My 4 wk old was 7.11 at birth and spent the first three and a half weeks losing more than a pound as I breast fed her (exclusively). Because of the weight loss and my catching bronchitis and a sinus infection, she was supplemented with both pumped breast milk & formula.
The good news is that she has gained the weight back plus more BUT after 7 days of this, she's losing interest in the breast (nursing not as vigorous, increased frustration, not seeming satisfied) and seems to be "holding out" for the bottle.
What are my best and quickest options for getting her back to nursing?
PS I don't think it's a supply issue as I pumped while supplementing, am taking fenugreek, nursing skin to skin for 15-20 mins/side and offering breast every 2-3 hrs during the day and drink 100 oz of water/day.
Basically you are just going to have to be more stubborn than she is. Just don't give her the bottle. It won't take more than a day or two. It may push her feedings a little closer together, but she'll catch on.
It has been many years since I breastfed my last one. But my pedi at that time said it is more work for your baby to get milk from your breast than from a bottle. I had to refrain from nursing a couple times because of his getting juandiced. But he did go back to breast feeding after we got that cleared up. Milk flows out of a bottle easier than from your breast. You may need to just keep offering the baby your breast instead of a bottle. She will get hungry and eat what you offer her. Or you could pump to give it to her in a bottle. The problem with pumping is that you or a pump will not get as much flow as your daughter would. Keep trying and don't let it get you down. If you get frustrated, it will be harder to nurse for you both. Make sure she is getting latched on good and relax. God provided us with the perfect way to feed our children. By the way, my son was 18 months old before he we completely weaned him. He is now in college and studing to be a doctor.
I would consult with a lactation consultant. I had the same problem wiht my first & it ended with me pumping full time & that only lasted a few months. Next time around, I was all ready with a lactation consultant on speed dial adn I'm still nursing her going on 11 months! It seems expensive but you'll save the money back in just a few weeks then if you have to start buying formula earlier than you planned. We love Kay at the nesting place in Grapevine-you could call & if that she's not close to you, I'm sure she'll give you a great referral. http://www.thenestingplace.net/
Good luck & hang in there!
Dear C.,
this is an "old woman's" advice to a young woman... as strange as it may seem, it is probably your diet. Babies like the smell and taste of garlic, they also like "sweet" milk. You drink whole milk it produces "fat" milk for your baby. Remember you burn 3000 calories nursing!
Hi C.,
I sympathize. I got shingles 3 days after I had my little guy and switched to bottle during the treatment/rash phase out of fear for his health. My milk supply went down, his suck was knocked out of wack by the bottle nipples - not fun. I was determined to breasfeed, so I went to a lactation consultant. She SAVED the day!
Perhaps one of the moms can recommend one (as I was in CA at the time). One of the tools I used was a tube supplement while nursing - basically it was like a milk I.V. - you put formula or breast milk in the "bottle" piece (which you could clip to your bra or wear around your neck), which was attached to a very thin tube that you slip, along with your nipple, into the baby's mouth. http://www.lact-aid.com/uses.htm (this isn't the model I used, but it's the same idea.) It takes some extra work, but they get the nourishment they need, it improves their suck, and can improve your milk production if it went down (sometimes its hard to tell).
Good luck!
Stop the bottle. and stop the water. the more you give her from the bottle the more she will refuse the breast. stop pumping and let the breasts engorge so as she sucks the milk may flow a little easier.
after she is completely back on the breast, resume pumping and freezing the extra milk.
No bottle or you will constantly have an uphill battle and she will eventually wean herself from the breast.
I know because mine did. When i went back to work baby went to bottle with breast milk in it. and gradually stopped nursing at all. when baby stopped nursing little by little, my milk supply dwindled because the pump was just not as effective. before to long i was dry and baby was using up all frozen reserves and had to go on formula.
breast or bust!
good luck,
L.
C.,
I guess my first question for you is how much milk do you get when you pump? Just because you're nursing for 15-20minutes on each side doesn't necessarily mean that the baby is getting a ton of milk. Some babies are ineffective nursers. Are you sure that she's latched on properly? Can you hear her swallowing? I say all of this b/c I experienced the same thing with my first child. What I ended up doing was pumping breast milk and giving her a bottle. I did this until she was 10months old. I'm not saying give up breastfeeding. What I'm saying is that you need to have an open mind and if you have to tweak how you're doing things so that the baby gets breast milk and continues to grow then you do it! I did recently find a bottle that is called "Breast Flow" at target. It was designed by lactation consultants and has an inner, firmer nipple and an outer softer nipple. It mimics let down. It's kind of expensive but it won't give the baby that instant gratification that they get from other bottles. I think that as moms we have to be flexible in adapting to our kid's needs and this is one of those times. Just remember, what is most important is that your baby is eating and growing! in the long run it doesn't matter how she gets her food just as long as she's gaining weight. I wish you the best of luck!
I was afraid that this might happen to me when I went back to work after having my first baby. What I did was use the slow flow nipples so she couldn't get too much milk and would rather that...I kept her on slow flow until she was completely weaned of breast and bottle. I never increased to medium or fast. I think if you are on slow, they make small nipples for preemies; I imagine the flow is slower as well...Good luck!
It sounds like you are doing all the right things, but maybe the problem isn't that you aren't producing enough milk, maybe it's that your milk isn't rich enough. Maybe you could stop taking fenugreek or you could try pumping breast milk and see if she would take it out of a bottle. If she insists, you could mix a little formula with the breast milk to slowly bring her back to nursing. If she still seems to dislike the breast milk then there could be a problem that needs to be checked out. My sister in law did the same when she was a baby and it turned out she was allergic to something her mom was eating and it was getting in the breast milk. Keep your options open and I hope this helps!
I went through the same thing. My kiddo wasn't too stubborn. I let Dad feed him expressed milk at night but breastfed him exclusively during the day. When I started to breastfeed exclusively during the day, it did push his feedings closer for the first day and then he was back on track by day 2.
I had to do the same thing when my youngest was born. He was losing weight and we had to give him the bottle. After he gained the weight back my pedi had me offer only the breast. He screamed like crazy at times because he didn't want to work for the milk. Once he realized he was not going to get the bottle, he came around. It was stressful because he had a little nipple confusion but it all worked out just fine. I ended up being extremely sore for awhile but he nursed for over a year.
