BFing getting more difficult

[Booper13]

My baby is 13 weeks old and has been BF with some formula top ups. We have gone through times where he requires v little formula and others where he has needed more. At its highest I would say formula accounted for 1/3 of his intake. Anyway, over the last few days he will bf for between 5 or so minutes and then keep pushing the breast away and cry. He is still hungry as when I switch him to the other side he will feed again, then the same thing happens and I then offer a bottle (ebm or formula). It seems that whenever the flow slows he gets frustrated. I am sure there is still milk there when he gives up. I am expressing (still getting as much as ever)and he is happy to have ebm in a bottle, so it isn't the milk. Please help as I have worked so hard to get where I am with bfing as we had a very difficult start, and I don't want my baby to reject my breasts as he seems to be gravitating towards at the moment.

aw, poor you - sounds hard work.

It's the answer to everything - but mught it be griwth sturt. praps not if he's not feeding for long.

Are you especially tired or tense? Might be inhibiting let down. Could try bf in the bath/directly after a bath... or just genreally trying to get in relaxed frame of mind before feed.

Fluid iontake in this hot weather? Ditto - i feel if I don't drink enough, it seems to make the milk 'more difficult to suck out'.

How do you structure the formula? Top up every feed, or a big bottle now and again? I'm generally a fan of the latter.

It does sound like he's being a bit lazy and preferring the bottle as he doesn't have to work so hard. (And I guess that the times when he has needed more formula might coincide with growth spurts?)

But as you say he'll have 5 minutes or so on each breast I just wonder whether he's pulling away because he's actually had enough? The fat content in the milk increases as the feed goes on until it reaches a point which tells the baby they've had enough from that breast. Babies become pretty efficient at feeding as they get older, and I have read that they will generally take a bottle afterwards whether they're really hungry or not.

I hope someone else comes along soon who can help more than me.

Having re-read your post I'd lean towards my first suggestion I think. I'm not an expert by any means.

Oh - another useless catch=all - teeth? Another source of pain like thrush? Big c;ue would be white patches in the mouth; v sore nipple.

my cat can type better thaqn me! Hopefully understandlable. one handed in a rush!

some different articles and ideas herewww.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBstrikes.html so it seems like it's quite common at this age and there is a way through it.
dd is doing this a lot at the moment cos she's just thirsty not hungry so just wants a snack.

Kif - In the early days I gave a top up after each feed but now I normally give a bottle at his 7pm feed (after bfing, but this always seemed to be my low supply time)and sometimes at the lunchtime one. Never needs it at nightime feeds.
I was finding some days he only needed a bottle at the 7pm one and now he seems to want it over my breast after 5 or so mins at at least 3 or 4 of his 6 feeds.
I'm not especially tired, feel pretty relaxed (more so than I was when getting bf established and he stayed on much longer then) and do drink lots of water. I think I might phone the local NCT breast feeding lady for help/advice, but obv welcome all comments and advice I can get here in the meantime. Thanks

rl bf lady deffo good idea. Sometimes it's difficult to see clearly if you're too close to it.

Good luck. Much sympathy.

(both my sprogs have been mix fed signii=ficant lengths of time - ds is coming up to 7m.o. mix fed from 4 months. Feel for you, as I know exactly the kind of thing you're talking about)