I NEED YOUR HELP
Here's the scenario:
I tried feeding C from the tap this afternoon when I got home. He wasn't having it. He kept popping off and on, not ever really latching. He started crying/fussing/squirming. Now we're not talking about a few little grunts or cries, we're talking red faced, serious crying. He would not settle down even with the nip in mouth. I was crying as he was crying. We were a mess. I tried for 30 minutes. Finally, as he was breaking down, I started a bottle with must resistance. So what's the deal?
My theories:
-after taking bottles more frequently, he's uninterested in the tap
-it's not coming out fast enough?
That's pretty much all I've got. Once I have him the bottle he chugged it down and passed out. This makes my heart very sad because if he won't drink from the tap I'm done. I'm not going to continue this by just pumping and feeding him breast milk through a bottle. Pumping is my enemy and after school is done, pumping is done. Period.
Has this ever happened to you? Is it a phase? Should I keep offering the teet? GIVE ME ANSWERS!!
Please and thank you.
3 comments:
Hey Amy- I had issues with BFing both boys. Here's what I can pass along, but I'm not sure what you're already doing...
1) Both of my boys preferred bottles, once I started them. There is a bottle called "breastflow" that worked amazingly with David. It is not only shaped like the real thing, it is also structured to feel like the real thing, and it has a valve that makes your baby latch on and suck like it's the real thing. I highly recommend it, while you're continuing to BF. They are more complicated to us and have more pieces to clean, though. So, when I stopped nursing, we switched to Avent.
http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Breastflow-Starter-Kit/dp/B000BK8RHM
2) Are you using the slowest flowing nipples available? Even with the breastflow bottles, I stuck with number one nipples. Otherwise, the faster flow tends to be preferred.
3) Both of my boys nursed better when they were sleepy. If he keeps refusing you could structure your schedule so that he's eating before sleeping...
4) There's a great nursing group at St. John's on Wednesdays at lunchtime. Janet Tolley from Hope leads it. AWESOME! You can get some one-on-one help from a nursing expert there...should nothing else work.
5) Should all else fail, remember that nursing is not all or nothing. Don't throw in the towel completely if it gets rough. Even when my guys decided they were done nursing, they'd still latch on at night. So, I bottle-fed during the day and nursed at night. Your supply will adjust, and Earth's Best makes a good organic formula that doesn't have any extra junk in it. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself to make the experience perfect. It takes two, and sometimes we forget to take our little baby's will into consideration. I definitely did with my Ben!
Let me know if I can help or if you just want to chat! BFing is TOUGH! :)
I've noticed my boys don't bf well if I'm upset or tired. The boys were screaming earlier when I was trying to feed them. We were all three too hot and I was getting frustrated so we stopped and tried again later and they are doing fine now.
This has happened to me a couple times actually, but never when he was as young as C. I freaked out too, but he was fine the next day. I would keep trying for a couple days, if he still refuses then maybe you're correct about it being easier for him to get the milk out with the bottle. I have heard of babies refusing to breast feed once bottles are introduced, but if he's had plenty of bottles before, I wouldn't think he'd all of a sudden change his preference.
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