BFing question (newborn)

lewispm · January 2014

My sister called me this morning for BFing advice and I was unsure what to tell her. She has a 4 day old who lost enough weight in the hospital that the nurses recommended supplementing a little. They used a bottle to supplement and now the baby wont BF (has no interest in latching at all) but only wants the bottle. My sister's milk has not come in yet, but she is freaking out hat she has ruined the BFing relationship already. I never had an issue similar to this with K and didn't know what to tell her.

I did tell her not to freak out and to call her LC. Also, I think once her milk comes in baby will be interested in BFing again and to keep trying to BF even if she wont latch.

Any better advice?? I will prob post this on the BFing board as well. Thanks!

KarmB · January 2014

yea thats what happened with lilah. even after a lc and everythihng, she only wanted the bottle.

lewispm · January 2014

jfresh said:

I think you gave great advice. I would tell her to use a preemie nipple when supplementing. Also to make sure she pumps every time they offer a bottle, and make sure she offers the boob before the bottle too. Even if her milk hasn't come in baby should be getting some colostrum. Hopefully the LC will have good info for her. Maybe they'll even suggest an SNS so baby is more used to the boob than bottle with the supplementing.

Thanks! What is an SNS?

SallySunrise · January 2014

Great advice above. Warm water is a miracle for bringing baby to breast, so try a warm bath together when baby starts to show hunger signs, but not when she's so hungry she's mad. Pump to encourage milk to come in and keep supply up while baby is still transitioning away from the bottle. Lots and lots of skin to skin time, even if baby isn't hungry. Just that connection will encourage baby to come to breast. If she doesn't get the help she needs from her LC, encourage her to try another one. There is a wide range of qualifications out there for that title, so some are not nearly as knowledgeable as others. More than anything she needs to hear that she's doing a GREAT job.

lewispm · January 2014

babywinks said:

A shield is an option if the other suggestions don't work. DD had latching issues and we used a shield for several months with never any issue for my supply (not always the case but worked well for us). But I would try working with a LC first and exhausting their suggestions first, as one of the Pps said shields can be a slippery slope.

Thanks! She is trying to avoid a shield as my nipple shield caused huge issues for me that never got completely sorted out. I know everyone is different so she will definitely keep a shield in mind, but I think she is terrified of one because of my awful experience using one and having it impair my supply majorly and all the work I had to do for 6 entire months to keep my supply decent. I am anti-nipple shields (for me at least) now!

SallySunrise · January 2014

It's true that sometimes shields are hard to lose once you start. Some LCs want you to stay away from them for that reason. My personal opinion is that I'd rather spend my entire BFing career using a shield then not be able to do it at all, so if you need it, use it! Benjamin used it for 11mo and it was a royal pain in the ass, but it kept us breast feeding. Emily used it for just the first few weeks and then latched just fine without it for the rest of our 15mo nursing career. If it makes the difference, it's worth it to me.

lewispm · January 2014

SallySunrise said:

It's true that sometimes shields are hard to lose once you start. Some LCs want you to stay away from them for that reason. My personal opinion is that I'd rather spend my entire BFing career using a shield then not be able to do it at all, so if you need it, use it! Benjamin used it for 11mo and it was a royal pain in the ass, but it kept us breast feeding. Emily used it for just the first few weeks and then latched just fine without it for the rest of our 15mo nursing career. If it makes the difference, it's worth it to me.

I agree 100% that using a shield the entire time beats not BFing at all! If her LC consultant suggests one, I am sure she will keep an open mind (and I will too) at this point. Thanks!

lewispm · January 2014

Thank you @hijinx! I have heard of those and will recommend she ask her LC about one.

singingirl96 · January 2014

1 - she needs to see a LC asap.

2 - she needs to stop using a bottle to feed her baby. The more she feeds by bottle, the more interested she'll be in the bottle and less on the boob. SNS is a great suggestion to consider if you absolutely need to offer formula.

It is a slippery slope if you offer formula... The more formula the baby eats, the less it'll nurse, and the less she nurses, the less milk mom will make..... then next thing you know moms supply tanks and no more breast feeding. Consistency is key. Keep offering the boob. If she drinks formula, mom needs to pump.

When I was having issues latching with my son, I would offer him the boob for a few minutes, then pump and feed what I pumped to him via SNS... and the cycle repeated for about a week or two till he finally started gaining weight and getting the hang of it.

Good luck to your sister. The first few weeks are hard, but once both her and the baby finally "get it" , It'll be easy sailing and everything will be just fine.

lewispm · January 2014

Thanks everyone! I bombarded her with some great advice from you all, and she has an appointment with her LC right now actually! I hope she has a good LC. I never supplemented at first even though K lost weight because I was afraid of this exact issue. Thanks again for all your advice and I sure hope it all works itself out for her soon!

pinkangelmoon · January 2014

heatherbee710 said:

I know this might get mixed reviews, but when my DS was having trouble nursing, we feed him some milk I pumped from a tiny medicine cup (you have to give a very small amount at a time). We would give him some that way, instead of the bottle, to calm him down enough to try and latch. Some nurses showed us this way, and others acted like it was going to choke him. He did fine with it and we were able to avoid the bottle nipple confusion. Hope one of these ideas work

On similar note, another option is to use a syringe and feed a few drops at a time. This is what our pedi suggested and what we did before we caved in to the bottle. But I will admit it was a pain to feed this way in comparison to the bottle if she needs to supplement. I never tried the SNS but that is what my LC suggested also. Hopefully something works out for her!

sarahandeddiejune212008 · January 2014

She needs to try pumping. If baby is still hungry give formula with a dropper or cup. She needs to stop using the bottle and see the lc immediately. The nurses gave her awful advice. The only way to stimulate proper milk supply is to nurse. Until baby is latching properly she needs to pump every 2 hours around the clock.

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