I just went back to work this week and am getting a little worried that my 13-week old boy is already becoming less interested in breastfeeding. What do I do? He stays with his dad one day a week, is in daycare 3 days a week, and is with me one day a week. On days when I don't have him I visit home/daycare to feed him at noon, plus I feed him when I drop him off and when I pick him up. He gets pumped breastmilk when I can't be around to feed him. He has always taken a bottle pretty well, but I feel like he hasn't nursed well for the past 2.5 days. He's very distracted except for when he's really sleepy. I'm not sure whether this is him losing interest in breastfeeding or whether it's just all of the changes that he's encountered this week. Any advice? Am I just being paranoid? I am nowhere *near* ready to stop nursing him :(
Thanks everyone for your encouragement. He nursed poorly again today at lunch, but was starving by the time I picked him up today and ate well. I'm hoping that the three-day weekends with mom (and without bottles!) gets him back into his pre-mommy-working routine. I guess there's not much that can be done about him finding the world interesting (and that would be a problem even if he were bottle fed) and he'll just figure out that he needs to eat when he's hungry. I'm a bit more optimistic than I was before that this will resolve itself in a couple weeks.
Thanks again!
K.
Hi K.,
Just keep on trying and you'll get in to a routine I'm sure. I admire your determination to nurse - you're really juggling a lot - my hat goes off to you.
K.:
some of it may just be a combination of age and everything that is going on...
often as babies get more active they nurse less during the day - open compensating by nursing more at night.
the important thing is to keep up your milk suppy.
good luck/
P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
800 lactate
www.lactationsupportgroup.com
K.,
First of all, THANK YOU for your determination to nurse. You are doing such a wonderful thing for your baby! and you! I still nurse my six month old, unfortunately not exclusively, but I know what you are going through. Sometimes my baby would be a little distracted too and I felt he wasn't getting enough. When I called my LC, she told me that he probably just didn't need as much and that he took what he wanted. She also told me that he would n ot let himself starve and that as long as he was still active and happy, not to worry. So, I hope her words help you too.
Good Luck!
S.
I went through this same thing at the very same age.. it seemed to last FOREVER but was actually only about 2 weeks. I just kept trying to nurse and pumping and finally my daughter decided to nurse again, and did until she was 3.5 yrs old!
It is just a stage.. just keep telling yourself that and have a little patience with it.. I know I was in tears and felt like I was being rejected for doing something wrong, but it DID pass.
-M.
Hi,
I've gone back to work, too, recently (my son is 19 weeks now), and I breastfeed my son, who is a lot more easily distracted at the breast than he used to be. Time was, I could feed him while walking around the supermarket if I had to (I lived in Germany -- breastfeeding is more common and less controversial over there). Now, though, he's always pulling away to look at things. Maybe your son is just getting into checking out the world? Is there a way to feed him in a less distracting environment? I've resorted to patting mine on the butt to calm him when he's feeding in a more public place; that seems to keep him focused. Just some thoughts. I'm sure you're doing a great job!
