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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

4 week old with nipple confusion/hooked on bottle any ideas?

24 replies

ruty · 10/06/2008 09:40

My 4 week old dd started breastfeeding beautifully, and got the milk coming in after a couple of days. Then when the milk started coming through fast, she seemed to start choking at the breast, and then started to feed much less, never more than 5 mins. When she got very sleepy at around 2 weeks, so sleepy she was feeding very little, the HV suggested i started expressing and bottle feeding her so i could check how much she was getting. I have been doing this quite a bit and she has started to breast feed less and less and to prefer the bottle. Is there any way i can change this? She seems to get upset when i put her to the breast now, and will only stay on for a couple of mins.

OP posts:
Original poster
ruty · 10/06/2008 10:11

bump

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ghosty · 10/06/2008 10:15

Oh dear, poor you ... bad advice from the HV . I was advised to 'mix-feed' DS at 5 weeks and by 7 he was fully bottlefed
I am not sure exactly what you should do and how but I am sure someone will come along and give you some good advice (is Hunker still on MN? or of course, Tiktok)
I have heard of 'babymoons' where you take the baby to bed for 3 days and just feed feed feed until she gets the idea again ...
{{{}}}

ghosty · 10/06/2008 10:15

by 7 weeks not years - lol

cali · 10/06/2008 10:19

Get rid of the health visitor for a start and ignore what she has told you!

Hopefully you will be able to fully breastfeed again but you will need to cut down on the bottle feeds. Offer breast at each feed, try different postitions. Holding dd like a rugby ball may help, lie down in bed with her and get as much skin to skin as possible.

If she becomes sleepy during a feed, encourage her to wake up - changing nappies can help, wipe her face with a damp cloth.

If you find that your milk is still coming out too quickly, try leaning back into a chair and using gravity to try and slow milk flow down, babies sometimes do refuse to feed if they can not cope with a fast milk flow.

If she is having 6 wet nappies a day and at least one to two yellow poos per day, then she will be getting enough milk.

good luck
x

tiktok · 10/06/2008 10:26

Shocking, ignorant advice from the HV

ruty - please get good help from someone who understands about breastfeeding. You have a choice of many nos. and you will be able to speak to someone this morning. The counsellor will encourage you to have your baby skin to skin and cuddled up with you for as much time as you can, and to enable her to come back to your breast without a struggle.

Let your HV know the consequences of her 'support', too.

cali · 10/06/2008 10:26

forgot to say, that I would only offer her a top up if absolutely necessary and that you should only express after she has fed.

make sure she doesn't have too many clothes on either as if she is too warm and is lovely and comfy, babies will go to sleep.

she should get the hang of it again but it might just take a little time, the best thing is you have obviously still got a good milk supply

motherhurdicure · 10/06/2008 10:31

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charitas · 10/06/2008 10:56

I've just about got over this problem at 12 weeks as babie gets bigger they cope better with the let down . I found feeding laying down helped as my piglet could let the excess milk dribble out of his mouth and the leaning back helped. Also feeding often and if resorting to ebm give to daddie if you can so he/she learns they don't get bottles from mum. Although i think the think that really helped was a growth spurt!

ghosty · 10/06/2008 14:11

Yes, I was going to add about the '5 minutes' thing ... a LONG feed for my DD was only ever about 10 minutes. Even from day one. She was very quick and efficient and never needed topping up.
Wish I could say the same about dinner times now - she's 4 yrs old - sigh [dinner battle worn emoticon]

Original poster
ruty · 10/06/2008 15:19

yes i wish she would do 5 mins now. thanks for replies - unfortunately HV's advice was backed up by GP when we went in because she was so sleepy [she even slept thru a bath i gave her in an effort to wake her to feed.) Also have 3 year old ds to entertain on my own so tho a baby moon sounds lovely not possible. will try to go to breastfeeding clinic at hospital tho they are hardly ever open. I do co sleep with her and offer her breast at night, but she just gets upset and frustrated and i don't want her to wake ds. Damn, damn, it was all going so well.

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motherhurdicure · 10/06/2008 15:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
ruty · 10/06/2008 16:12

poor ds watching quite a few hours of cbeebies as it is at moment! Will try to call someone tomorrow.

