Unlatching, crying, relatch, repeat...

laurenlomsdale

BF went very smoothly the first 3 weeks of my LO's life. Around week 4 she started to become fussy in the evening which I expected. However, as the weeks have gone on she gets so worked up the evening that even though she wants to eat, she unlatches and cries, pushes herself away from my breast, and then relatches for a few moments before she does the same thing again. I feel as though she is getting frustrated that the milk isn't coming out fast enough for her but I don't know how to change that. Do I need to try and up my supply? How would I do that?

I should add that we introduce a bottle wayyy earlier than I wanted to- around 2.5 weeks (I wanted to wait until at least a month). We did this because my husband was told that he HAD to attend his USMC Ball and I didn't feel right making him go by himself. So we introduced the bottle so her sitter could give her one. Now we give her a bottle maybe 2-3 times per week.

Its gotten to the point where in the evening I just want to give her a bottle and then pump instead because I get so frustrated. But I don't want her to get into the habit of always having a bottle because I don't want her to stop nursing completely. Also, my husband will be deploying pretty soon so I won't have anyone here to give her a bottle while I pumped...

Anyways, I'm just at a loss for what to do. Do I just give her a bottle once a night? Or should I keep up nursing at night? Do I need to increase my supply? If yes, how do I do that?

Sorry to make this so long...I didn't mean to! TIA!!!

utlawgirl

This is a really common problem -- not sure if that makes you feel any better! Kellymom.com has some good info:

https://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html

I'd say just keep nursing as often as she wants in the evenings, and that will up your supply naturally. It's common to have the lowest supply and slowest letdown in the evenings. Pretty much any BF mama you talk to will tell you they remember a period of a month or two where they basically just sat on the couch with the baby and nursed in the evening until it was time for bed.

It sounds like you are doing everything right -- hang in there!

GLGB

Sometimes my LO does this but usually after he's fed for a bit and isn't hungry anymore but still wants to nurse.  I keep him at my boob and put a pacifier in his mouth and that usually makes him happier.

 But I wouldn't do this unless I knew that he had eaten and wasn't still hungry.

Good Luck!

CurbsideProphet

what time is bedtime? Have you tried making bedtime earlier? DD would often cluster feed in the evening and this was a common problem for us. She was acting like she was hungry, but really I think she was just tired. Putting her to bed earlier seems to have helped.

jlsimon56

Also, when you do give a bottle, make sure you are using the SLOWEST flow nipple you can buy.  And take breaks, burp, etc. during a bottle feeding (well, tell whoever is giving the bottle to do this).  Make them work for the bottle just like they have to work for the boob!

laurenlomsdale

Thanks for your help, ladies. I had looked at kellymom.com but I didn't really feel like I got the concrete answers I was looking for. We've tried the paci up next to me, and that only seems to help for a few minutes. Bedtime has already been pushed back to begin the routine at 7:30pm. Any earlier and she would be waking up at 4am to 5am for the day. I'm not sure I have the right nipple for the bottle though. I got the Dr. Brown's wide mouth bottles, but I'm not sure of the flow. When I try to squeeze water through it, it doesn't squirt out but drips so I think its a slow flow. We burp half way through the bottle and sit her more inclined so its harder to get the milk, but maybe we will just have to burp her more often to get rid of some of the confusion.

I may go visit a LC today just to see if there is anything else she can recommend. Thanks again!!!