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Infant feeding

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

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

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Original poster

should i give up breast feeding?

61 replies

ghostspirit · 06/09/2015 16:48

my baby is 20 weeks i have fully breast fed him since birth. But he does not seem to be happy with what hes getting. its said that breast milk does not run out. but if i squeeze my breast at start of a feed milk will come out, he will feed for a while then he becomes frustrated i check again and i cant get any milk out at all.i move him to my other breast but thats not enough either. during the day hes on the breast pretting much all day. then when it gets to early evening he will sleep for about 4 hours then he wakes and takes a really good feed where hes feeding really fast and gulping...then from about 2.30/3am he wakes about every 45-1hr until about 6.30 am.

if i could find away of pruducing more breast milk so baby is happy then i would..

i bought bottles and formula today and i felt like crying.

weight wise hes on 25th centile. which hv seems ok about and im not worried.

i just need sleep. i have other children so cant sleep when he does.

i have tried expessing but i cant.

OP posts:

Original poster

ghostspirit · 06/09/2015 17:57

people say about growth spirts but its been this way since hes been born. its not just a couple weeks that hes like it. its all the time

OP posts:

YouBastardSockBalls · 06/09/2015 18:03

At around 4 months they have a massive spurt in development and it can take the milk a supply a bit of time to catch up.
Rest, drink plenty of water, eat plenty of protein, and keep putting the baby to the breast as much as possible

Eminybob · 06/09/2015 18:07

You can formula feed at home and breast feed out and about. Or use ready made when you go out if it's convenience you are worried about.

I introduced a night time formula bottle at about 6 months with my DS and it made the world of difference.

Shallishanti · 06/09/2015 18:14

why not post this in infant feeding, lots of people there with lots of expertise

spiderlight · 06/09/2015 18:29

www.bellybelly.com.au/breastfeeding/lactation-cookies/ Cookies that boost your milk supply. If you Google 'lactation cookies' you'll find loads of recipes. Fennel tea or fennel-seeds in cooking also work, as does fenugreek.

tiktok · 06/09/2015 18:34

Please post in infant feeding folder. The posts here are a bit confusing and confused, sorry. Some misinfo and misunderstanding.

Domperidone is not a good solution for this situation and most gps would not prescribe.

It's not clear this is a supply problem anyway. Not enough detail.

Do post, op:)

Original poster

ghostspirit · 06/09/2015 18:40

i only posted here because i did not think would get any replys as chat/aibu seem to get loads lol...im might ask fot thread to be moved

OP posts:

nottheOP · 06/09/2015 19:00

If he's staying on his growth centile line then he is getting enough, isn't he? I think it's just the nature of some babies that they want to suck a lot.

I would try to feed on a schedule. So limit to 30 minutes every 2 hours and go from there. As you carry on with the weaning, this should decrease to a few more predictable feeds.

wallywobbles · 06/09/2015 19:14

I hated breast feeding because I found it more painful than childbirth. I continued morning and evening feeds because they were the best ones, and it assuaged my guilt. Like you I had other children and needed to get on with life. To be honest the guilt is short lived and I did the best I could in the circumstances.

MNHQ

AmyGMumsnet · 06/09/2015 20:14

Hi everyone

We're going to move this thread over to the Infant Feeding topic shortly at the request of the OP.

GayByrne · 06/09/2015 20:28

Because it is primarily used to treat these symptoms, it's brand name is motillium which I have taken for travel sickness before.

A welcome side effect is an increase in breast milk production and it is regularly prescribed to this end for lactating mothers who are struggling with production for whatever reasons.

You have to take more than the usual amount Thant you would for, say, travel sickness. So be aware of that as the GP might not be switched on.

kellymom.com is excellent source of info.

So THAT is the reason I was suggesting it. Because I've been there and a well connected doctor and a ton of research by me led me to a solution.

Keep your snippiness to yourself. You asked for advice. I gave it from an educated point of view.

Original poster

ghostspirit · 06/09/2015 20:55

gaybyrne i have not been snippie at all...all you done was put a name of some sort of drug without explaing what it was...all i done was google copy and paste what it said.....

OP posts:

tiktok · 06/09/2015 20:56

Gaybyrne, domperidone/motillium is not prescribed for bf support very often in the UK. It is just not appropriate to prescribe in this situation - a mother breastfeeding happily and effectively for five months with some lack of confidence occurring only recently. If - big IF - there is a supply problem, prescribing a drug without first going through many other possible remedies not involving meds would be regarded as poor care, I think, by many hcps.

tiktok · 06/09/2015 21:00

Ghost, would be helpful to have a lot more detail.

Babies getting fussier and less settled around four to five months can be normal behaviour. What makes you sure this is a milk supply issue?

