How is Oliver's weight gain going, Sam?  I'm guessing that there's cause for concern if Plunket also think there's not enough breastmilk for him?  But is he alert (well, as alert as a 3-week-old gets?), does he seem generally OK within himself, or is he not looking too well?  I'm asking because as I learnt with Ella, low weight gain can worry a mum sick, but it's really important to look at how alert/active/happy the child is too, because some kids are just small.  It's time to worry when they're small and lethargic. 

You're already doing everything you can and I think you deserve a big pat on the back and some recognition for that, because it's such hard work.   And like others said, babies are far more effective at getting milk from a breast than a breast pump is.  Expressing works well on some boobies, not so well on others, and some people find different pumps better than others too.  And it's so frustrating because you can't measure what you baby has drunk straight from the breast, so you've only got his disposition and health to try and measure it by.  But remember that it's still early days for you, and it seems so many of us had awful struggles with breastfeeding in the beginning.  For some it gets easier and becomes really convenient and lovely, and for others it doesn't, but don't feel guilty if it doesn't - it's not your fault at all.  And many, many babies have thrived on formula. 

Thanks for all your kind words of support. I had a wee meltdown this morning to poor old DH on the phone whilst he was at work....we talked it through and decided that the best thing for ALL of us, is to just keep going with the breastfeeding and topping him up with formula and EBM. If the b/f falls into place and we both get better at it then thats fantastic, if not then he is getting enough to eat from the formula top-ups. We figured that the stress of everything was just making the whole situation worse and not doing me or Ollie any good! I am still going to be pro-active about increasing my milk, but not obsessively as I have been - I dont need the added stress or pressure. I just need to learn to "go with the flow" and I think that by making the choice to not make a choice (does that make sense) things will be a lot calmer in our house!

So, its 3am and I am sitting in the lounge expressing in an attempt to stimulate more milk. I had a great day at the Plunket Family Centre, but the ladies there have said they dont think I am producing enough milk - which I kind of already knew.

I was wondering how long people sdtruggled on with b/f before switching to formula and how they coped with making that decision? I am taking everything under the sun to try and increase my milk, but nothing seems to be working? I try to express after each feed, but its pretty exhausting for very little return.

I want to do the right thing for Ollie, but am not sure what that is at the moment?