Torn about wanting to stop BF..advice please (long)

kcalpin

Hi ladies.  This is my first post on this board, but I figured this was the best place to go for advice/support.  After I had my LO, I breastfed in the hospital and we had a lot of issues with getting him to latch properly.  I ended up with very sore, cracked, and bloody nipples.  A consultant came and worked with us every day and when we got home, I continued to breastfeed, but we still had latch issues and it was very painful.  About a week after he was born, I ended up back in hospital for 5 days because of a staph infection in my incision.  During my stay, I had to pump and dump because the medication they gave me was not safe for the baby, so he ended up eating formula for those days.  When I got home, we tried to have him latch again with no success, so I began exclusively pumping. 

We have been to see the LC at least twice a week since and we are still having no success with latching.  I absolutely hate pumping, but I know that breastmilk is the best thing for my son, but every time I go to pump, all I can think about is how much I want to stop.

I'm so frustrated.  Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with exclusively pumping?  I really want to do the best thing for my son, but I am so depressed all the time over this.  Thank you for your help!