Duggee · 06/09/2015 21:03

Your baby's feeding sounds completely normal for a bf baby. All mine feed in a very similar way to yours and I weaned my eldest 2 at 2.5 years and 3.5 years. Please don't wean from milk right now. Milk should be the main nutrition source until the age of 1. It will have more calories in that puréed veg. You are doing so well to get this far. If you don't want to give up then don't!

Original poster

ghostspirit · 06/09/2015 21:46

tiktok i dont know what else i can add.

i think its a supply issue because he wants to be on the breast constantly and the amount of times he wakeing in the the night does not seem normal to me.

and when he is feeding he kind of pulls on the nipple and it pings back. i thought i had read somewhere that it can be a sign baby is not getting enough..

duggee how did you manage sleep wise.im only getting 3-4 hours sleep a night

OP posts:

tiktok · 06/09/2015 21:56

Ghost, when did this behaviour change to the more frequent feeding you are seeing now? When does he sleep apart from that four hours in the evening?
The night feeding does not sound way out to be honest - many babies breast and bottle fed do this, and it passes. Are you able to co-sleep?

It's ok to switch nurse if this is what he seems to want.

It's all more likely to be behavioural and developmental, rather than a drop in supply.

GloGirl · 06/09/2015 22:00

That pulling on the nipples. Sounds a bit like teething.

At some point I had to do all my feeds upstairs in the dark during the day to cut out all distractions yo try and encourage him to feed. He's learning there are better things to do when you are awake in the day than breastfeed. But has to catch up on that milk at night. Try and up day time feeds

tiktok · 06/09/2015 22:15

Good suggestions, glogirl. Teething possible. Also distractability is very common in babies of this age.

pointythings · 06/09/2015 22:16

I agree with GloGirl that they get very curious at about this age and that they do need a quiet environment in order to feed fully during the day. And what they get during the day will impact on what happens at night. The pulling off/at the nipple may also well be distractibility - DD1 was a bugger for this, she'd yank my nipple to double its length squirming to look at something, then turn her head back, grin at me and latch back on. Little so and so.

Good luck.

Original poster

ghostspirit · 06/09/2015 22:21

tiktok hes been like it since birth. hes now been asleep since 7.30 still sleep now. when i go to bed in a short while he will wake and take a good feed. some times he wants the other breast some times not but i always offer. then he will sleep again till 3am-ish then wake about every 45 mins to an hour. he falls to sleep whilst on the breast. and i often fall sleep whilst hes feeding.

i said i get 3-4 hours sleep i guess thats not stiktly true. as i fall sleep as hes feeding but it disturbed sleep. several times a night. yes i co sleep

OP posts:

jobrum · 06/09/2015 22:54

My dd is nearly eight months and I'm still breastfeeding. She's had times (including around 20 weeks) where all she's done is feed. Remember that babies are much more efficient than you are at getting milk out so when you think you are 'empty' your baby is still able to feed. Your ds will be more distracted now and its a common time for sleep disturbances as well. When my dd got to about five months, out of nowhere she suddenly reduced her feeds day and night. I hadnt started weaning, it just happened.

But if the way your ds is feefing is really getting you down, try something else. I also cried when I bought formula for the first time (when dd was just over 6 months) but it was upsetting me so much that I couldn't feed her out without her unlatching and exposing me that using formula when needed so I could feed her easily when out shopping etc seemed better in the long run.

You will probably find that feeding and the night waking will settle down but could your dp try settling him during the night? He might not be waking because he's hungry but you automatically feed him. If you pass him over he might settle himself and then start to self settle without you even noticing he's awake.

Duggee · 07/09/2015 07:03

I think your body gets used to it! I co sleep so that helps. I try and go to bed earlier too, so would go to bed at 9. So that would 5 hours until his first wake up. Then you would gets bits of sleep that make up some more. If I feel really tired is either have a daytime nap or my husband would get up early and give me a couple of hours lie in once in a while.

tiktok · 07/09/2015 07:30

Ghost, nothing you have said makes me think you have a supply problem. Your baby is healthy and growing perfectly ok. All the suggestions about your diet and so on would be no more than irrelevant (and they would be unlikely to have any impact on supply in any case). I wonder if it's just your baby carving out time and contact for himself in a busy household with other children? This is the way he is, at the moment.

The likelihood is that this will settle down and become easier to cope with as your baby grows. It's easier to work out ways of coping with it, than trying to change it, in the meantime, I think.

You're tired, and you need support and help with him, so you can have a break.

My guess is that would help far more than anything else.

TheOddity · 07/09/2015 07:56

Ghost, sorry to hear this but i really agree with tictoc. Sounds just like my bf DS at that stage. They breast feed way more in the night than most people van tolerate. This is THE WORST growth spurt/developmental leap time. I recommend you do absolutely nothing except rope pepole in to give you a break when possible. Just give it two more weeks and reassess then. Baby is getting enough because he is growing, little and often feeding IS the norm and so is cluster feeding through growth spurts. All the development happens in the first six months

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