Breastfeeding issues

[ruxa]

Hello there.

I have a 4week DS that won't really want to BF. He latches properly but won't stay at the breast too long. Only a few minutes. He did stay more in the first week, but then I had sore nipples, a day after they healed, I had cracked nipples, etc. I expressed and bottle fed him and I have also topped up with formula.

Since then I keep trying to get him to BF and usually he refuses the breast with a lot of drama. I have tried all the methods. Trying to BF at night, or after he had a little of expressed milk so he won't be too hungry and annoyed, etc. Some days are better I get to BF him a few times, on some days not at all.

I am really trying to BF him as I would like to offer him the best milk (mine) but sometimes is nerve wrecking and very frustrating and time consuming as in the night time I have to express, to bottle feed, to change nappies, and I am losing a lot of sleep.

My question is what happens after six weeks as it came to my understanding that there isn't that risk of losing the milk and don't have to express that often in order to keep the supply?

What kind of breastfeeding support do you have? It would be worth asking your health visitor about local groups, or contacting the national breastfeeding helpline or NCT breastfeeding helpline for advice.

For your question, it sounds like you’ve been expressing to keep up your supply, but now you’re wondering if you could stop expressing at 6 weeks and just use formula/keep trying breastfeeding rather than formula/trying breastfeeding/expressed bottles as you’re doing now. Is that correct? My supply did seem to settle a bit after 6-7 weeks so I would keep going a bit longer if you can. However, expressing and bottle feeding on top of trying breastfeeding is brutal and tiring, as you’ve found. It might be worth trying to find more support to help make direct breastfeeding more efficient (check for tongue tie? Massage breast during feeding to encourage milk flow? Try nipple shield temporarily as easier for baby to match?). My DD got a lot more efficient at feeding by about 7 weeks, but weeks feel like a long time when you’re exhausted!

Ultimately you need to make choices that work for you and your baby. Breastfeeding can become easy and convenient, but it doesn’t always and it can be a long road to getting established, so try to keep an open mind about how you feed.

Wishing you luck

Have you tried contacting the National Breastfeeding Helpline and/or your local La Leche League? Both can provide free expert advice.

Have you tried nipple shields? My DS wouldn’t latch without them.

It’s worth trying a supplemental nursing system as well. Might entice him to stay at the breast longer.

Thank you all.

He latches well so I don't think is tongue tied. Also the nipple has a nice/good shape after bf and he has milk on his mouth. After BF I usually pump and see that there isn't much left to pump. Is it possible that he sucks everything out in 5 minutes?

Also his problem is that he's staying just a bit on the breast and keeps unlatching and cries. I am staying calm during this

I have tried nipple shields, switching the boob, massage, applying warm breast gel pads before BF, etc.

I had a few midwives over but maybe I should insist more.

Maybe he is too used with the bottle?

Is it possible to make him BF after 4 weeks of bottle feeding and some BF?

You need an assessment from a lactation specialist rather than a midwife. It's shouldn't be too late to sort it out if you can get help quickly. In the meantime do as much skin to skin as you can and keep putting him to the breast as much as possible.

Thank you so much, all of you. I will definitely have a lactation consultant over.

I have tried to use again the nipple shields and DS stayed 20 minutes last night, but mainly he stays about 5 minutes with some drama. So there is hope.

How is his weight gain OP? And what does he weigh?
Do you think he's drinking too fast and needs winding?
With my first he only drank for a few minutes, I used to will the clock to go faster and when HV asked I would always round up and say he fed for five minutes when actually it would have been nearly 3.
His weight gain was really good though and he was only 5lb at birth so no one was really worried except me!

Also have you tried dream feeding? let him fall asleep first then just as he has dropped off offer the breast.

Speaking from experience here - a good latch doesn’t meant he isn’t tongue tied. It’s to do with the shape his tongue makes around the nipple/teat. A good way to tell is if he spills a lot of milk when he’s taking the bottle - does it tend to dribble a lot out of the sides of his mouth?

I’d get a professional to rule it out, as if he does have it, it could work wonders.

He could be a fast and efficient feeder. He could prefer the bottle, there is a way of giving a bottle to make it more like a bf it’s on la Leche league website. If you just bf and no bottles is he gaining weight?