Pulling off the Breast

Try starting him on solids. He may be ready for that. Two of my kids started on solids at 3 months.

OH, sweetie! Please call a La Leche League Leader & get some help.
Babies this young do NOT self-wean. In fact, babies under a year almost never self-wean.

I think that he's probably got a tad of nipple confusion or has just figured out that if he fusses long enough, he'll get a bottle & won't have to work to get his food. After all, with a bottle, it's all gravity & no effort. With a breast, they actively must participate (which is why they have the bennefit later on of better oral development & many times, better speech patterns!).

Do NOT give him solids this early!!!!!!!!!!! Introducing solids at this age is STRONGLY correlated with a huge increase in type 1 diabetes, not to mention allergies. In fact introducing solids prior to 6-9 mos is associated with those!

The more you nurse, the more milk you will make. Your baby is probably hitting his 3 month growth spurt, so it's normal for him to nurse more often & does NOT mean your supply isn't strong enough. In fact, it's natures way of making sure you have enough. But every time you give him something from a bottle, it's a little less that your body will make. So the fewer bottles you give him, the more your body will be forced to make. It is ALL supply & demand!

Again, please call a LLL Leader. They can help give you some more tips & help you & your son have long-term success with breastfeeding.

You can do it, C.! Just have faith in your body & your baby! You can do this!!!!!

There will be a couple of times during breastfeeding where the baby seems to fight it... it does not mean he is self weaning... that wouldn't happen for quite some time. He might just be bored with it (the opposite of going through a growth spurt) or he might be starting to prefer the bottle.
You are correct that its easier to get milk out of a bottle than a breast. So the best way to fix this is to limit his use of bottles.
If you work full time (like I did) this is impossible, so just keep nursing as often as you can... but understand that nursing will slowly end and he will prefer the bottle. BUT - you should be pumping so that he is at least getting your milk from the bottle!

Good luck!

Hi, C..
I had the same problem with my daughter when she was very young. I didn't know what I was doing wrong..she would pull off and sometime arch her back. She also had episode of projectile vomiting. The doctor said those are all the symptoms of acid reflux. But since she was growing well and happy, the doctor said it will be optional for me to try on her medicine, but I chose not to. And she did get better. My mom said I had the same problem.
The best thing would be talk to your doctor and you and him/her can decide what would be best for you little one.
Good luck!

I agree that babies don't wean that young. It could be due to reflux or an ear infection. Have the pediatrician check her out. Stop supplementing b/c that will only decrease your milk production. It's too early for solids and I don't see why they would help your situation. good luck!

Three months old is way too young for a baby to self wean. There must be something else going on. I needed to use a supplementer with my second child. I had to use one for weeks and, finally, when my son was about 9 weeks old (as I recall), the flow was better, and I nursed him until he weaned himself a few weeks before he turned 2.
I would suggest contacting a nursing mom's group and also, if you can, a lactation consultant. I made good use of both when I was nursing both my kids. The nursing moms' group will be free of charge, no doubt, while a lactation consultant has a fee, but it is not a lot for what you get out of it, and certainly worthwhile as it will allow you to continue feeding your baby breastmilk. I can recommend a fantastic one, but I don't know where you live...she may be too far from you. (You can send me a private message if you want.) There's also a nursing moms' group near me, but you should be able to find one wherever you are. Also, I wouldn't start the baby on solids until you consult with a lactation consultant/nursing mom/pediatrician. Be aware that some doctors are not as supportive of breastfeeding as others. I interviewed ours before my first child was born, and I felt comfortable with the support level, but I have heard of practices where they are not supportive (although the AMA suggests at least 1 year of nursing, which they increased about 10 years ago, from 6 months of nursing), so be aware of that. Good luck!

Its also possible that he's having some reflux. Pulling off the breast and arching his back could be a sign. So could being fussy during nursing. Does he spit up more then "normal"? Also I'd try a lower flow nipple on the bottle to make him work harder at getting it so he doesn't compare the breast to the bottle. Its also possible that he may be cutting teeth and nursing isn't the pleasent soother that he thought it would be. If all else fails I would call the LLL or another nursing consultant to get some more ideas. There was a post on her enot long ago about incresing your supply for ideas to try in the mean time. Good luck!

My baby does that from time to time. I dicovered he needed to burp or he wasn't hungry anymore. I just stop and let him burp and than try to latch him on again. If he doesn't latch on he is full and that is okay. But than again make sure to speak to a doctor and a lactation consultate as everyone else is saying. They are there to help us to succeed in breastfeeding, don't give up!!

Hi C.,

Babies do not self-wean this early. You and your baby are likely going through some adjustments. At 3 months, your baby is more than likely going through another growth spurt. His actions in pulling off the breast and going back on are sending signals to your body to make more milk. Keep nursing him as often as he would like and avoid supplementing if possible. The more he sucks on the bottle the fewer signals your body is getting to make more milk. Also, at around 3 months your body switches from a "hormone-based" milk production where you are overproducing to a "need-based" milk production where you body is figuring out what your baby needs and making only that much milk. If you are supplementing, then your body isn't getting the signals to make more milk. Your baby may be slightly frustrated because your milk isn't flowing as abundantly as it was before, but he and your body will adjust. Just nurse on demand. And remember - you never run out of milk - your body will continue to make as much as he needs.

During a growth spurt it may seem like your baby isn't satisfied, but he is just communicating with your body to tell it to make more milk for his growing body. Don't get frustrated, it will pass and he will go back to a more "normal " feeding schedule.

Here is some info from Kellymom that you might find helpful: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/fussy-while-nurs...

J.

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Just hang in there! My baby did the same thing around the same time. I think it was a combination of needing to stretch out her feedings from 3 to 3 1/2 hours, needing to burp, and getting to the age where they get distracted easily. If he keeps doing it, wait 30 minutes and try again. If you supplement just because he gets frustrated, you may end up not making as much milk...unless you can pump at that time.

Are you supplementing because of being separated from the baby or because he needs more milk? If it because of supply, rather than supplementing, try nursing more often. If you must supplement because you need to build your supply, try a supplementer (a device that gives the baby milk through a straw like tube placed beside the nipple while he is nursing at the breast) that way you are still stimulating your breasts to produce more milk and he is not getting the instant gratification of a bottle and the confusion of the nipple switching.
Could he be getting distracted while nursing. Some babies pull off because of things going on around you. My daughter was like that, all I could do while nursing was watch TV. If I talked on the phone or read a book or anything that could distract her she would pull off from a couple weeks old.
I doubt he is weening himself. Typically 3 months is way to young to self ween. Keep trying, and keep the artifical nipples to a minimum. If he get the hang of it so far, he should come around before too long if you keep at it.

I noticed this happened a lot at 3-4 months because my son and daughter were suddenly "aware" of their surroundings. But, if the pulling off is a painful for you, then you might have a yeast infection in your breast. I had this with my son. Apparently the yeast doesn't taste good, so baby pulls at the breast. Both mom and baby have to be treated or you just transfer it back and forth. Baby might not have any symptons, but could have thrush (whiteness in baby's mouth) or bad diaper rash (red pin point bumps). For you, symptoms includ pain that kind of shoots like electricity in your breast (I understand if the infection is in a milk duct/gland the pain travels) or a rash on the nipple. Again, I think the symptoms vary. My son did not have thrush in his mouth, but he did have a rash and I had pain. We both took prescription medication, but I understand genitian violet is natural remedy, very effective, and available without a prescription. You should call the pediatrician and/or a lactation consultant before you try self-medicating.