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Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Infant feeding

Breastfeeding, Teething, Expressing & Formula - HELP!

11 replies

ShellbyWolfe · 28/06/2017 15:06

Hi all,
First time posting here...
LO is coming up to 6 months old. After the initial usual struggles of BF we finally made it, only to hit a new hurdle at around 4.5/5 months with teething. Teething has been going on for about 3 months now, still no tooth...but it has started to get too painful for LO to breastfeed. I started expressing in the daytime and he was BF at night. However, now the teething means he has less of an appetite, so he's taking small feeds and often. Daily life means I can't always express when I want to, for example, today we've had a busy day (with few naps, which isn't usually the case to be fair) and I've not expressed once but LO managed two very small BF sessions. I've been topping up with formula because I either don't have the breastmilk available, or I haven't been able to express enough in time. So LO usually has a small bottle of breast milk followed by a little bottle of formula.
We are in a good routine with 3 naps a day (usually) and set times for milk, as well as some solids in the morning and evening. Sleeping isn't too bad, 2 feeds around 10:30pm and 2/3am. A solid bedtime routine.

The problem, is that we have no solid or consistent feeding amounts - it varies so much every day. I REALLY didn't want to use formula, especially after struggling through with BF! But I've had no choice. Lots of people have said to me to not give up the BF and that LO will return to it, just be patient and keep trying. He definitely wants to BF, he just rubs his ear hard and pulls of getting upset after about 5-10 mins. Even at nighttime now. I feel like most of my free time is spent expressing and then sterilising and making up formula.

There must be an easier way!! Lots of people think I should just quit the BF but I really don't want to because we came so far and I know it's good for LO ( as well as the convenience of it!)

Has anyone else had a phase like this where teething has disrupted feeding so badly? Any advice/help/tips really appreciated! I feel totally lost and frustrated most of the time :(
Thanks x

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AssassinatedBeauty · 29/06/2017 02:26

Are you sure it's just teething and not anything like an ear infection?

Also, he might just be preferring the easier work of bottle feeding compared to the harder effort of breastfeeding. Is he not doing any breastfeeding in the day at all, at the moment?

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teaandbiscuitsforme · 29/06/2017 07:49

My nearly 6 mo DS doesn't feed for anywhere near 10 mins at a time (unless he's going off to sleep). Are you sure he's struggling and it's not that he's just far more efficient at getting the milk these days? For my DS, a couple of minutes is what he wants and then he's back to trying to see what's going on. Also, he might have been wanting to feed more frequently in the last few weeks because of the heat.

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LapinR0se · 29/06/2017 07:56

Teething does not go on for 3 months, there is something else going on here

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tiktok · 29/06/2017 10:20

I agree this isn't teething.

OP, have you had a chance to discuss the whole thing in real life?

A feed of 5 to 10 mins for a baby of this age is well within normal.

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ShellbyWolfe · 29/06/2017 21:23

Hi all,
I took him to the docs to rule out ear infection and doc also said teething. She said some babies can teeth for months until a tooth actually comes through (with the teeth moving but not appearing). Sometimes he rubs his ears and pulls off after 30 seconds. It's definitely never long enough to satisfy his hunger. If it's not teething then at least I'd be able to work through it but what else could it be? He loves to BF.
I've got an appointment with the HV next week.

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ShellbyWolfe · 29/06/2017 21:24

Sorry I meant to say, I'm still offering him breast as much as poss, was advised before naps and after. I'll keep offering and trying of course. He's otherwise all healthy according to doc ...

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InDubiousBattle · 29/06/2017 21:28

You say that he is taking small feeds but often? That's fine. My dd would rarely feed for more than 5 minutes at this age- she had just become very efficient. What teething remedies have you tried? How much f is he having daily now?

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ShellbyWolfe · 30/06/2017 06:09

It's not the length of time he's feeding, before this happened he would feed short bursts and regularly and that was fine. But currently he is attempting to feed and pulls off crying and rubbing his ear with force. He's having varied amounts of formula depending on how much I've managed to express. I think it's a good point someone made about him preferring the ease of the bottle especially if it's painful on his gums or jaw to breastfeed.
Funnily enough last night he cried and when my DH tried to give him a bottle he didn't want it and wanted to BF instead, which is the first time in a long time.
I think after reading everyone's comments I will just keep attempting to BF and express as much as I can when he can't feed. Hopefully it will pass in time and we can get back to our normal BFing.
Thanks for all the comments.

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teaandbiscuitsforme · 30/06/2017 06:39

It is quite normal for teething to take months but babies normally find BF comforting and breast milk is supposed to help with the pain. They can also clamp on to relieve the pain a bit!

I'm not an expert (listen to somebody like tiktok) but I'd be trying to drop the bottles as much as possible (formula and expressed) if you want to continue BF for the foreseeable future. Bottle feeding probably is easier for him and therefore you could end up in a cycle of more and more bottles - fine if you want to stop BF but quite difficult to get back from if you would like to BF with the occasional bottle.

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InDubiousBattle · 30/06/2017 08:38

This sounds very similar to my nephew at this age and it did indeed pass. SIL read somewhere at the time that bf increases blood flow to the gums and can cause more pain in some babies, others take comfort as pp says. Have to tried rubbing Anbesol on his gums before feeding? Calpol should help if it's teething. Also putting the water filled teether and damp flannels into the fridge for him to knaw on.

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ShellbyWolfe · 01/07/2017 19:01

Thanks guys
For the last two days I've been BF only. LO has a little cold and it's actually helped because he's wanted the comfort of nursing more. I'm just going to keep pushing through and also lay off the bottles as you say. We've definitely had a breakthrough anyway.
Thanks for understanding and for all the advice!