3 week baby won't nurse....HELP!

[AustinMom]

I posted this in my DDC as most of them have babies the same age. Her is a copy of my first post....

Ok, so I don't think I'm missing anything, but to make sure, I'm going to ask the plethera of you moms with babies the same age-ish.

Baby 'had' to be given a bottle in the NICU due to 'dehydration' once we got home we got rid of fast flow nipples, used the SNS to supplement as I don't have enough glandular tissue to exclusively BF. That is a pain EVERY time you have to feed, or just when baby wants to snack or munch, so yes, we did stop that and went to slow flow playtex drop in bottles, where the nipples are big enough to simulate a breast and she actually had to suck to get milk out, unlike the SNS where milk dripped out.

Fast forward to now....when she hungry, I offer the breast, after the foremilk is gone, she pulls away, fusses, I relatch, she pulls away, stays on for a second or two (literally) and then pulls away, fusses, I relatch....this goes on till I give up and give her a bottle before she really starts to scream and get really frustrated (me included).

So now, we are pumping every 2 hrs ish, once during the night, and giving her expressed milk. I'm taking domperidone, more milk plus, goat's rue, eating oatmeal, having a half beer every now and then. What else can i do?

I have nipple shields that she will sometimes nurse with, and she still suckles through the night when she just wants comfort, but won't nurse when she's hungry.

Here is the KICKER..........when she drinks from a bottle, it LITERALLY takes an HOUR for her to drink 1 OUNCE!!!! I KNOW my milk comes faster than that because in a pumping session of 15 min I get an ounce there, and I KNOW she sucks harder than the pump. Is it a flow thing? Like the bottle is more reliable? Also, when she begins to pull off, I look at my breast, barely do a hand expression and milk squirts 8'' out! So I KNOW she can get milk from me, she just won't. What can I do? How do I get her to go back to the breast?



A lot of people responded saying my let down could be too fast and/or to use the SNS or a lactation aid, to which I said........

Ok, so, more info. I'm kinda confused....if I have a strong let down, which would kinda make sense, I don't see how adding a lactation aid or SNS would help with this, only make it worse. Wouldn't it just be more milk she is getting?

When she pulls off and cries, I'll squirt some in her mouth and she'll frantically latch back on, that's what makes me feel like she isn't getting milk.

We saw 5 LC in the Baby Friendly Certified hospital, and sadly, this wasn't going on at that point.

When I wait 6 hrs to pump or so (like first thing in the morn) I get almost 2 oz combined. When I pump every 2 hrs, I get .5-1 ounce at MOST.

I can't really use the Lactation aid or the SNS due to the formula we use. We homemake it, and it has a little bit of granules of ingredients and won't fit through the LC. We don't plan on switching to commercial formula, as both my kids have had health issues and GI issues with the protein in milk, and need the raw enzymes to help break those down.

I asked my MW and she said it sounds like it may be coming too fast, but that didn't make much sense to her either, as she would cry and then want more milk once she feels it in her mouth. The thing is, she doesn't suck before she pulls off and cries, she simply has the breast in her mouth, nipple not even to the back, and it like she waiting for it to drip in her mouth before she sucks, like she does with foremilk.

Maybe if I use a nipple shield, it's more like a bottle feel, and it does gather some milk in it so that could drip and get her stimulated to suck? I don't know, I have two, so I could just put one on each breast?

After a feeding when she was in the NICU, (before my milk came in) she had to be supplemented as she was clearly more hungry after a BF, so we started using the SNS. Then we were put on a time schedule to feed, and she drank faster from a bottle, and we 'had' to go with that. She would take about 1-1 1/2 hrs to drink 30ccs of milk. That's what lead to the 'dehydrated' need to push fluid, etc. When we got home, day 8 my milk FINALLY came in, and it still wasn't enough to satiate her as we were just getting off pushing 60ccs of milk in her after a 10min per side BF every 3 hrs around the clock. So now, when we bottle feed her, she will take 2-3 ounces a feed, and when I pump, I only get 1 ounce, rarely 2 per pumping. I know she would get more from the breast.....but I'm trying to get her to take the breast again. With the nipple shield, she'd take it, but I don't think she would get as much milk as she would without because of the lack of stimulation and and compression, right?


Advice?

[3girls1boy]

There's a lot of information in your post and seems like a lot of issues. I found with my babies that they would often go through a time where they would pull off and fuss a lot during feedings, and with some of them, I never did figure out why. I tend to have a very forceful letdown and that was sometimes the issue. For that, what worked for me was to nurse on one side only for up to 3 or 4 feedings and this really helped to regulate my supply after a couple of weeks.

You also might want to look for information on "nursing strikes" since this sounds almost on the verge of one. What works for many moms is to nurse when your baby is very sleepy or asleep. Sometimes you just don't know what is making them fuss during nursing.

I hope this helps some

JT mom to 3 DD and 1 DS

Also, I would suspect that when she suckles through the night, that she is getting some milk as well.

