Son Won't Nurse

Hi,
I think you have 2 choices, one is to NOT feed him a bottle and only offer him the breast, so he's really hungry. He will not deny himself food. Babies have a great sense of what they need and one of the miracles of breastfeeding is that your body responds to that demand ( or lack). Boys wiggle and squiggle all over the place and play more as they get older. My 11 month old is all over the place in my lap but still manages to nurse 4 times a day.
Your second choice is to just switch to the bottle and pump the rest of the time you plan to nurse. I think this would be hard to do, but I know women who have done it.
If it were me, I would just stick with it, offer him the breast 10, 20 times, it's OK and not forever. he knows what he needs so trust him too.
Good luck

I'm not an expert, but my best guess is that milk comes out a lot faster from a bottle than nursing. Because he is getting it quicker at day care, he might just be frustrated with the speed. I noticed in Babies r us and online that there are bottles, well actually nipples that simulate the actual breast. Perhaps sending one of them to daycare might help. Good luck and continue pumping!

Dont FREAK out. These types of things happen with everyone. Dont offer him a bottle when hes with you, ever. When hes hungry enough hell eat. And dont worry if its not at the time hes "supposed" to eat. You keep pumping during the feedngs that he's not eating everything so your milk doesnt dry up. A baby always prefers a breast because its what is natural. I hope this helps. And it is nothing to be too concerned about. And in response to all these women that had 8 month olds weaning them selves. It has nothing to do with them liking the bottle more. Babies have a natural weaning process around 8 or 9 months. So its not because they preferred the bottle. It could be happening with you 6 month old? But really it doesn't mean anything because you just keep going. don let them wean, only offer the breast and they'll continue.

E.:

First off - congratulations!!

Now, STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP! Stress WILL decrease your milk supply. If breastfeeding has been difficult for you - try new methods. Your best bet is to relax though. Babies pick up on stress. If you are overly wraught about him not getting enough, he'll pick it up/sense it. RELAX! Enjoy your time with your son.

Lay off the caffiene, drink water and nurse then pump - I know some don't do this - however, pumping after nursing, especially with a wiggly baby will get the baby the hind-milk that has a lot of the fat in it. This will also increase your milk supply.

First and foremost DO NOT STRESS - stress and can will decrease your milk supply.

Your son is sox months old, he is getting a bottle at day care, so this is a change for him as well as you.

Your son will pick up on your stress - thus increasing his wiggliness - stop worrying about him getting enough - a baby will not let himself go hungry.

With my first son, I could've fed Ethiopia - the top freezer was filled with expressed milk. I even wet-nursed my close friend's daughter. I nursed him until he was 2 years old. It was a hard thing to wean him - it was "our time" together.

With my second son - well - let's talk about night and day - at one year - he just stopped wanting the breast. I'm not kidding or exaggerating at one year he just stopped cold turkey. OUCH! I also couldn't keep up with his needs. Unlike my first son, who as 17 lbs at 3 months - can you say Butterball turkey? And was exclusively breastfed for the first six months of his life - my second wanted solids at 3 months and was on sippy cups at a year.

Bottom line - each child is different. Each story is different. You and your son will be fine. There are many ways to get around it.

Put calming music on when you nurse your son - put your feet up and be comfortable, use a boppy pillow for him, yeah, he may be a little big for it but it might help him latch on better and get the let down faster so his attention will be kept on you.

Relax. Do not stress - you are a GREAT mom!
Pump after nursing.
Keep all the expressed milk - freeze it. Use it for day care.
Enjoy your time with your son, don't worry about how much he'll get - rest assured he'll get what he needs when you pump when he's done.

Most pediatrician's usually have a lactation consultant on-duty. Call her and talk with her.

I know that both my boys were fine (they still drive me nuts - just like they are supposed to!) and you will be fine too!

I'm sorry this is so long. But I really want this to work for you - I truly enjoyed breastfeeding. It's so sad to hear that someone is having a difficult time with it.

Laurie Clark is a registered Lactation consultant whom I love! She's the bomb!

Contact me privately, I'd be more than happy to help you out - let you know you are doing the right thing and not to help you not stress!

Take care!

Cheryl

E.,
Go to the La Leche League website and find a leader in your local area. These are women that will come to your home for free and spend time with you over the phone.
Make sure you are drinking plenty of water and resting when you son naps to increase your supply. You can also get a nursing mom's tea to help.
L.

Is he getting teeth? I have an 8 month old son that would act that way when he teeth started coming in...within a few days he was back to his normal nursing schedule. Just a thought....H. :)

Hi E.,

This happened with my son when he was 8 months. I was doing some volunteer work every morning for a week and my mother-in-law was watching my son and giving him expressed milk from a bottle. The next week my son decided that he didn't want the breast any more and although I felt like I had rather hurt feelings by him not wanting to nurse all of a sudden, at least it meant there was no big weaning issues to deal with. Of course it could be a number of other things; getting teeth or have you eaten something that may make the milk taste different? But I do suspect that he prefers the easier task of drinking from the bottle.
L. P

Hi E.,

Your son is probably in the begining stages of teething. I've nursed three babies, and they all went through changes like that when their teeth were about to come in.

Hi,

My daughter started doing this similar thing at about 8 months old. He is interested in the world around him. Just sit there and he may come right back to nurse after he explores the area and sees nothing is going on. He may so that alot in one feeding. ALso, he is now getting more milk in the nursing than before. The older they get the better suckers they get to be...so milk comes faster.
If you aren't satisfied with his nursing, just do the pumping and bottle thing....whatever you feel is best.
I just thought that you would like to know this is pretty typical by this age. One woman commented to me that if it were up to our babies, we would walk around topless and they could nurse whenever they liked...thought that was funny. I had a similar question that I had asked.

Good Luck!