This is upsetting me soooo much...Preston was breastfeeding fine the first day and a half in the hospital, then he started getting fussy when I put him to the nipple, but he would eventually take it and nurse. Then we had to supplement formula until my milk came in because he lost a pound...My milk has come in, but now I'm lucky if I get 5 sucks out of him on my breast. He'll drink the breast milk out of a bottle, he'll drink the formula out of the bottle, but when it comes to the breast, he'll get on the nipple for like half a second and then get fussy and will keep pushing himself off. He knows how to latch on, he will if he gets calmed down enough, but he barely ever stays on and when he does he barely takes any. I'm so persistant with him too, but it doesn't seem to matter. This is absolutely killing me because one of the things I was SO looking forward to was being able to breastfeed him. :sadeyes Does anyone have any suggestions other than hang in there and keep trying?

Is it just on one side or for both sides? Maybe try holding him a different way? Not sure what else to tell you right now. Hayden went through a period where he didn't want to nurse on one side so I had to hold him to trick him to nurse on that side :hehe

Hang in there.

When my daughter was 5 days old she got a strain of pneumonia and I was determined to breastfeed her. It took some patience, but just keep trying to breastfeed him. Stroke his hair and chin while you do it and softly whisper to him.

I will say this, do not kill yourself over it. If you try as hard as you can and he still won't, do not feel bad or stressed. You are still just as good as a Mom!!!

Good luck!!!

Reagan was like that! She nursed fine in the hospital and once we got home she wouldnt take it!! We ended up not breastfeeding after two weeks because my milk never came in!!

A lot of babies will prefer the bottle over the breast if given the choice because the bottle is easier. They have to work a little more to get it from the breast. It's one of the reasons that I wish hospitals weren't so persistant about bottling a breastfeeder. If anything they should have taught you to finger feed a supplement if it was really needed. It's almost like they try to set Mom's up to fail!

Anyway I would try to nurse as often as possible. Prior to breastfeeding use a pump or warm washcloth to help with letdown. A pump works best but you can use a warm washcloth and handexpress to release your letdown. It sounds like he's getting frustrated that the milk isn't there immediately. Once you feel the letdown, put him to the breast and he should latch and stay there. Let him nurse as long as he can and then pump for a few mintes afterward. You really need to get him to the breast and not the bottle as mch as possible. Since it is supply and demand, you need to get your breasts to produce that extra that he is getting from the bottle, which is why I suggest using the pump.

Oatmeal is good to eat as well. It will help increase your milk supply or at Henry's you can buy "Mother's milk tea" that will help increase your supply.

Hang in there. It sounds like he's just frustrated. :hugs

I had that problem with Kailtyn for a while. For the first week she was latching on perfect but after that she wouldn't latch on correctly. turn her head away after a short time and it was killing me because my nipples were hurting so bad. So I started pumping and feeding her the breastmilk in a bottle. I did that exclusilvely for three weeks or so and then decided to try breastfeeding again. To my surprise she is now latching on properly again and is nursing without any problems. Just keep trying. And if it doesn't work the way you imagined, try not to feel bad. Breastfeeding or not breastfeeding isn't the deciding factor in being a great mom

A lot of babies will prefer the bottle over the breast if given the choice because the bottle is easier. They have to work a little more to get it from the breast. It's one of the reasons that I wish hospitals weren't so persistant about bottling a breastfeeder. If anything they should have taught you to finger feed a supplement if it was really needed. It's almost like they try to set Mom's up to fail!

Anyway I would try to nurse as often as possible. Prior to breastfeeding use a pump or warm washcloth to help with letdown. A pump works best but you can use a warm washcloth and handexpress to release your letdown. It sounds like he's getting frustrated that the milk isn't there immediately. Once you feel the letdown, put him to the breast and he should latch and stay there. Let him nurse as long as he can and then pump for a few mintes afterward. You really need to get him to the breast and not the bottle as mch as possible. Since it is supply and demand, you need to get your breasts to produce that extra that he is getting from the bottle, which is why I suggest using the pump.

Oatmeal is good to eat as well. It will help increase your milk supply or at Henry's you can buy "Mother's milk tea" that will help increase your supply.

Hang in there. It sounds like he's just frustrated. :hugs

okay this totally sounds like what a LC will tell you!!!! If he has the choice he's going to chose the bottle...this is why the navy hospital wont give bottles...breastfeeders lose weight when they are born...so for them to supplement, just made it harder on you! you can always go to lalecheleauge.org or I can give you the name and number of the best LC at the Navy Hospital...she helped me through TWO bouts of masitits!!! Good Luck chick and DONT GIVE UP!!!!!

