Georgia Babies
Breastfeeding question
So, I have only been back at work for 2 days and I can already tell that Katie is preferring the bottle over the breast. This weekend she has fought breastfeeding almost each time...to the point that I finally just broke down and gave her a bottle b/c she kept crying during the feeding session.
Did anyone else run into this? I am pumping at work, but am not sure I can exclusively pump and produce enough for her. I am going to continue to try, but would love anyone's feedback.
I am really upset.
TIA.
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Re: Breastfeeding question
We had the opposite problem. P was never really a "fan" of the bottle. I used to have to dump unused milk every day. I would literally cry. She would be such a hot mess some days it was all I could do to get her home so I could nurse her bc she was starving! I guess that was why it was so super easy for me to just drop the bottle completely at 11 months and once we started solids she would eat like a champ!
I will say that when we would nurse I always tried to make it extra special time together. I paid tons of attention to her, sang to her, rocked, turned the lights low, kisses and snuggles, etc. I think the best thing to do is relax with her. If she fights, put her down to play a few minutes and come back later. She'll eat when she is hungry. Almost NEVER did I allow Polly to have a bottle when I was around, and especially not from me.
I've done just BF with my two but you have some really good advice on the attention above.
And this sounds like such a dirty sentence ....but you can put some expressed breast milk on your nipple and she may be more apt to take it if she gets a taste.
Also, for your bottles, change the nipple to like a newborn or 0-3 so it is harder for her to get the milk out. They learn quickly that it is easier to eat from a bottle than Mom so if she has to work at it more she may go back to BF.
Good luck!
I wanted to clarify so I don't sound all judgemental BFing granola...
We had to train P on the bottle so once a day P got milk from a bottle (the first couple months only) while I pumped. But if she got a bottle, I automatically pumped so as to not "lose" the feeding. I was glad when she "got" it and would take a bottle if needed, but then she always did prefer to nurse overall.
And the reason I almost never gave her a bottle was bc I wanted her to associate me with nursing. I did not want her to think she was getting a bottle from me, but mostly bc I hated pumping and did not want to sacrifice a nursing session for a pumping one. I don't think you should let her go too hungry and you should do what you need to do, but if the BFing is really important to you then you have to be sure to "keep" the feeding, by either trying to wait it out and nurse or pumping after she takes a bottle. Just try to not be the one who gives her the bottle. You want her to associate the special snuggle time with you and nursing and not the bottle. (Mommy = nursing) And I agree to switch to the "harder" nipples. I think I never tried bigger-holed nipples with Polly ever. Always stuck with the harder ones until we moved on to the sippy.
Bailey went through a few little strikes but they only lasted a day or two and it was always right before he got sick. I did the pump right before and that made some milk be on the nipple and the letdown had already happened so it was instant for him. Definitely make sure you are using the slow flow or 0-3 nipples on the bottles. They are more like BF in that the baby has to work harder to get the milk out.
I would definitely keep pumping at any feeding that she doesn't completely empty both breasts that way you can keep your supply up.
Ditto this.
First off, {{HUGS}}} to you! It's pretty common for infants to be resistant to mom the first week away. It's a protest thing. once things have settled into a routine you may find the opposite problem (which I have now) where baby wants you and will eat very little until you get home.
A couple tips:
1. Make sure you are using the SLOWEST FLOW nipple available for the type of bottle you use.
2. Do lots of skin-to-skin time when you are home to encourage bonding. This will remind baby that being on Mom is a soothing and comforting experience. She will probably end up on the breast just from being on you.
3. Pump to maintain stimulation if she isn't eating.
4. Massage breasts prior to nursing (and during if you have to) to encourage a quicker let-down.
5. try paced feeding (take bottle out after 10-12 sucks to make it more like BFing)
6. try to relax...i know, easier said than done, but it will inhibit let-down if you are tensed up
Which bottles are you using? We used the ones with two nipples so that the let down of the milk from the bottle was closer to nursing. She doesn't prefer the bottle over you; she prefers the speed at which she gets the milk.
Bottles: Breastflow Bottle.
Yes, I agree here. I used these with both my boys when they first started taking a bottle. In my case it was b/c they didn't like the bottle and these were more like the boob, but it could go the other way too