i am at the end of my teather baby won't breast feed or stop crying!! HELP!

[kandiizsweet]

My daughter is 9 weeks old an from the start i was exclusively breast feeding her, until she had a little problem with reflux so i then had to give her the bottle with gaviscon 3 times a day, because it was the only way she could digest the gaviscon, i continued to breast feed in between but slowly fed more on the bottle because now, my milk has completely reduced there is some but hardly any at all! I used to express an get a full bottle in like 5 mins but now im lucky to get half an ounce in an hour! I keep trying to get her onto the breast again but she for some reason does not like to be cradled in that position anymore!! She does still latch on but she starts to cry when i put her into position an then shell only latch on for couple of seconds an cry again!! Iv tried other breast feeding positions an still no luck! I don't want to stop breast feeding i want to carry on but now im so pissed off that i might just have to stick to the formula! Why is she not interested any more how can i get my milk back an how long does this all take? Thanks

Have you tried going skin to skin? I know some people swear by having a bath with baby and feeding in there

I tried skin to skin, haven't tried the bath yet thou, i need my milk supply back first im just so upset i really don't want to stop breast feeding but is it more stress full trying to get the milk back?

Hi kandi sounds like you are having a hard time. You can get baby back on the breast but it will take time if she's having a lot of formula. bf is all about supply and demand so if you have been feeding/expressing less your body will make less.

Are there any bf support groups near you? Real life support could be really helpful I think.

You can try putting her on the breast at every feed and doing lots of skin to skin at home. you can try cutting down on the bottle one feed at a time, starting with the time of day when you feel you have most milk (often in the morning). You can give meds by syringe or cup and a bf group could show you positions where baby is more upright that might help with reflux. If you can't get to a group ring one of the national helplines, they are great. If you are trying to latch baby on and she gets very distressed, just hold her gently until she calms or give her a little milk to take the edge off her hunger and try again. Also try breast compression to help the milk flow while she's on.

If you Google the Best for Babes site and search it for bottle feeding, there's a good article on there about baby led bottle feeding which might be helpful while you're combining the two.

It'll be a gradual process, but you can get there. Good luck.

It sounds like you need some rl help. There is the National Breastfeeding Helpline on 0300 100 0212.

You could also try La Leche League on 0845 120 2918.

I would also suggest speaking to your HV to see if there is a breastfeeding drop in group you can go to locally, as well as to see if your HV can advise on how to get breastfeeding going again.

From my own experience, sometimes babies can begin to prefer the faster flow of a bottle, and then get frustrated at the breast because the milk doesn't come quickly enough and they have to work for it. Try putting her to the breast when she is not super hungry and see if she feeds more easily. Also, you can get bottles that are not free flow (eg the Medela Calma system or similar) where the baby has to suck similar to bfeeding to get milk. They may help to prevent the preference for bottles over breast.

Also try posting this again in the Breast and Bottle Feeding section, which is under "Feed the World" - there are lots of experienced people that hang out there.

You could also express to try and increase milk production

I had the same problem, try holding lo like a rugby ball. Or lie down with her next to you, after lots of research i found out the usual position to bf makes the acid reflux works ( sonething to do with shortening the pipe?)

*worse

Also a lot of reflux babies dont like car seats, or lying flat. You can buy reflux pillows to help