:giggle Not a LC but I've BF all 4 of my birthchildren for varying amounts of time. I wish I knew then what I know now. I did have two babies in the NICU, one I was taught to fingerfeed and the other they would bottle when I wasn't there. The bottler went on to BF exclusively for 8 months so it is possible.

i wish i had advise but i have never been there. i hope it gets better.

try contacting a lactation consultant

I never had that problem with DD...she was such a voracious eater and loved to fall asleep at the breast.
I know it's frustrating sweetie, but try to hang in there....have you tried calling the hospital and asking what to do? :hugs

I'd definitely contact a lactation consultant. The more Preston is on the bottle, the harder it will be to transition to the breast. Good luck to you!!!

I don't know since I've never been in that situation, but I am sending you some :hugs and wishing you all the luck!! You are a great mother no matter what Amanda!!! :hugs

Contatc a lactation consultant. Make sure you are drinking enough water. Fenugreek can also help. Its a herb in capsule form. It increases supply. I had a LOW supply and HAD to supplement. My PCOS/hormonal imbalance caused it. Contrary to popular belief not ALL babies prefer the bottle. Mine didnt. He only wanted me and refused to supplement. So he lost weight, didnt have enough poopy diapers etc because my supply was so low. By 4 and a half months the LC made me wean due to it.

Oatmeal, fenugreek and water did help me tremdously. I also pumped after each each feeding and fed on demand. Try switching sides like it was suggested and just keep at it. The first 6-8 weeks are definatly the hardest as thats when your supply is building etc

G'luck!!

Well a bit of an update...We had to take him to the women's center at the hospital to have him weighed to make sure he was gaining weight and not loosing it like he did at the hospital, and he gained 7 oz whih is good to know :) Anyway, while we were there one of the nurses had me try to breastfeed him to give suggestions and whatnot, and it was really really successful and helpful. She suggested using a nipple shield and he latched on with that, but after a few seconds he tried pushing off so she did this little trick of dribbling formula into his mouth...boy did that work!!! He nursed for awhile, got fussy, she did it again and he went to town again. He nursed on my left side for about 15-20 minutes, then we burped him and tried the other side. He got on, without the shield which the nurse was impressed by, we did the formula trick and started sucking really well...he stayed on that side for about 10-15 minutes. I'm trying again here in afew minutes, so hopefully with the stuff I learned today it won't be as difficult!

get ahold of a lactation nurse asap!!!

if you keep giving him the bottle, he may not want to take the breast because it takes less work to suck from a bottle... babies are born to suck REAL hard and thats so they can get the breast milk out, but if they use a bottle 24/7 for a while, they get used to not having to work soo hard..

i had issues with breast feeding as well, except i had damaged milk ducts which nobody knew til i was screaming bloody murder at the ER, lol!

my advice is, i know that breastfeeding may be important to you, but the first few days is what matters most cause of the colostrum.. also, call your doc office and talk to a lactation consult.. you should also have a la leche (sp) contact in your info that was given to you at the hospital, they are 24 hour lactation nurses, you can call anytime and they will help you out.

xo

Umm. i didnt last long in that department either i bottlefed my boys too. I think the problem was that i didnt receive alot of support in the BF my mother is more anti boobie feeding i think if, she was more supportive than i think i would stuck to it. But my boobies felt so engorged that it hurt sometimes so bottle we went LOL

My daughter was the same way! I didnt want to give up on breastfeeding at the time so I just had to go get a breast pump and she would take it out of a bottle with no problem! I know it's aggrivating!

Breastfeeding is so natural, don't you just wish it felt that way! I consider myself an old vet at this. I have had three kids and nursed them all for a little over a year each, more than three years of nursing experience!
But it was not easy. When my first was born I was 17 and he only weighed 5lbs, 13oz at birth, oh and he had a touch of jaundice. But I was determined, the doctors were not so much. I think because I was so young there was a fear that I would not be able to nurse properly or what not, so I was sent home with some formula.
It was so hard. He was so little and fussy. One day I had it... I locked him and me in my room and I was not coming out until I figured it out... and we did. Sure, there were times all I did was nurse. And being a high school student who got called out of class to nurse and had leaking breasts was not something I would wish on anybody. When all was said and done, all of my kids were healthy. I even continued to nurse when my oldest was hospitalized with RSV. You just need people around you who are supportive, find a breast feeding support group (I think la leche has them). You can do this.
Good Luck to you, enjoy your baby.

Fenugreek will help with your supply too. Look for it in a health food store or if a local grocery store has a good natural foods section. It's a bottle of like 100 pills.