[KoalaMommy]

you might want to stop the beer as alcohol actually inhibits letdown, unless that's what you're trying to do. Can you supplement with a syringe at the breast instead of an SNS system? I did that with my son using a syringe the LC in the hospital gave me with a small tube attachment. I imagine it's not nearly as much of a pain as an SNS.

[sattygirl99]

Originally Posted by 3girls1boy

I found with my babies that they would often go through a time where they would pull off and fuss a lot during feedings, and with some of them, I never did figure out why.

Sometimes you just don't know what is making them fuss during nursing.

.

Can I just say this makes me feel better...? We've weaned off supplements (on day 2, he had just 3/4 oz supp yesterday because he was doing exactly this... pulling off and fussing... I suspect because the flow wasn't fast enough and I gave in...

He fusses after feedings and I find myself doubting myself a lot... Even though he's gassy and has reflux.

[tibeca]

Have you tried doing breast compressions to keep her interested and the milk flowing? Some babies are too lazy to start each let down (women have as many as 15 let downs per nursing session) and get cranky, and "unwilling" to put forth the effort.

"Try breast compression to keep your baby interested in breastfeeding. Squeeze the breast firmly with your thumb on one side and fingers on the other to increase milk flow. Keep squeezing until baby is no longer actively sucking, then release. Rotate fingers around the breast and squeeze again. Then switch to the other breast, using both breasts twice at each feeding. Squeeze firmly but be careful not to cause injury to your breast tissue."

from: http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct08p44.html

It sounds like you have a lot going on. I am not trying to simplify your situation, but this may get you started in the right direction. If this doesn't work, please post again. Also, see if you can't locate a LLL group near you. you may find that the leaders there may be able to help you, sometimes in ways that lactation consultants don't consider.

[Somemyrrh]

Have you had your baby's suck evaluated by an LC? If it's taking that long to drink a bottle, there may be some issues there.

I find that my baby nurses better at night, and I often hand express the hind milk during the day when she won't relatch. I have igt as well, so it only takes a few minutes to empty the remaining milk into her bottle before topping off her feed. For me pumping is too time consuming for the amount of milk I could get during the day, and hand expressing makes life easier. We nurse, I hand express any remaining milk into the bottle, then she drinks the bottle. Nipple shields might not be necessary if you are willing to find another way forward, since your LO latches fine at first.

I would suspect a weak suckle before too fast let down. I had a stronger letdown for my son, who had dysphagia (weak suckle) because my body was compensating for him to try to get him the milk, and I only made half an ounce at a time then, so it wasn't overpowering, just quicker and easier. Just a thought.

[cdahlgrd]

I agree with Summer, it sounds like there is a problem with her suck. She may be fine when your letdown is heavy, but then she can't get her suck coordinated enough to trigger more letdowns. Have you tried to let her suck on your finger, to see what it felt like? Is she taking enough nipple and areole into her mouth, pulling milk down with her tongue or biting?

I would use a faster flow bottle. Perhaps some people have slow letdown, but mine has always been fast and furious and a slow bottle drove me crazy.

Try to relax. Stress around feeding won't help and can make things worse. So just try to calm yourself and your mind and send your babe lots of love and peace during feeding. If it doesn't work, just calmly go to the next thing or change what you can. Don't take it personally, don't get upset. (I know, easier said than done, but you can do it!) Sometimes it take a few weeks to get the kinks worked out.

[nicky85]

I wonder if her jaw could be out of alignment? The birth process can push a baby's jaw out of alignment, making it difficult for her to open up her mouth all of the way to establish a proper latch. (Maybe making it difficult to suck on a bottle as well?) A traditional pediatric chiropractor or osteopath can adjust the jaw to put it back into alignment. You can look for a pediatric chiropractor on www.icpa4kids.org. Good luck!

[Parker'smommy]

My dd fusses at the breast all of the time. It's my overactive letdown. She takes it for awhile, because she's hungry, but then gives up and screams her head off. IShe'll try to latch on again, and sucks a few times and then screams again...it's so sad. I  have to calm her down- rocking her, shhing her, give her to dh, and when she is calm, we try again. Someitmes it takes a LONG time to feed her. It's getting better though as my OAL is starting to get under control...thank goodness. I've read that most OAL self corrects by at least 12 weeks. She seems to get most upset at night...when she's also the fussiest. She's a pretty sensitive baby and I think she just is overly sensitive to my letdown too. But I don't feed her bottles or anything supplemental. I just feed her more often. At first, her poops were VERY green....a sign of foremilk/hindmilk inbalance. BUT.....because she was gaining fine ( because I was feeding her more often) I didn't let it bother me. As my OAL as gotten less and less, her poops have turned bright  yellow and she's gained even more. 

SOmetimes babies just fuss at the breast. I just keep offering and feed MORE feedings, as the feedings aren't as long, kwim?