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Infant feeding

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

is it nipple confusion?

4 replies

1lumpor2 · 15/01/2011 08:17

my DS is 5 weeks old and has started to get really fussy with BF, shaking his head and arching his back, sometimes taking a bit of time to get himto latch on properly. at 3 1/2 weeks the HV said that i could introduce a late night bottle of EBM as BF was established and DS was piling on the weight. About a week ago the fussiness started so not coincident with introducing the bottle. i use medela teats that DS needs to physically suck on to get milk, also he is generally really sleepy during the bottle feed as it is his 11pm-ish feed. Ive had thrush in the ducts which had cleared up but has now returned, waiting for a repeat prescription of fluconazole. but the breast it was in feels like it has less milk now, this is the side DS fusses atmost, even though it is/was his favoured side. in contrast the other side is invariably engorged and nearly drowns DS every time he feeds on that side. i have been feeding every 3 hours (on demand, generally 1 side at a time and it was taking him around 20mins to feed. now its more like 30-40mins and he doesnt seem satisfied after the dodgy side so i have to give him from the engorged side. sorry this is so long-winded! he also suffers from wind so quite often after fussing around on the breast he'll have a pooh then settle again. i went to a breast-feeding support group and they very quickly said it was nipple confusion and to stop the bottle. the problem is that i know it can be symptomatic of other things, growth spurt, fast or slow let down, wind etc, and im so loath to stop the bottle as i really need the break. i really dont enjoy BF, it seems to be sore all the time (thrush, have had latch checked) and if i stop the bottle im more likely to quit completely. i dont know what to do and any advice would be very much appreciated! incidentally were still having lots of dirty/wet nappies and weight still is going on.

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Cassie321 · 15/01/2011 08:46

I stopped breastfeeding at 5 weeks because of the same problem, he used to latch on and paddy because my milk wasnt free flowing and used to pull my breast which really hurt. i weaned him off my milk by expressing and feeding alternately with breast milk and formula milk. After about 4 days he preferred the formula milk and was uncomdortable and windy after my breastmilk so i stopped completely. Best thing i did he became very happy and content. dont feel guilty swapping to formula, u have managed for 5 weeks which is real;ly good well done because it is hard work and as well as physically tirung, mentally tiring too. My son is 18 weeks now and is very happy and a chunky monkey ha.

MoonUnitAlpha · 15/01/2011 09:47

Are you treating him for thrush? Maybe his mouth is sore?

japhrimel · 15/01/2011 10:11

You do know that you have to chick any leftover milk expressed while you have thrush? It's ok to give it while you're both being treated but could reintroduce the thrush if used when you're getting better.

Fussiness could so easily be a lot of things and confusion doesn't mean you have to stop the bottle. Watch where your LO has their tongue with the bottle. My dd had issues because she lifted her tongue with bottles and if she did it on the breast she couldn't latch properly, but my OH trained her out of this with a medela calma teat and lots of patience.

1lumpor2 · 15/01/2011 12:32

im not storing any milk at the moment japhrimel because of the thrush as know i can just re-infect myself. DS has also been treated for thrush MoonUnitAlpha (though it was never evident in his mouth), so don't think he's sore. plus, he doesnt have as much trouble on one boob as he does on the other. ill check where his tongue is on the next bottle feed, it is the medela calma teats we use so hopefully its in the right place. im just hoping the BS woman gets in touch with me, im really angry that the people at the support group werent much help. maybe ill try a different group on monday if no-one has phoned me back :( i did promise myself id go to 6 weeks at the very least with the BF but i just cant imagine telling people i'd stopped. its funny because before i gave birth i never thought id be bothered by what other people think and was totally prepared to FF if needed.

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