how to get baby from bottle to breast

[Jenns_3_babies]

Little bit of background so you understand my problem better.

With my 1st DC, I was dead set on BF. I tried everything I could think of...took fegugreek, alphalfa, pumped, nursed every hour to 1 1/2 hours, drank considerable amounts of water, heating pads, etc. My milk never came in. Never experienced engorgement or letdown. I had to supplement with bottles as she was losing weight (born at 9lbs, had a bit to spare). She had no problem with that, but nothing ever happened.

With my 2nd DC, there were comlications and he was lifeflighted to a different hospital 1 1/2 hours away and was in the NICU for almost a week. I never experienced anything different with my breasts during that time. The 1st night I brought him home, my breast got heavy and I leaked a bit. I pumped like crazy, but he absolutely refused to latch on. I gave up.

Now, with my 3rd DC, I did BF him right after delievery. He was on my 1 breast for over an hour and I had DH help get him off. He gave a blood blister. Same goes for the other breast. He screamed he was still hungry so doubting my body, I asked for a bottle. He drank 2 ounces down in less than 5 minutes (nurses were amazed). He's been drinking on average 3 ounces every 2- 2 1/2 hours, but anywhere from 2-4 ounces at a time. Oh, he was born at 9lbs 15 ounces, and lost only 2 ounces in the hospital so maybe that's why he's so freaking hungry.

Here's my problem...my breasts became engorged yesterday morning. I immediately tried BF him. He latches on for a couple minutes then lets go screamming on the top of his lungs. My milk's not coming in fast enough, or it comes in after he lets go. I know my body won't produce enough now to fill him, but he won't stay on long enough to try. I try nursing him before and after the bottles, I'll give him just a lil' bit from the bottle then try BF again, and try to get him to use me as a binkie hoping that'll do something. I pumped like crazy, but I only get a couple drops. What other techniques can I try? I really want to BF, but I feel that it's too late now. However, my breasts are very sore and swollen, but not too much for him to latch on, so I know there's some milk in there.

Please, any advice I'd appreciate.

[alegna]

You need to put the bottles away cold turkey. Formula too for now. It sounds like you have plenty of milk but your baby has a nipple (really bottle) preference.

This is why bottles should be avoided in the early days.



You can do it!

-Angela

[Jenns_3_babies]

ok, so after typing this out, I fed him again. He did take to me, and when I was readjusting myself, I squirted him in the face. I was so happy as that's never happened before. He stayed latched on then he fell asleep. But, I had to do something else and couldn't get him latched on in time before the hunger set in again. He refused to stay latched on this time. I'm afraid that my milk supply won't satisfy him as he's accustomed to drinking 3 ounces easily from the bottle. I know that frequent nursing's the key, but he's already eating so much from the bottle and my body's not adjusted yet to producing so much.

What do I do when he refuses me and just screams? That's my main problem here.

[alegna]

Just get the bottles and formula out of the house. Take them out of the equation.

Offer the breast very often. Basically keep him at the breast all the time.

hang in there! Those first few days can be rough.

-Angela

[momuveight2B]

Have someone come and get all the ff stuff out of the house. Someone who won't cave if you are having a bad moment.

Then take baby to bed with you and give it a few days. Don't do anything else during that time.

[Aeress]

Ahh, I have been there. My first dd would scream AT ME, which wasn't really me, but it sure felt that way. I will admit I gave up with her.

then I had my second dd, who also would scream when she felt that the flow wasn't as fast as she wanted. I just kept up with it and she finally realized that if she was hungry she had to eat from me. I think it took 3 days. I remember doing some compressions when she was eating to help the milk "release" better.

