And it is the BEST thing I could have ever done for my son!!!
He HATED breastfeeding. He'd push the breast away, scream and scream. Feedings took very, very long to calm him, put him back to the breast, to only have him begin screaming in seconds again, having to calm him, putting him back to the breast, screaming and having to calm him again.
I had some good and bad advice. Bad advice: taking away ALL bottles and pacis. I ended up with a baby that was starving himself, and constantly screaming all day long. After a whole day of not eating, you bet I gave that up.
Good advice: take warm baths with him & nurse, skin to skin when feeding expressed milk in a bottle, offer the breast after pumping to aid in let down, 'fool' him by taking bottle away during skin to skin feeding and offer breast. I tried this for over a week, being very gentle and trying to teach him to like the breast again. This did not work either. 1/2 step forward, 2 steps back is what it was, though it was good advice.
So, instead of constantly thinkign I was a failure for a mother because I couldn't nurse my own son.. I decided it was time to stop getting depressed, to stop getting frustrated at my son, and to stop starving him! Lol. I am now exclusively pumping. I pump every 3 hrs in the morning, every 2 hrs in the afternoon and evenings. I've increased my supply, even. Since I've given up nursing, he hardly ever screams anymore. We give him his breastmilk bottle, he's happy. He gets cranky and cries when tired, but a nap will fix that. I've gone from a baby that screams for hours every day, to a baby that barely ever screams, simply by switching to exclusively pumping.
So, to all those mamas that had the same problem as me, don't be discouraged. Don't think of exclusively pumping as a bad thing. It isn't. Fact is, you can snuggle your baby 24/7 (not just when breastfeeding), and your baby is STILL getting the best nutrition he can get - the end result is everyone is happier, especially baby, and that is what is most important.
He HATED breastfeeding. He'd push the breast away, scream and scream. Feedings took very, very long to calm him, put him back to the breast, to only have him begin screaming in seconds again, having to calm him, putting him back to the breast, screaming and having to calm him again.
I had some good and bad advice. Bad advice: taking away ALL bottles and pacis. I ended up with a baby that was starving himself, and constantly screaming all day long. After a whole day of not eating, you bet I gave that up.
Good advice: take warm baths with him & nurse, skin to skin when feeding expressed milk in a bottle, offer the breast after pumping to aid in let down, 'fool' him by taking bottle away during skin to skin feeding and offer breast. I tried this for over a week, being very gentle and trying to teach him to like the breast again. This did not work either. 1/2 step forward, 2 steps back is what it was, though it was good advice.
So, instead of constantly thinkign I was a failure for a mother because I couldn't nurse my own son.. I decided it was time to stop getting depressed, to stop getting frustrated at my son, and to stop starving him! Lol. I am now exclusively pumping. I pump every 3 hrs in the morning, every 2 hrs in the afternoon and evenings. I've increased my supply, even. Since I've given up nursing, he hardly ever screams anymore. We give him his breastmilk bottle, he's happy. He gets cranky and cries when tired, but a nap will fix that. I've gone from a baby that screams for hours every day, to a baby that barely ever screams, simply by switching to exclusively pumping.
So, to all those mamas that had the same problem as me, don't be discouraged. Don't think of exclusively pumping as a bad thing. It isn't. Fact is, you can snuggle your baby 24/7 (not just when breastfeeding), and your baby is STILL getting the best nutrition he can get - the end result is everyone is happier, especially baby, and that is what is most important.
that is exactly what my DS did when dealing with silent reflux. I did try bottle feeding some, but he would scream at the bottle too. Once we had the reflux diagnosed and had him on medication the screaming stopped. Just something to think about, in case your DS is still showing signs of reflux.
