Breastfeeding

Is using a syringe setting myself up for trouble?

I posted earlier today about how LO has been having these huge meltdowns during BF sessions today. It seems like he's frustrated either by my milk being too slow to flow or b/c not enough is coming out. Twice today he would cry uncontrollably for what seemed like forever to the point of barely being able to catch his breath and it breaks my heart beyond belief.So far he's only had 4 wet diapers today..

 I've managed to pump a little bit and am contemplating syringe feeding him this extra milk following our BF sessions. I want to know if syringe feeding might either confuse him and lead him to expect that kind of "instant gratification" every time he's hungry OR is it safe to do once or twice? I'm hoping to make it through the night until tomorrow when I can join a BF support group...

 

Re: Is using a syringe setting myself up for trouble?

  • I think once or twice would not cause a problem. It sounds like you both had a rough day. If I were you, I would do it tonight and see an LC or group tomorrow. Hang in there!

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  • Yep, my mom got really concerned and also encouraged me to give him a "bottle" tonight and go to the group tomorrow. I refuse to give a bottle/artificial nipple b/c I worry it will make things worse. If a syrninge feeding poses the least of a problem I guess I'll have to go with that only if he starts fussing again tonight.
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  • W did a syringe the first two nights along with a tiny feeding tube. We went SUPER slow. Like two ML in three or four min so she wouldn't expect more quicker from me. By night three we were good to go and my milk can fully in. good luck!!
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  • see if you can get him to latch on and start sucking and then take the syringe and gently squeeze it in through the corner of his mouth. a 1 millileter syring should be small enough for him not to notice. and push the plunger only when he is sucking.

    i had to do the same thing with my daughter. but i used a clean finger instead of my breask because she wasnt latching, and she didnt seem to notice the syringe.

  • I'm doing the same thing, my milk supply is very low but while I'm encouraging more milk to come in I didn't want my DD to be hungry. She had lost over 1 1/2 lbs from birth and I felt awful when she would cry from hunger. So far she's still breast feeding perfectly fine, my lactation consultant said the syringe/medicine dropper was fine so I hope that's true
  • When my LO was having problems with latching and getting very aggitated and upset from hunger, I would feed her a small amount of formula from a dixie cup. That was she still ad to lap it up and it really helped. It can get messy though. It worked very wellthough and today she rarely gets frustrated before a feeding since she has learned that she might have to wait a moment for the milk to comein.
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  • I had to do that for a few days with DS.  We ended up using a nipple shield after that for 5 or 6 weeks.  We eventually transitioned off everything without issue.
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