Billie Faiers has stopped breastfeeding.
The 27-year-old reality star was happy to nurse her 13-week-old son Arthur but has given up because it was discovered he needs special prescription milk because of an allergy and he was "so poorly" until his diet was changed.
She said: "I’ve stopped [breastfeeding] now. He wasn’t gaining enough weight with breastfeeding because he wasn’t getting enough from my milk, so he’s on a special prescribed milk now. He has a cow’s milk allergy. At one point he had really bad reflux and was so poorly, but he’s much better now. It was really stressful but now he’s massive. He doesn’t stop drinking – he’s such a hungry baby."
Although she knows it was the right decision, Billie – who also has daughter Nelly, two, with fiance Greg Shepherd – has found it hard to stop breastfeeding because she enjoyed it so much.
Asked if she was sad to stop, she said: "Yes because I loved breastfeeding. I feel sorry for him too because that was his comfort."
Billie and Greg have also been having problems with Nelly because she’s been so unsettled at night time.
She said: "It’s a bit of a nightmare. We need to follow some more advice from the night nanny. We were doing so well until she left and then Greg gave in one night and we were back to square one. Nelly keeps waking us up when she wants Greg to get in the bed with her. We want a peaceful night and we don’t want her waking Arthur up so Greg gives in. It’s a vicious circle because as long as he keeps getting in the bed with her, she’s going to keep waking up and asking for him."
And the stress of juggling the demands of two young children is taking its toll on their relationship.
She told OK! magazine: "It’s so exhausting when we’re both working and, for me, juggling work, housework, cooking and taking the kids out – it’s really hard."