Is it OK to exclusively bottlefeed my 7 week old baby?

Question

My baby is 7 weeks old & I have no breastmilk. I've tried EVERYTHING!! fluids, fenugreek supplements, breast pumping but I only get a few drops. I tried to give my baby more frequent feeds with breast milk but after a few days he lost some weight. Now I only have some milk at one feed per day & he pulls away crying & hungry. I really want to breast feed my child & I feel really guilty. Should I just give up & stop trying? Is it OK to just bottle feed him at this age? HELP!!

Answer 1

of course it is

some mothers can not breast feed at all

Answer 2

You say you really want to breast feed... it's not too late!! You can still do it.

Why dont you check into la leche league, or a lactation consultant at the local hospital.  They can offer great support to help you succeed!

If you have your heart set on nursing, then just breast feed.  Seriously, put the baby to the breast, and let the baby go to town.  The more baby nurses, or you pump, the more milk you are going to make.  If you introduce bottles, you will have no supply left.  Milk production is based on supply and demand.  Even the stimulation from the baby sucking will tell your body it's time to produce more milk.  It's very rare that a woman is not able to produce milk.  

Just keep up the hard work.... and i'd ditch the bottles.  You can do it, with the right support!

EDIT:  You dont have lactation consultants in your part of the world?  What part of the world may that be?  Well, surprisingly, there's help all over the globe!  Your a doctor!  Great!  Then you should have resources at your finger tips!

Check this out... this has a few listings for breast feeding help

http://www.kellymom.com/lcdirectory/inde...

And La Leche league.. drop down bar... pick your country..

http://www.llli.org/

Answer 3

Its very concerning that you had a sudden drop of milk after 7 weeks of successful breastfeeding -you could have a serious medical problem:

1) Have you started any new medications or supplements? Do you normally take any medications or supplements?

2) Do you have any chronic health conditions?

3) Have you had your thyroid levels checked?

4) Checked for anemia?

5) Checked for diabetes? Did you have gestational diabetes?

6) Do you eat a lot of sage, or mint?

7) Have you lost a lot of weight?

8) Is it possible that you are pregnant?

Answer 4

Please, don't feel guilty. You are doing the best you can for your baby, and that's what's important.

Your son will be fine with formula at this age. Many babies never get anything but formula.

However, I understand and appreciate your desire to breastfeed. It's not too late, but you may need to work with a lactation consultant.

This website

http://www.drjacknewman.com/

has wonderful resources, including video clips so that you can check you baby's latch.

My guess is that you have a latch problem, and he isn't getting enough milk at each feeding. It can be overcome. There's some great information on the site.

La Leche League is also a wonderful resource. If you call your local chapter, the leader will help you out. They are NOT, in my experience, the "nipple n***s" they are often made out to be!

Answer 5

Have you worked with a lactation consultant?

Keep trying. You can do it!

Answer 6

I understand how you feel.  I had to stop breastfeeding after my son was only a week old because I simply wasn't producing milk, and I tried very hard.  I questioned my milk supply when he was particularly fussy one night , and decided to pump to see what I was producing and was horrified when literally a drop came out!  I was so upset and I bawled like a baby when we had to give him formula, but his needs were much more important than my pride or my desire to breastfeed.  The day after this happened, he had an appointment with the pediatrician and he had lost 14 ounces since his birth, only 8 days before.  I still tried to breastfeed while supplementing with formula, but I eventually had to give up because it just wasn't happening for me.  I am hoping that if I have another child, I will be able to breastfeed.  You could try a lactation consultant.  Whatever you decide, you need to do so quickly because your baby needs all the nutrients he can get.  Breastfeeding for 7 weeks is much better than not at all, so even if you do have to stop, you should feel good about the fact that you were at least able to do it for that long.  Good luck!

Answer 7

I am sorry you are having such a difficult time breastfeeding.  Please try not to be hard on yourself if you have to (or choose to) give you baby formula.  While its not as great as breastmilk, it will still allow your baby to grow healthy and strong.

Instead of using a bottle, i recommend the Lact-aid feeder http://www.lact-aid.com/prodcat08.htm#sy...

This will allow you to feed your baby the forumla she needs while also stimulating breastmilk production

Best of luck to you!

Answer 8

it is totally your choice if you want to bottle feed but you say you really want to breastfeed so i think you should keep trying. its ok for babies to loose weight and most mothers have some problems with breastfeeding to begin with. maybe you just need some extra help and support. placing warm flannels over your b*****s and manually stimulating them while looking at pics of your baby may help and you are doing the right thing by giving him regual feeds. is he latched on correctly?you can speak to la leche legue or contact any other b/feeding support groups local to you. dont feel guilty you are obviously trying your best. but most new mums do need some help to get b/feeeding established so dont be scared to ask. i hope wot ever you decide works out for you.

Answer 9

Stop panicking, and stressing. Both these inhibit milk production by interfering with the production of milk making hormones. You need to adopt an I CAN do this, so I WILL do this attitude. Positive attitude is also a major factor.

Remove bottles from the equation completely, You've gotten the infant used to bottles now which will make this much harder.

What you need to do is Supplement at the breast, by using the tube feeding method, this will allow the stimulation the breast needs to get production back, while getting milk into him at the same time until your flow and production are back up to good shape.

Every bottle given, is less stimulation, which inturn equals less production.

Correct Latch doesn't just mean no pain, it also means effectively drawing milk from the breast, and sufficient stimulation to initiate milk production.

Breastpumps are nowhere near as efficient as the mouth of an infant. If it doesn't bother you, your husband/partner can also assist by sucking, which in situations like these does help milk production increase faster.

I can tell that your heart really is into breastfeeding, which is why im posting this.