9 week old refusing breast

[Yellowdaff25]

Hi,

Looking for a little advice re my 9 week old. I had wanted to EBF initially but due to a delay in my milk coming in, weighloss and supply issues I have been supplementing with formula and so far things have been going well.

Although disappointing not to be able to EBF I still offer breast first and breastfeeding has been the best way to offer comfort.

However for the last week or so my baby has become increasingly fussy at the breast pulling away in what seems to be frustration, arching back etc. This is particularly frustrating as I had just got to a point feeling comfortable feeding in public but now that has all changed due to not knowing how she will react.

Yesterday was the worst day yet and she refuse the breast the whole day even to the point when she would scream if she even saw me start to take my breast out which I actually found quite upsetting. She will take the bottle with no problem but if I attempt to put her on the breast she would scream and thrash about.

I am assuming she’s just got a bottle preference now as she’s realised it’s easier for her. Just wondering if there’s any hope for my breastfeeding journey now? I have the slowest teats on the bottles already.

Also she breastfeeeds well at night still amd I am feeding her as I type this and if she’s very sleep like straight after a nap she is easier to breastfeed.

Are you doing paced feeding with the bottles?

Hi, yes we do paced feeding

Anyone?😭

Another day of adamantly refusing the breast today😫

I’m sorry I don’t know much about this but BUMP!

Will your baby drink expressed milk from a bottle? I hated expressing but if you get on ok then it could be a solution?

Unfortunately some babies do learn that bottles are easier, they don’t have to work for let down and it’s instant satisfaction.

at around 8 weeks your supply adjusts to demand, so if you’ve been topping up chances are you aren’t making so much milk as there’s not enough demand. it’s got harder for her so she’s decided on bottles.

you probably have two choices. First being just switch to bottles.

if you really want to keep bf it will take some work to get your supply back up to meeting her full demand. Stop the bottles, take a few days and do nothing but breastfeed as much as you can. Let her suckle even if she isn’t feeding as this will stimulate production. If you can take to bed as do skin to skin, feed, eat, feed, eat, feed again. It’ll take a few days, but you’ll get there.

Agree with pps. Likely it's the ease of the bottle. If you want to continue bf you will have to persevere. I found mornings and evenings easier as baby more sleepy/relaxed, and so was I. Taking to the bed ideal if you can. It will come good but it will take some time.

Sorry you’re struggling OP! At 9 weeks you can still turn it back around to the breast if you want to, I’d try offering the breast more often and not just when they are hungry/crying, offer it when they are calm, after a nap while still a bit sleepy, if really agitated and hungry then give a small bottle (maybe 1/2oz) and then offer the breast. Lots of skin to skin time, let them find the nipple again on their own with no pressure to feed that instant, just the chance to sort of have a feel and trigger the rooting reflex is great.

It’s a bit of a hassle but the issue might be that baby is frustrating having to wait at the breast vs the instant nature of bottle feeding so you could try just hand expressing or pumping if you have one just for a few minutes before a feed and then popping baby on the breast so that milk is already flowing when they start sucking. I’m currently BF my second baby and he is a HUNGRY boy, those few minutes while he waits for the let down sometimes feel like an eternity😂 so if you can get it “ready” before latching that might help!

As PP says though your body essentially takes its “order” from your baby through breastfeeding, your baby tells your body how much milk it needs to make, so when you give formula instead of breast for say 3 feeds per day your body essentially thinks “ah, we don’t need that amount of milk”, your body doesn’t know that your baby does need those feeds if it isn’t providing them if that makes sense.

If you want to keep bf then remove the bottles for a few days. Plenty of skin to skin and feeding as often as possible.

At 9 weeks it might not just be bottle preference behind the fussiness. I ebf 3dc and all had periods of being interested in the world around while feeding (meaning that they'd be on and off, arching their backs, pulling the breast while leaning backwards to see etc - all resulting in a lot of my boobs being more exposed than I might have liked). For mine the first patch of this started around 10 weeks I think.

I imagine that it's easier to see the world around with a bottle than a breast. Also, be prepared for there to be phases where more breast is on display than with a neatly feeding newbie.

Loads of skin to skin, baby in a sling when you're up, but also as pp says, it could be partly just trying to see what's going on and taking your poor nipple with her.

I'm sure you can turn it around if you want to. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the detailed replies and advice x

I’d also recommend attending your local breastfeeding support group. They are usually very good helping with this kind of thing, or just being a supportive ‘friend’.

If you have money to throw at the problem, an IBCLC would probably have some good advice. Most will meet you either at home or in a clinic and take a full history and observe a feed to see what’s going on.

What a strange response to someone looking for advice on breastfeeding? My ‘hurt feelings’ are irrelevant. I’d like to try and breastfeed my baby for a long as possible because I believe that is what is best for her? Not sure where I’ve given the idea that my goal is to whip my tits out in public?