Trouble breastfeeding 4 month old

[Marshmallow88]

Hi,
I'm new to this but could really do with some advice. My baby is 4 months old and has been breastfed from birth (with the old formula feed very rarely) but a few weeks ago he started to get fussy during the day when it was time to feed . He would take a couple of sucks and pull away crying. Now he will not feed in the day from me at all but Breastfeeds happily at night. I am trying so hard to not give up as I want to get him to 6 months bf but I'm getting pressure from family to move onto formula completely.
Iam so sad as I loved feeding him.
I haven't bf him at all today and waiting for him to wake up tonight. Wil my milk production be ruined now?
Is there anything I can do to get him feeding from me again? I've tried dark rooms, expressing a bit first. He might be teething as he is dribbly and rosey cheeks but fine on a night. Any advice would be VERY welcome xxxx

When my DD started teething we had a few days where she ate and drank the bare minimum. I think it hurt her mouth tomove it. Then she woke up a few days later and went back to normal feeding/eating she was 5 mmonthmonths when this happened.

I'm ff but having the same issues so its not the magic answer your family ate going for.
I think in the day mine is just to distracted and generally due to poor naps too tired to eat. I'm now putting her upstairs in her cot and a dark room for naps and trying to minimise distractions during day feeds and it is starting to help.

Oh look up reverse cycling on Kelly mom its common in bf babies when they start nursery so should give some advice on supply etc

Thanks everyone. He is gulping down formula probs because it's not such hard work for him. He bf at 3 this morning then at 6 had a bottle as he wouldn't take bf at all. It's so strange. We were in the same room/ position and everything. So frustrating. I hope my milk doesn't go whilst this is going on. I'll try that link thankyou xx

I had this at 4 months with DD and it was a battle to get the brought it. I think it was a combination of cold, teething, and distractibility. We pushed through and still ENF at 8 months, but it was a battle for about 2 months :( I did have a choice as she wouldn't take a bottle either.

What helped us was cutting out distraction and using a few things to help her concentrate - playing soothing music, and giving her something to hold/fiddle with (usually my hair!) so she could out all her energy into fiddling whilst feeding. You can buy fiddle necklaces (look on facebook) though I haven't tried that myself. I also found I had to use different positions - rugby hold, laid back, sitting beside me etc. it was real trial and error and I had to 'room in' a couple times - stay in the bedroom with her, cosy up, skin on skin etc. I also found she needed to feed a lot less at that age, and I think I'd been trying to get her to feed when she wasn't interested- taking a more laid back approach really helped too.

And if you're worried about your supply, express as much as he takes formula - I found much easier to express from the other side whilst she was feeding.

This happened to us at 4 months. My baby just started fussing and pulling off breast. The latch was really painful for a while too. The night feeds were fine strangely. It was definitely teething as the bottom two were through by 5 months. I would suggest that you keep offering breast feeds as often as you would normally and let baby take as much as wanted. If crying then take off. You could try distraction and then try feeding again 15 minutes later. Or u could offer formula as you are doing. If you offer formula then try and express too - 5 minutes on both sides after each feed (suggest not before). This is what was recommended to me by a lactation consultant as the best way to increase supply especially when you're short of time (eg looking after a baby!).
Also for supply - drink lots of water and fennel tea and eat loads of oats!
Once baby starts enjoying breast feeding again (im sure he will) your supply will take time to catch up but it will. Slowly reduce the formula offered at each feed as supply increases.
The other thing you could try is bonjela or calpol before the feed and see if this makes a difference. If it's mouth pain this should help him.
Good luck and try not to worry x x x

Your post sounds very much like my son at 4 months. He had silent reflux which was eventually diagnosed after many trips to the GP and then a referral to a paediatrician. He was prescribed Omeprazole, which was made up into a solution by a compounding pharmacy (much easier to get into him than the dissolvable tablets, that don't dissolve properly!) Now at 10 months he doesn't need the meds anymore and has totally grown out of it. Thankfully I managed to carry on breastfeeding throughout and still am, so if that's what you want to do, don't let anyone pressurise you into stopping. I had to let him feed as much as possible at night when he was at his worst, he also had bottles of expressed milk and some formula, but that was more to do with me needing to rest at times because of a chronic health condition.

The info I found on a website that made me realise he probably did have silent reflux is below and is from www.thesleeplady.co.uk.

Very unsettled feeder, often from birth,bobs on and of breast or bottle. Squirmy and crying out while feeding. May feed for short burst then bob of teat or breast, reluctant to return to feeding.
Feeding constantly, very little gaps between feeds.
Rapid weight gain due to constant feeding.
Lots of comments on how alert they are and what great head control your child has.
Farting more than burping as often very difficult to wind.
Prefers to sleep on you than to lie in crib, changing mat etc, screaming each time you try to lie them down.
Gurgling, rumbling sounds coming from tummy, often just as you start to feed or when you pick up in the middle of the night.
Explosive strong smelling nappies.
You child looks like they are frowning and have a serious little face!
Sneezing or hiccupping a lot!

Might be worth speaking to your GP to have it checked out. I hope things improve for you soon.

Thanks this is all great advice. It's so nice to know irs kind of normal. I just want to do what Best for him in the end and my instinct is to keep my milk going for when he's ready. I'll keep trying everything people on here have suggested also. I am curreny giving him the full amount of formula 6oz and he drinks it all but I agree I'll try reduce it if I can purswde him to take any milk from me. Thankyou xxx