DS will only breastfeed at night :(

[CheerfulYank]

DS is five months old.

I breastfed exclusively for 2-3 months but then he started spitting up a lot and wanting to eat a lot more and I felt I couldn't keep up. Plus I have two other children and a part time mindee and it just wasn't practical to nurse him every hour.

I started supplementing a bit with formula which gradually grew to four bottles a day, about four hours apart. (Roughly at 8, 12, 4, and 8 every day.) He would nurse a few times in between and then at night and first thing in the morning.

Now he refuses to nurse at all unless he's been sleeping. I've tried several times when I know he's hungry and have taken him to a quiet room etc but he just screams and pushes away and won't latch on. :(

When he wakes at night he will latch on and nurse without any problem, and sometimes will if he wakes from his naps in the day time, but not always.

I would like to cut back on the formula anyway. I'm hoping to pump enough so that at least one of his bottles a day can be expressed breast milk. Ideally I'd like to replace one of the bottles with a good nursing session too.

Has anyone ever had this before? How can I get him back on the breastfeeding track?

Right.
Stop feeling bad about this.
I knew, years ago, a charming little boy with a full-time first-baby mum committed to exclusively breastfeeding. He was an independent little soul. By five months he was only feeding at night and by seven months he had stopped breastfeeding. He liked a cup, I seem to remember, rather than a bottle. His mum was sad about it but accepted that it was right for him - his way.
People set a lot of store by pumping, nowadays. I have less faith in it.
Eat well (but not too much), take in a reasonable amount of fluids. Try to rest when you can find a minute. Let him feed at night as he will, and try to extend 'night' if you can, so that he spends more time at the breast to increase supply. Offer breast after the daytime naps but don't be upset if he doesn't want it. Don't be upset at all, in fact.
You have done/are doing a great job.

Thanks timely.

I only breastfed for two months with my first and he's a great, healthy kid, so I'm certainly not anti-formula.

My second rarely got any formula at all though and I nursed until she got a bad cold around 11 months and went on strike. I was hoping to make it that long with #3 but maybe it just isn't to be. :(

Also formula is damn expensive but that's a whole other thing :) thanks again.

Not clear how old baby is but I would say he has developed preference for faster flow of bottle so when hungry and awake much prefers this faster flow. Your supply would have also dropped by quite a bit so I imagine this would cause fussiness too.

To encourage back to the breast I would keep feeding at night and any other time he is drowsy. Then for day time perhaps try smaller bottle feed and then finish at breast (google finish at the breast method).

And sorry meant to add that you can encourage him back to breast with lots of skin to skin contact a free access to boob during day. Even if only for comfort at first.

He's five months mint. :)

I wondered if that might be it :( I will try but it's hard to do skin to skin during the day because I've got so much to do with the others.

I can try finishing at the breast, that might work.