QUICK HELP: Previously angelic baby refusing nipple unless I put shield on???!!!!

[TJuice]

It only really started in the middle of the night feed last night. My 10 week old, Elodie wouldn't feed lying down or in the upright position - was crying and refusing the nipple which she never does.

This morning, in frustration I tried with a nipple shield and she took it and is okay now.

For the past few days I have been pumping a lot more as my supply has really evened it, to the point where I can't express for the 10pm feed which my dh normally does. I pump after I feed her to stimulate even more (according to Clare Byam-Cook). Could this put her off somehow?

She had also not pooed for 24 hours and then just did the mother of all poonamis. Could constipation have made her fussy??

Any experience of this?

[twoboots]

DD is the same age, we sometimes have nights like that, thankfully it passes.
I found that fenugreek tablets have helped increase my supply (6-9 tabs daily).
She will often miss a day in terms of pooing, the next day she will make up for it: 3-4 leaking nappies!
Not sure if pumping is putting her off, could it be a growth supurt? DD has had 2 big ones- when she has been very fussy for a couple of days, feeding every 2 hours or less and i felt as though my supply was down too. After 2 days it settled, I had a noticable bigger baby, feeding every 3-6 hours.

[TJuice]

thanks, twoboots. maybe it is a growth spurt.
she is a bit better now but still sometimes cries and refuses the nipple unless i put the shield on . i have been whipping it off again halfway through and she can be "tricked" like that.

my supply seems a bit better now but its hard work pumping after every feed! i ordered some fenugreek tincture as well as blessed thistle so hope that i can keep up with her needs.

babies are odd! i wish she could just talk sometimes . . .

[GreenMonkies]

Ahh, I see your problem; you're following the advice of Claire Byam-Cook.

Seriously, throw that book away. She is not trained or qualified to give bf advice, hasn't practiced as a MW for about 20 years and her advice goes against all the advice of the major bf support organisations. Babies do get nipple confusion, so ease back on the expressing/bottle use and ignore any routine you have been following and just feed her on demand. This way your supply will meet her needs and you can stop torturing yourself with the pump and worrying about how much she's taking etc.

Unless you have PCOS or some other condition that impacts on your supply there should be no need to use galactogogues at this early stage, feeding on demand is all you should need to do to make sure you have enough milk. If you have been using a bottle/dummy from birth your DD may not have a very efficient latch, as the sucking technique for a bottle is very different from the sucking technique of breastfeeding, so you would probably be best to stop using all artificial nipples (nipple shields, bottles and dummies) for a week or so and focus on nursing and keeping her close.

check out www.breastfeedingsupport.co.uk for info and contact numbers for people who really do know what they are talking about, and ignore Clare Bloody-Byam-Cook!!

Monkies

[GreenMonkies]

Oh, I forgot to say, exclisively bf babies don't get constipated, and it's quite normal for them to only poo once a day (some even less!) once they get a bit older, they stop pooping after every feed and store it up!

[TJuice]

Thanks - but i guess the expressing worked as my supply just came back and she is much less fussy now too. very odd!