The title says it all. What I had been avoiding for so long finally got taken out of my hands and thrust upon me. Preston had to be given formula.
When we got to Toowoomba for our Easter visit I explained to Gran what had happened yesterday with the breast refusal and how I felt like something was wrong with my breasts, as I was more sore than normal. I showed her and she agreed with me that I should see a doctor today while I could, since public holidays during Easter would most likely mean that I would have a lot of trouble if I didn’t.
Sure enough I had an infection that required me to stop feeding, taking medication to clear it up and of course let my very sore and cracked nipples heal. The doctor suspected that the infection was the reason for the breast refusal. During this time Preston would have to go onto the bottle and I would need to express and dispose, to keep my supply up. After 5 days I could decide if I wanted to try to breastfeed again or continue with the formula.
This of course was going to be a difficult day/night. We were in Toowoomba, with no bottles, and no breast pump. I got a tin of formula (S26 original), keeping it as basic as possible to not cause Preston too many issues with digesting something he wasn’t used to. After all, he’s never had anything other than breast milk…who knew how he would react to the introduction of formula. And I got one bottle to get through the day.
Thankfully Gran helped me out, us both learning as we went (we were both breastfeeding mums, this bottle stuff was all new to us). Juggling one bottle during the night was quite a challenge, but Gran helped out, making sure it was sterilised and ready for the next feed.
The other challenge was expressing milk. With no pump this sure was difficult. I could only do so much by hand, enough to just make myself comfortable. I needed to get home to that breast pump!
