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Infant feeding

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

Desperately need help/perspective bfing obsessed 8 month old!

3 replies

LumpySpaceCow · 29/08/2018 11:05

Hi,

My baby is 8.5 months old and EBF. Tried bottles but he refuses. He will take some formula from a cup but not a lot.
He has 4 sharp teeth and breastfeeding is painful - I don't know what I'm doing wrong but feeds are no longer comfortable and his top teeth leave indentations on my areola.
I just feel desperate / trapped / like it will always be like this and just need some help/advice/a slap.
He will only feed to sleep and wakes at night constantly to suck which he can do freely as he sleeps with me - I'm struggling to get him into a cot, and if he does go down he wakes constantly (he wants to go to bed at about 7pm so would be better if he went in a cot for safety or otherwise I then have to go to bed!).
He is tires during the day as struggles nap - he would go in the pram but now refuses that.
He won't take a dummy.
I return to work in a couple of weeks and will be out of the house for 14 hours 3 x per week - I don't know how dh will get him to bed.
I have 3 other children so not a novice but I just can't see the wood for the trees at the minute and just don't know what to do/what will help!

OP posts:
JiltedJohnsJulie · 29/08/2018 19:17

Kellymom has some good information on teeth scraping @LumpySpaceCow if that helps.

If he’s taking some formula from a cup, that’s good. Has yiu probably know, BF babies only take around a floz an hour, around 25floz in 24 hours so they will rarely take more than a couple of ounces when you offer formula at first, don’t let that put you off though if you are returning to work Smile

I think it’s also normal to feel overwhelmed, especially if you have sleep deprivation. I’d suggest talking to a BFC on one of the Helplines about the indentations and your feelings, they will probably help you through and should also be able to help you come up with a back to work plan.

One thing that really helped with our DS was getting the naps sorted. Have you read the No Cry Nap Solution?.

Another thing that might help is to get DH to sleep with the cot sheets for a couple of night then put them in the cot. Have you tried swaddling and white noise too.

I went back to work when mine werearound the same age but I did do shorter days. On the days I was working I fed first thing, on pick up and before bed (and most of the sodding night) and on the days I was home, they fed when they liked. The days I was at work they had full fat cow’s Milk and solids.

I’m just wondering too how much he eats during the day? I’m not a massive fan of trying to overstuff babies but the Caroline Walker Trust Guide has some sample menus for this age that you may find useful. The only thing I’d probably swap with the baby rice suggestion. We had a bit of an issue with our teen eating loads of junk, I read the CWT guide for teens, changed slightly what we were offering and the carb craving has been curbed a lot. I’m just wondering if trying to roughly follow the guide might help your LO with naps? The guide is quite long but if you are massively struggling to read it, you can always scroll down to the 7 to 9 month section Smile

31 ways to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep might help too Thanks

LumpySpaceCow · 29/08/2018 21:17

Thank you so much JiltedJohnsJulie
You have provided such a helpful response and given me lots of food for thought.
I feel a whole lot better this evening. I took the other 3 children out this evening so dh had to do bed time. He took a few ounces of formula from the cup and although he wasn't asleep when I returned, he was happily playing with dh (and not screaming tje place down which is what I was imagining!).
I'll try that book. I have the no cry sleep solution and I am trying a few things out of there but I would like to get napping sorted - I think if I had a couple of hours to do things around the house and him wake up happy then the nights wouldn't seem so much of a problem.
I tried a breastfeeding helpline today but it was busy but I'm going to try again.

Thank you so much again!

OP posts:
JiltedJohnsJulie · 29/08/2018 22:04

Absolutely no problem. I just wish I’d known about MN when I had my first.

Hope you had a nice evening with your other DC Thanks

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