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Infant feeding

6.5 mo losing ability to latch?

5 replies

smk84 · 26/12/2012 20:06

Ds was ebf until 18 weeks, when we introduced one bottle a day. That one bottle became 4 over a period of about 4 weeks where feeding became a nightmare with ds refusing to feed properly from me , lots of crying from both of us etc. he had been very slow gaining weight and I think he was very hungry and impatient. Now at 30 weeks his latch just isn't right..... It looks ok from the outside, but his action just doesn't feel right, and its taking him longer to get the let down, and sometimes he goes on my left and doesn't get a let down for a few minutes, the is if he will stay on for that long. He is currently on a mixture of ff and ebm by bottle, and I offer him the breast about 5 times a day, mainly at sleep or wake up times as this is when he is most willing to bf. if he is too awake he is too interested in what's going on around him.
Do you think he is losing his ability to latch? Is this common for mixed fed babies? Is there anything I can do? He will take water or formul from a sippy cup, but not much volume. When I express I can always get milk out, so I know it's not dried up. Thank you and happy Boxing Day Xmas Smile.

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smk84 · 27/12/2012 20:22

Anyone? Tia

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newbroom · 29/12/2012 20:43

Could he be cutting a tooth do you think? My DD was the same at that age, latch suddenly started hurting after months of straightforward feeding. Once the tooth had come through and she'd re-learned how to latch without biting (took a few tries!) things settled down. Should have said she was ebf though rather than mixed fed.

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GEM33 · 29/12/2012 23:13

hi, could be a bit of nipple confusion, maybe teething they can go off boob a bit as gums might be sore as newbroo, said? have you tried having a breast feed in bath together where there is less distraction, lots of skin to skin and you ll both be more relaxed? has he been checked for tongue tie?

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BigW · 29/12/2012 23:49

I had a similar situation except my DS had never latched on. I used a nipple shield to get over the confusion - worked a treat! Then you can phase it out once he is used to feeding in that way. Also a warm flannel and massage first to speed up the let down so he doesn't have to work so hard.

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smk84 · 03/01/2013 20:14

Thank you for the replies and suggestions. Yes we have tried all sorts of things to improve it, but not skinto skin as for some reason I can't put my finger on it makes me feel uncomfy, unless we are in the bath and we both have never really enjoyed feeding in there. I am hoping that over time I can phase out the bottles of formula and replace with sippy cup and bf am and evenings. Fingers crossed! At least he is still latching, and when I originally wrote the post I thought he may have given up by now!

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