Still having a problem..

willadieselstm

DS is so confusing to me.  He nurses perfectly fine during the day and over night.  In the evening around his 6 and 8pm feeds he WILL NOT nurse.  Some days he does it like no big deal.  Other nights I spend a good 20 minutes trying, he screams, calming him down, then trying again.  Around the 3-4 attempt I give up and go get a bottle.  He won't even try to latch.  As soon as I put him in the position he cries. And not just a whiney I don't like this cry.  An all out screaming cry.  As soon as I pick him up and hold him he calms right down, so I don't think it is excessive hunger or pain.  When I do give him the bottle he will take it.  I don't know what else to do.  We have been doing this on and off now for a month or so.  I have started supplementing these night time bottles with formula as I can barely pump enough for the next day at the baby sitters.  I thought he just did this on week days but now it happens on weekends too when he gets no bottles during the day.  I'm not sure what do to. Any advice is much appreciated.

ncbelle

It's normal to have less milk in the evening so my guess is that he is getting frustrated because he has to wait for your letdown.  And when you give him the bottle, you reinforce that.  If I were in your shoes I would 1. make sure I was using the slowest flow nipple for any bottles he does get and 2. make sure I was drinking lots and lots of water and eating good protein throughout the day to help with evening supply.

The other important thing is to try to relax yourself during those sessions.  I know it's tough when your baby is screaming at you but when you are tense, it's hard for your milk to letdown.  Try going in a dark quiet room and put on some relaxing music.  Also, instead of watching the clock to start a feed, go on baby's cues.  You are getting to the age where babies are frequently distracted at the breast - and a bottle is faster.  So if you only try to nurse at set times, you may not have much luck.  You can also try hand expressing a bit to get some milk on your nipples to let him know "hey, there's milk here!"

If you do offer a bottle, make sure you are pumping at that time as well.