I am going back to work soon and my husband and I have started introducing the bottle to my 2 month old. He is taking the bottle well for my husband but ever since he has not nursed well. He breastfeeds well at night and in the morning but by late afternoon he will nurse for a few minutes and then rejects my breast. I then switch him to the other breast and he nurses fine for a few minutes and then rejects it too. I feel like he is not getting enough to eat in the afternonn and therefore he is not sleeping well in the afternoon. He also has become much fussier in the afternoon than usual. I'm not ready to completely wean so any suggestions would be appreciated.
My little girl is doing something similar, and I have been expressing and giving her the freshly expressed milk to see if it's a taste issue or a bottle issue. She's done it for the past two days. I'm going to give it time. I think it's growing or a phase, b/c when I switched positions, she was a little happier. Good luck, I'm frustrated in the trenches with ya!
You may have to pump all the time and then give your breast milk through a bottle.
Best of luck!
J.
i'm in the same boat as you... baby is fussy from about 3pm until she goes to sleep around 10pm and all of the feedings during that period are squirmy struggles with bouts of fussiness in between. i read somewhere that our milk supply diminishes later in the day, so that may be one reason for the squirming. could also be gas (we blame that for everything!) i agree with the other moms, fussy times are normal and growth spurts are happening... sounds like you're doing everything right to me! let us know how it goes when you return to work... i'm doing the same in October.
Are you pumping every time he gets a bottle? Are you supplementing with breastmilk or formula? Since milk production is completely supply and demand, you need to make sure you replace bottle feedings with pumpings to keep your supply up. If you continue to have problems or concerns, you should seek the advise of a professional lactation consultant, either at your hospital where you delivered, or an independent IBCLC. They can help you make sure you continue nursing while supplementing with bottles periodically.
Many babies have fussy periods, especially in the afternoon/evening around this age anyway. It's also possible he's going through a growth spurt, so extra nursings will help your milk supply catch up. Lots could be going on, you probably need some help from a breastfeeding professional. :)
Why not pump and put your breast milk in a bottle?
I know there is a special bond that happens when you are nursing your child. However, when I went through this with my second child I finally had to put his well being before what I wanted to do and feel with him. So in order to ensure that he still got all the good stuff from breast milk, I just started pumping full time and only giving him the bottle.
i am just guessing ---but the bottle's nipple may be flowing at a faster rate than your slower flowing breast nipples and he just gets frustrated with the slower flow. My friend had this problem and would pump milk to feed thru fast flowing bottle nipples instead of directly nursing. I hope it works out for you. Good luck.It's not ideal but ,,,?
La Leche League has the answers and are so happy to help!
I would let him nurse both sides and then if he seems hungry a little later, give him 1/2 a bottle.
He doesn't have to work with a bottle, so it's easier for him. He has to suck with the breast and it is harder. Once he realizes he doesn't have to work so hard, he won't want to and will prefer the bottle most of the time. But, I bet at this point, it is just a matter of him being hungry.
My son is 4 months and at 2 months we did the same thing and had the same problem. For the afternoon feeding I moved to a quiet place in the house and tried to make it dark. Sometimes it worked and others it didn't. I just got use to a longer afternoon with a fussy baby. Usually I would run errands in the afternoon and he seemed to like being out of the house. Or you could pump for the afternoon and give him a bottle. Do what you can and know that your son had 3 months of his mother. I am still breast feeding. I pump twice at work and then breast feed when I am at home. I notice that by the end of the week my milk is less but a weekend of feeding brings it back. I am not making enough during the day with the pump so we now give one bottle of formula and 2 breast milk.
I also take two herbal vitamins - fengugreek and blissed thistle (not sure on spelling). I fill it has helped.
Good luck and remember the first week back will be hard but it will get easier. I still cry every once in a while and you know it is ok. I am doing the best I can and I see it in my child's smiling face.
Maybe he is having to work to hard from the breast. I purchased bottles that are more like the nipple called breast flow. It helped with us. best of luck
I've heard of this happening before. Where the baby rejects the breast after he/she has been introduced to the bottle.
It has something to do with nipple confusion or something... anyhow. My sister-in-law's baby never even took to her breast, but she wanted to breastfeed. You can purchase a nipple that goes over your nipple and breasfeed through that. The baby gets the nipple he wants and you get to nurse your baby. WIN WIN for everyone. Good luck!
Fenugreek worked really well for me to boost my supply after I had a sinus infection when my soon was a few months old. Also, encourage him to suck at least until your milk lets down. If your milk is coming out and he still pulls away from the breast, then you know it's not a supply issue. Whatever you do, be consistent, so he grows to know what to expect. He might just be a little confused with the breast to bottle thing.