*hugs*

[BakerALM]

Toss The Bottles

I am just going to say this and it might sound crule but moms that have sucessfully made this transition back to the breast will understand me completly....your babe will probally SCREAM for a bottle! Don't give in, he is soooo little and can be brought back but you have to be strong, do what you know is best for him now and just lovingly tell him that your breasts are warm, soft, and full of the most wonderful stuff in the world. Your babe will get it if you trust yourself and GET RID OF THE BOTTLES! Even if your nipples are bleeding and cut and about to fall off do not give a bottle, their are otherways to supplement if you are in too much pain but a bottle is basically a substitue breast, and a really bad imitation IMO. Just think about how confused your babe is right now...with in a week of being born he thinks food comes in two different packages (possibly from multiple people) and in two different flavors. It is ALOT for a littleone to understand, that is why they scream, you are chaning the rules of life on them and they cant understand why the food is not comming faster (like from a bottle).

Don't give in, trust yourself you HAVE MILK. LIttle ones LOVE to suck, do not remove him just let him be for 24hrs if you have to once he gets it he will be in LOVE.:

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

The best thing to do is keep putting him the the breast even if he crys he will eventually nurse. No baby will starve theirself todeath if the oportunity to nurse is there.

I know it is hard but if you want to bfed you are going to have to dump the bottles and formula.

Your body will adjust faster than you think. Milk production dosnt work by having how ever much they need in the breast and then they drain it. Sure some is stored there but as you baby nurses more is being made every second so that it may not flow as fast but it is there.

[momuveight2B]

Originally Posted by Jenns_3_babies

What do I do when he refuses me and just screams? That's my main problem here.

Talk gentle to him and he will learn. Say the most wonderful things you can think of about how much you have looked forward to his birth, how thankful you are that he is big and strong, that you have confidence in him and so on.

Since you are hormonal at times this will be hard for you and you will have tears too. That is OK. Just let him lay there in bed beside your breast and get familiar with the warmth and smell. When he is ready he will come to you.

You both have all the time you need.

[Jenns_3_babies]

so do I start taking herbs and such to try to boost my supply? If so, how much fenugreek should I take? I think with my 1st DC, I took 2 capsules 3 times a day and I smelled like a walking, peeing, sweating, maple producing machine. Same goes for alphalfa. I can't remember how much of that to take. Anything else?

or do I just keep drinking tons of water and offering him the breast instead of taking supplements?

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

If you have them go ahead and take them. They cant hurt and may help. Offer your breast all the time not just every hour or so if you can go topless so that when you are holding him he can see and smell your skin and milk. this will make it more familiar to him and make him crave the milk.

[alegna]

It sounds like your supply is probably fine.

Milk takes a few days to come in.

I'd just go to bed and nurse.

-Angela

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

It can take as long as 10 days for some woman's milk to come in. It sounds like that you are one of those that takes a bit longer. Especially since you introduced formula early on and didnt put the baby to the breast for every single feed.

[danna]

It sounds like it is more of a letdown issue rather than supply. You can try to take Blessed Thistle (found at health food stores) about 30 minutes before you're going to nurse him to aid in a faster letdown. Breast compressions will also aid in getting the milk down to him quicker.

My DD had many issues latching and staying awake (she was born about a month early). We slowly weaned her off bottles of my EBM and introduced more and more nursing sessions until I was BF her exclusively (this happened around 5 or 6 weeks). She never screamed at my breast though. It was more like she just wasn't interested in eating at all. You may have some luck with an SNS, which would get milk to him a little faster and encourage him to keep working at the breast. You could express and put about 15-30 cc's in there.

Lastly, if you have the opportunity, see a LC. Having support along the way might make the difference for you if you are committed to getting your DS to exclusively breastfeed.

Good luck!
Danna

[prettypixels]

OP, I'm sorry. I disagree with the recommendation to throw out the bottles. Vehemently.

It sounds like for at least a while, your supply was in question, and so you did the right thing and fed your baby with bottles. Ok, so that is done. The cat is out of the bag. Now how to put it back in the bag?

The thing to keep in mind is that above all else, you want your baby to associate your breast with happiness, satiety (being full), joy, peace, calm. You DO NOT want your baby fighting you, frustrated because you don't work like a bottle, hungry, angry. Remember... HAPPY at the breast, always! If your little guy is getting frustrated take a step back.

