baby likes bottle...too much...help

[ice_chick]

My baby is 6 weeks old & I went back to work 2 weeks pp. I have been pumping & DS has been getting bottles of ebm & some of formula. I nurse on demand at night & he does fine. He usually gets 2-3 bottles a day when I am not around. When I do try to nurse in the early morning & when I am home late afternoon, sometimes he will nurse fine for a few minutes & then get real fussy & refuse to eat anymore. He will scream & scream & doesn't stop until he gets a bottle which he takes just fine. Sometimes he refuses the breast right from the start. I know it would have been preferable to nurse exclusively all this time, but it was just not an option. I am pretty sure I am getting enough milk for him & I am worried that if he doesn't start taking the breast more that my supply will start to get low. How do I deal with him when he gets fussy & refuses the breast? After about 15 min of frustration, I just give up. What do I do? Help.

[RoadWorkAhead]

STOP giving up!!! I was forced to pump and feed while nursing DS by an overzealous uneducated LC and he developed nipple confusion badly. We got stuck without a bottle of EBM and missing part of my pump for several hours one day.....He whined and whimperded and my heart broke, but I kept trying to get him to latch. An hour of mama and baby tears later, he latched on and we've been going strong for 21 months now. Don't give in to a bottle if you are at home. Also, make sure you have the right bottles/nipples. I had best luck with Avent size 0 nipples b/c my milk came out faster than it did from those bottle nipples so DS didn't get frustrated with my nipples being slower. Good luck!

[misseks]

Oh don't give up! Hang in there, mama!

(Oh how I wish someone had said that to me... sigh)

You may end up giving him the bottle for 'nutrition' and the breast for comfort, but don't quit. As he gets more mobile (you probably know this from your three other kids!) he'll want to suck, then look around, and switch sides, and be a royal pain, and not focus on nursing when you need him to nurse. And the bottle is much easier to suck from and he can move his head around whilst someone else holds the bottle.

But don't give up, b/c he might forget how to latch if he isn't exposed to the breast everyday.

Hugs!

[alegna]

My advice is to not make the bottles an option when you're there. Yes, you need them when you're gone, but absolutely do NOT give them while you're there. If he won't eat at all cup-feed or syringe feed or get an sns or lact-aid, but no bottles.

-Angela