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

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

Infant feeding

Tentative excitement - could she be starting again?

39 replies

mrsjuan · 25/09/2009 10:11

I've had a pretty rough ride with feeding my DD (now 4 and a half months) All started pretty well but I had no idea what was normal so stressed a lot. When we got to about 6 weeks she became extremely fussy and although she never lost weight, the amounts she was putting on were tiny so by 12 weeks with her weight dropping below the bottom centile line and her refusing most feeds I started giving her bottles of formula whilst diligently expressing 5 x a day to make up 3 of her feeds. She still had a breastfeed in the morning when she first woke up.

Although she still wasn't a very greedy baby she took the bottles well and her weight gain caught up nicely. An unexpected bonus was that she started sleeping through from 10 until 7 - bliss.

However for the past couple of weeks she has been waking in the night and I have been breastfeeding her back to sleep (old habits die hard!) She doesn't fight like she used to and it's lovely .

And now -for the past couple of nights she's played around with her bottle at her 4.30pmish feed and then accepted a breastfeed at around 6pm.

She;s just done the same thing with her morning bottle and had a nice little suck.

I don't want to get too excited but does this sound positive?

I've recently cut down the expressing to 3x a day because it was getting unmanageable so I don't think I will have the supply to be able to completely feed her again even if she wanted to...

God I've rambled on! Just soooo happy that she has had a few nibbles!

OP posts:

Report

JetLi · 25/09/2009 10:25

Oh that's lovely and now the nights are getting chilly it's sooo blissful to snuggle them into bed with you for feeding

Skillbo · 25/09/2009 12:25

I think that if you offer her the breast to start with before the bottle, your supply will start to increase??? I could be wrong but as far as I know there is no reason why you can't get back to bf full time... the actual action of feeding makes your breasts create milk, hence why cluster feeding happens before a massive growth spurt so that more milk is available...

However, even a few bf's a day is fabulous news and you must be well chuffed..

mrsjuan · 25/09/2009 12:55

I am thrilled but am going to take things very slowly - a month ago she would start to cry every time I got my boobs out so I don't want to upset her now that she has realised that feeding can be enjoyable occasionally.

I know that theoretically we could get the supply up but now she is so interested the world I don't think she'd enjoy spending hours and hours feeding like she did when she was tiny.

The other issue is that her latch is pretty rubbish but any attempts at repositioning her usually result in her getting upset - has anyone got any tips for gently trying
to encourage a deeper latch?

OP posts:

mrsjuan · 25/09/2009 13:56

Oh my goodness - another little nibble! Nothing to write home about but better than nothing. I'm going to give her bottle now as normal but try not to force persuade encourage her to take any more than she wants so that she just has it as a top up IYSWIM.

I don't really force her btw (don't know how you would) but I probably do keep offering the bottle a bit much but she seems to like to take breaks so I never really know if she's finished or just having a little rest!

OP posts:

JetLi · 25/09/2009 15:27

Fab, fab, fab!

mrsjuan · 25/09/2009 17:31

Hmm. Well, she didn't finish her bottle (not that that's unusual) but then downed her half 4 bottle in record time ( she didn't want to breastfeed before that feed so I didn't push my luck.
Oh well - lets see what tonight and tomorrow bring.

OP posts:

mrsjuan · 26/09/2009 10:43

Not so great today - had a few little feeds in the night but then wasn't interested this morning and wolfed her bottle down instead. Oh well, every bf counts etc etc.

OP posts:

mrsjuan · 27/09/2009 10:08

2 reasonable feeds in the night and then really didn't want her bottle this morning. Another BF just now [hopeful]

OP posts:

mrsjuan · 27/09/2009 15:02

Ok - talking to myself here but hey ho!

I am proudly reporting that she has been attached for half an hour! Her longest feed in literally months. Goodness knows what has triggered this. She messed both bottles this morning so must be fairly hungry.

OP posts:

tiktok · 27/09/2009 15:07

I'm listening and I think it all sounds great

greensnail · 27/09/2009 15:13

I'm listening too. Well done babyjuan

mrsjuan · 27/09/2009 15:20

Glad you are sharing in the excitement! I will continue to report.

Now wondering whether to give her her bottle as usual or to trust that she's had enough? She very rarely 'asks' for food so I tend to offer her bottle every 3 hours or so.

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greensnail · 27/09/2009 15:43

I'm not sure (dd isn't shy about asking )

Maybe trust she's had enough, as half an hour's a decent length of feed. She can always take some more later if she's still hungry.

bronze · 27/09/2009 15:54

This thread has made me smile which is nice cos of the day I'm having

JetLi · 28/09/2009 09:03

Let us know how things are today mrsjuan

Ineedmorechocolatenow · 28/09/2009 10:46

Quietly cheering here too.... how's today been?

mrsjuan · 28/09/2009 11:27

No progress today . She fed once in the night and then was awake at 4am happily chatting away but didn't want to feed. Bundled her into our bed and she slept for a few more hours and didn't want a feed from me in the morning either. At least it meant I could get a good bottle full of EBM so she can have that later.

She's happily taken 2 bottles of formula - grrrr! Suppose it might be a case of one step forward 2 steps back but we will keep going . I never know I could be so stubborn determined!

OP posts:

bronze · 29/09/2009 09:31

JetLi · 29/09/2009 17:41

Let us know how things are today mrsjuan

mrsjuan · 29/09/2009 19:16

No joy again today but her little burst of action at the weekend has done wonders for my supply & I'm getting more out at each expressing session. Hope it lasts!

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greensnail · 29/09/2009 20:03

KiwiPanda · 29/09/2009 20:27

mrsjuan Can I just say I think you are doing a wonderful job and it's so lovely that you are continuing to encourage her to BF. Sorry I am a bit knackered and can't think of a way to express that that doesn't somehow sound incredibly patronising aghh! But anyway I doff my cap to you, go you

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ilovealgreen · 29/09/2009 21:11

mrsjuan.

I think you are doing a great job too!

mrsjuan · 29/09/2009 21:33

Aw thank you. It is thanks to mumsnet that I feel that her getting as much breast milk into her as possible is so important so your support means a lot to me. (Though if I'd actually bothered looking at the breast and bottle feeding topic before I had her we might not have ended up in this situation!)

My hat comes off to anyone who manages to overcome breastfeeding difficulties when they have more than one DC. I would never be able to dedicate so much time to feeding if I had another one

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JetLi · 30/09/2009 11:40

Hope its going well today mrsjuan and hats off to you for pumping daily - I've done a couple of pumps this week in anticipation of an evening out tomorrow and it's bloody hard work...

I agree with what you said about having more than 1 DC - those ladies want medals the size of dustbin lids

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