Feeling really discouraged right now...

[friendlymamma]

I feel like I'm always fighting with DD to nurse. She is 5 mo old and EBF. She only gets a bottle once a week when I work (2 sometimes 3 feedings) and occasionally if I go out at night (1 maybe 2 x a month). She does great with the bottle my DH says, sucks down up to 6 ounces a feeding. Let me say, I NEVER pump out 6 ounces at one pump session. Otherwise, she nurses, and nearly every feeding, I am trying to force her to do it. She will only comfortably nurse without a fight for like 5 minutes, sometimes less. She does great until the flow from let down is finished, then she is pulling off, looking around, and she will scream if I try to give it to her again. She only feeds 5-6 x in a 24 hour period. She is a petite baby, pees and poos fine, but I worry about her not getting enough because she is,well, petite. I've given some thought to weaning her because I am so frustrated and tired of fighting her. I also have 2 older boys who need a lot of attention, so i can't go to bed with baby and just nurse as I see others advise to do. That is not an option. Just looking for anything - thoughts or advice, or maybe even just a hug.

[MamaPhD]

I think she is doing OK, actually. Is she gaining weight? Since she is small, she will gain by smaller increments, too. Don't worry too much!

(Feeding duration) I read some babies can be very efficient and are done eating within minutes. She might be fighting you because she is really done eating and feels full. I think you can let baby off boob when she wants to. How does that go....feed the baby not the clock or something like that.

(Feeding amount) It can be tricky comparing how much she eats from a bottle vs. boob. One thing is babies have less control over bottle and tend to eat more than they need. (I always think of this as going to a buffet - always end up stuffing myself!) So how much she takes from bottle may not be what she would eat "normally". Another thing is pumping is less efficient than baby. So, in the same time, say 5 min, baby might be able to get 5oz and pump can only get out 3oz or something like that. Lastly, if she is a small baby, her stomach is gonna be small, too. She will get full pretty quickly.

(Feeding frequency) I think most books would say 5-6x feeding for 5 mo old is fine. (My DD feeds 8x a day at 8mo old, always has, sigh...) I would say, let her eat/finish when she wants. See if she would prefer to eat more frequently if you're worried she is not getting enough. Also, make sure you're in tune to her feeding cues, especially if you're busy with other kids. If in doubt, try to feed. It will only take a few minutes right?

[marge234]

I can't add to PP, if she's gaining well then you shouldn't worry. I also wonder is there a la leche league group in your area? Maybe going there would give you some good support. Good luck, hang in mama.

[Altair]

This article really saved me when I had similar issues when I returned to work. In a nutshell, she's getting way too much milk at a time in the bottle.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html
and
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html

[Ruthla]

ITA that 6oz per bottle is WAY too much if you can't pump that much easily. Some women do have a really fast flow and their babies just might drink 6oz from the breast in a feeding. But these same women can pump out 6oz in a few minutes of pumping. My son never took more than 4-5oz in a single bottle, and I pumped for him until he was about 20 months old.

Even though she's only getting a few bottles a week, it might still be enough to make her prefer the bottle. Is your DH using slow flow nipples?

[KristaDJ]

Sounds fine to me, mama. I don't know anything about the bottles but my babies have always had short nursing sessions and lost interest after let down and they are all quite healthy Mine will only nurse for more than 5 minutes if they're nursing to sleep.

[friendlymamma]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I feel a lot better after reading these responses. I never knew 5 minutes per side could be enough. But, I suppose it is, she is thriving. She does nurse longer the last feeding of the day, becasue she snoozes, but I can never tell if she is still nursing or just sucking.
I have wondered about the bottle amount. DH gave her 7 ounces at one feeding on Saturday, and I knew that was way too much, I told him not to give her that much. I usually pump 5 - 4 - 3ish when I pump at work (not sure why it dwindles toward the end of the day), but pretty much the most I ever pump is 5 ounces, so I guess that's what she gets from me. Yes, DH is using the slowest nipple we can (level 2 Ithink) the newborn nipple wore her out and took her like 45 minutes to finish a bottle, so we moved up to the next level and that works well. I'll leave her on that one as long as possible.
I'm going to stick with it for now, I really don't want to give up. When I really think about it, it's easier to nurse than to think about constantly making bottles, plus it's so good for baby.

[twins+1]

My 3 month old does this somedays too. I have a strong letdown and I think he gets a many ounces within a few minutes. So after the letdown he might unlatch and smile and look around. If I try to interest him in returning to the breast he may fuss. sometimes it is cause he has a burp and other times, he is done (and sometimes he'll decide he wants more in 10 minutes). I never know. But overall, he always comes back if he is hungry. I agree with PP - sounds like you're actually doing pretty well!
I pumped for my twins for 11 months and my dd, no matter how many oz she drank, is and always will be petite.

[inky leeuhhh]

my dd was doing this and i finally just stopped trying to put her to the breast after her first pull off of it, and turns out she was full and would go a couple hrs before wanting another feeding. she will do maybe one or two longer feedings per day now, and sometimes will cluster feed for a day. but generally, she seems to be done after maybe 5 min of nursing.