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Pidge · 10/06/2008 16:16

ruty - poor you - I know it doesn't help now, but my second dd only ever fed for 5 minutes, and she ended up a porker, she was obviously just super efficient and quick.

Agree with the babymoon suggestions - see if a friend can take your toddler just for half a day or a day. And don't worry about the cbeebies, it's a phase!!! I did the same with my 3 year old.

Also, try wearing a v-neck top and have the baby snuggled up to you in a sling, that's kind of skin to skin bonding whilst also enabling you to be up and about.

Good luck.

Original poster
ruty · 10/06/2008 16:55

thanks pidge. interesting about the 5 mins thing.

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cali · 11/06/2008 18:49

just wondering how things are going today?

Original poster
ruty · 12/06/2008 16:46

thanks cali. I'm just trying to stay at home and put her to the breast as often as possible. Poor 3 year old ds stuck indoors today and hyper and bored. We're going to see a nursery tomorrow to see if he can have a few sessions a week - last time we tried he hated it so we'll see.
Baby is still attempting and latching on but not really staying on for long, I don't know why, so i have given her a couple of expressed milk bottles today, after trying to get her to feed at the breast. Just haven't had a chance to call anyone today, had to walk to shops with both dcs and then someone visited, will try tomorrow if i can.

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TheProvincialLady · 12/06/2008 16:52

It is possible that your DD has got so used to the fast and easy flow of a bottle that she gets frustrated by having to work at the breast. I had this problem (amongst many!) when trying to feed DS and one of the things that was suggested to me was a nursing supplementer - basically a bottle of milk connected to tubes that attach to your nipples so that as soon as your LO sucks they are rewarded with extra milk. It didn't work for us as my DS wouldn't even latch on, but it could work for you if that was the problem. It is a major PITA though, especially if you are also expressing a lot.

I hope you can speak to someone soon

Original poster
ruty · 12/06/2008 17:14

wow i've never heard of that! I don't know if anyone on the phone can really help other than suggest i keep putting her to the breast but i will give it a go.

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TheProvincialLady · 12/06/2008 18:45

Yes do, because they are so knowledgable and will have other ideas for you to try I'm sure.

Original poster
ruty · 15/06/2008 11:49

just a quick update - rang a LLL counsellor on Friday and she was very nice, don't know how much she could really advise over phone, but advised loads of skin to skin, and even at one point suggested nipple shields, although she said she didn't normally advise them. then i went to 'breastfeeding bus' run in my area, and counsellor there saw me attempt to get dd interested in breast and said she herself was confused by her reaction! So still struggling. She's coming up to 6 weeks and she will now feed on breast for 5 mins at around 5am, and 5 mins at around 8am, but then in the daytime she seems to get frustrated again, and as it gets later in the day she really seems to reject breast and i have to give her a bottle of expressed milk. Really worried i'm not going to be able to break this pattern now, though i will go back to the breastfeeding bus on Monday if i can.

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TheProvincialLady · 15/06/2008 11:59

Oh Ruty, don't get disheartened. My DS had NEVER latched onto the breast (except when forced to in hospital by MW and only twice then) and was very resistant to be anywhere near the breast. But with a lot of perseverance he eventually did at 6-8 weeks.

What worked for me was to do enormous amounts of skin to skin and every time I bottle fed EBM I did it with no top or bra on in a position similar to BF. I tried very hard not to get worked up or uset no matter what he did and I never pushed him to do what he was not confident doing.

It is hard work but honestly, at 6 weeks she is at a good age for things to suddenly click in the next ciuple of weeks. Apparently this is common. Hang on there you are doing a great job and you have made progress

Rosylily · 15/06/2008 12:24

My babies were all fast 5 minute feeders too. And ds3 was putting on a pound a week at one stage...on 5 minute bfeeds every 2 hours!

Also once they would fall asleep I couldn't get them to feed more. They would clamp their little mouths shut tight.

glad you are getting good advice on here and I hope you can get your baby settled with the breast feeding.

Original poster
ruty · 15/06/2008 12:45

thanks so much PL and Rl. Both your experiences are really encouraging, especially yours PL. Over the weekend it has been easier to park myself on the couch and keep offering her the breast, because dh has been looking after ds, but we'll see how much we ca do this week.

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Original poster
ruty · 15/06/2008 12:48

that's amazing by the way PL that you managed to get ds to latch on a that point - fantastic.

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