Breastfeeding trouble?

Question

has anyone had trouble breastfeeding? my baby doesn't want to latch on and breastfeed. she gets all fussy and shakes her head and pushes herself away. she is about 2 weeks old and i'm supplementing her diet with formula (which i didn't want to but need to for her to gain weight) along with some breastfeeding (however long she can latch on and feed which is usually 5 mins). anyone has any tips that can help me and my baby breastfeed more comfortably and easily?

Answer 1

talk to a lactation consultant  My hospital has a answering service for this. It might also be the flow My son did this. I would have to pump for 2-5 mins before that way the milk came out slower and didn't spray in there. It could be worth a try. but call someone that does this for a living!

Answer 2

I had the same trouble for the first week or so and the only way I got my girl latched on was by taking away the formula and gave her no other option on her source of food. I know it may sound harsh in a way but it got her to latch on within 2 days.

Answer 3

First off, it's nothing your doing.  Some babies just don't latch on very well and have trouble.  My first two babies were that way.  I even went to a lactation consultant to get help.  Didn't help me though.  I was only able to breastfeed for 3 weeks with both of them.  But with my current baby, he latches on right away and has no problems with it.  

As for you giving your baby formula.  Once a baby has a bottle, she might not go back to your breast.  A bottle is much easier for the baby to get milk out of, and the breast takes work to get the milk out.  So a baby gets in the habit of not having to work for the milk and will choose not to after having a bottle.  

So my advice, you can see a lactation consultant and see if that helps but it might not.  Sometimes breastfeeding just doesn't work out.  But experts say it's the first 3 weeks that are the hardest and after that things fall into place.  So keep trying for at least 3 weeks before you give up on it and use a bottle all the time.  

Don't feel bad though if it doesn't work out.  

Answer 4

I would suggest going off the bottle for a few days and see what happens. Some babies get full from the bottle and then don't want to do the work to get the milk out of the breast. Dont starve her if shes crying, but offer her the breast instead of a bottle during your normal feeding times. If she feeds for 5 minutes, let it be and then feed her when shes hungry next (which will be in a few minutes). She will eventually learn to latch on for longer periods of time.

Also, remember to burp her before, during and after every feeding. This will help her not to get fussy at the breast.

Answer 5

Go to your local WIC office someone is always there to help you right away they can help you out

Answer 6

See a lactation consultant for hands on help.

kellymom.com also has great info

Latching and Positioning Resources

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/basics/...

Answer 7

Def. see a lactation consultant, but the only other thing I can think of is that she takes a bottle for the supplemented milk and sometimes babies can get lazy because the breast is more work for her so she doesn't want it. My son does that after I have left him with my mom or someone for a couple hours. Once he has a bottle or two it takes some patience to get him to breastfeed without getting cranky because he doesn't want to work for it.

Answer 8

> along with some breastfeeding (however long she can latch on and feed which is usually 5 mins).

What's wrong with five minutes?

My baby (fourth) nurses for 5 minutes all the time. Sometimes 3 or 4. Then 10-35 minutes later he'll nurse again. Other times (luckily,mostly at night!)  he will nurse for 20 or 25 minutes and then sleep for 3-4 hours.That's actually how babies naturally feed.

So, what should you do?

Dump the bottle.

Don't offer it. Period.

My now almost 7 week old had profound jaundice. A bilirubin of 29. He had to have a bottle every 1-2 hours for well over a week.   *****He also lost 22 ounces*** the gain on formula, to increase his weight/ stop the weight loss was much faster than on breastmilk- that's how it is. Your pediatrician has to know this.

When the bilirubin declined, I simply stopped offering the bottle. It took about 3-4 days to get him completely off it and stabilize my milk supply; it was much like dealing with a baby in a growth spurt- he was nursing constantly and would get frustrated. Then my body caught up. He hasn't had formula in 5 weeks, but on a happy side note, he is now able to take an occasional bottle of expressed milk when necessary with no problem.