need help re bf baby's feeding habbits...

[bumpsnowjustplump]

So sorry to trouble you all agian but I am really struggling at the moment. DS is 19 weeks old, he has reflux and is exclusivly bf. He is feeding every hour at night and will not go longer. At first I was expressing so that dp could do some night feeds but he refuses a bottle so have given that up now. I could cope with this but the last couple of days he is not feeding during the day. Yesterday was terriable he didn't feed at all during the day. I kept offering the breast but he would latch on and take a couple of sips but then come off and refuse it again...

Even though he never fed I didn't get engorged at all and never leaked on bit so i am worried that i am not producing enough milk for him...

In desperation I tried formula last night which he also refused.....

I dont know what to do, if yesterday wasn't a one off and he does it again how can I ensure it doesn't effect my supply!! How can I get him to feed more during the day and less at night. Could it be teething?? He is on medication for the reflux but is still sick during the day but he doesn't tend to be sick at night do you think this is why?

I have everyone in RL telling me to let him cry or offer him water but he is only tiny and i really dont want to do that yet!!!

BUMP He has only fed for about 30 mins again today so i am really worried now... Although I hope he will gorge himself tonight!!

gosh, that sounds like really hard work bump.
i would really second the advice to either ring one of the bf helplines, or see if there is a baby cafe near you where you can get help and advice in person.

has he normally fed more at night than during the day? or did he used to feed ok?
i wonder if it's partly just that he is being distracted, I know mine all went through a phase of that and there being too much to looki at to want to bother to stop and feed.

you could try taking him up and lying on your bed to feed him during the day, keep the room as dark and quiet as possible

There are other people fare more qualified to make suggestions than me (my only "qualification" being having breastfed dd for 14 months). But I had a period wit dd when she was around the same age when she stopped feeding much in the day and was eating every hour or so at night . We got through it and kept going (and still are !)

The suggestion of being in a dark room, nice and quiet etc. is a good one. Everytime we've had bf issues I've tried to spend as much time as possible (i.e have dedicated a day to it) with no top on in / near bed (or wherever you generally feed and cuddle) and she's always started feeding again afterwards. It does feel a bit funny and she often starts by laughing at me but it is so worth it.

Again, there are others with much more experience than me but I am so glad I kept going.

Good luck.

MM

Sorry - awful spelling! I am typing from my new iphone and am finding the keyboard a bit hard to use.

Thanks for all your posts I will try the dark room trick tomorrow because he could be getting distracted. He hasn't always been like this just the last few days... The nappies havent changed, we had a yellow poo today and lots of wet ones as well....

Monkey it is so goo to know that it does get better at the moment it feels like the end of the world.

I havent found bf the most natural thing to do but have just started finding my feet and then this happens.... argh

i also have a dd who is just over two so finding quiet time is hard, time for the paints to come out I think... gulp....

The whole breast feeding issue is so political that I rarely post on this thread but the truth is I am so glad I kept going through some of our harded times.

When dd is getting teeth or about to do soemthing new or we've had an unusual day (unusual for her can take many forms) she will feed loads at night even now sometimes & not much in the day. In fact as I write she's laying next to me. She usually goes to bed at 7 and stays there until 5 when she comes in with us but tonight having had a busy family day she's decided she needs to be near me. Sometimes that nearness means feeding a lot at night & not much in the day.

There are nutrition elements others can answer better than me but as I said earlier, dd's done demand feeding in a very real sense & my milk supply's always regulated itself and she's a happy, healthy girl .

ooh just a thought, have a look on kellymom.com for reverse cycling (that's when they change and feed in the night instead of the day) iam sure there are some tips on there about getting it back to normal