Some suggestions... have you tried warm compresses and breast massage/compression to help the milk flow easier and faster? If I were you I would also get a lact-aid or SNS (whichever you prefer, I find the lact-aid to be much easier to use) to use while you nurse; this will give you a faster flow of milk and make it less likely your baby will get frustrated. Hopefully you can pump some and use that to supplement.

Some Mother's Milk tea might also help, just help you relax and let down. It sounds like you do have milk now, but it also sounds like you have a lot of anxiety about breastfeeding. No doubt this affects the flow of your milk and it is likely your son is picking up on your anxiety to.

Spend as much time skin to skin as possible. Try to nurse in the tub. Let him latch on any time he is willing for as long as he is willing, and if he gets frustrated, do something else. Remember... happy at the breast.

Throwing bottles away might work for some babies, but you are already dealing with a baby who you know is easily frustrated at the breast. It breaks my heart when I read about mamas whose babies scream when they try to nurse. I am so lucky that I managed to avoid that and hopefully you will too!

Keep trying to pump too; I didn't get much from the pump at first but now get a lot more. Anytime you feed your baby formula, pump. If you have five extra minutes, pump. Pump and pump. Keep the supply up, while you work on wooing your baby back to the breast. And it is courtship. Love him, don't force him, don't make him anxious, don't make him stressed.

I hope that makes sense and you find something helpful there!

[alegna]

The babe is only 5 days old. Best to get the bottles out NOW rather than continue the preference.

-Angela

[melissakc]

I had to pump every 3 hours for 6 weeks bc DD was early. BFing in the beginning was hard bc she couldn't latch and would fall asleep without eating much. Then I'd get so full that the next time I tried to feed her she had an even worse time latching on.

You might try pumping just a little at the beginning of a nursing session just to take some of the fullness away, then latching him on. Some babies can get frustrated when they can't latch on bc the nipple is so big and full, or when the milk is spraying at them too fast.

I hope it will work out soon! I know what it's like to try to nurse a screaming baby! (((HUGS)))

[lolar2]

Whether you throw out the bottles or not (and there are good arguments either way IMO), it sounds as though you ought to pump after feedings as much as possible for a while, to help get that supply up.

[gaidinsgirl]

My baby was put in NICU for 6 days and although I did try to nurse him while he was there it was hard and I didn't get to try often. He was getting a bottle every 3 hours of pumped milk. When we came home I tried to nurse him and he would scream! He would latch on and then let go and scream. He would latch on and then pull my breast as far as he could and stretch it out then let go and scream! My lactation consultant said it was because he was trying to get my milk to let down faster. It broke my heart and I hated it because I didn't want him to always associate me with frustration. I kept trying though. I did not throw out the bottles though. I bought bottles with wide nipples that were closer to a real breast then the tiny bottle nipples the hospital had used. I nursed him first at every feeding and only followed up with a bottle if I really felt like he wasn't eating enough from me. It took about 2 weeks before he learned and now he nurses at every feeding. Unless you don't have a choice, don't feed him a bottle yourself. That way he associates you with nursing and not the bottle. He will get it, just hang in there!

[melbb]

I would use some other feeding method rather than a bottle if you can. And if he isn't bfing much, I would pump to keep your supply going. Supplements are not a substitute for emptying the breast. I do agree with prettypixels about keeping the breast a happy place. You need to balance trying to get him to latch and fed with not having him develop a negative association with the breast. If he is unwilling to latch at all, I would be very careful with forcing it and try to focus on latching when he isn't hungry or when he is sleepy. I had a DD who screamed at the breast. She mostly was finger-fed. She breastfed on and off, with multiple strikes, up to 4 months and then went on permanent strike. She would just see me taking my shirt off and scream. She knew what was coming and she didn't want anything to do with it. I spent the next 12 months EPing.