I have a 2 month old son that I am breastfeeding and supplementing with formula. He has recently started getting very fussy at the breast and when I offer it to him, he bites down on my nipple. Has anyone else had any experience with this happening? What can I do to remedy the problem? I'm not ready to give up breastfeeding yet!
I too recommend contacting La Leche.
If he is really resisting, I wouldn't force it. (Or he'll totally refuse.) But keep offering. Eventually persistence should work - but it will take patience and continual support. The best times to try are when he is sleepy
If he has previously nursed fine and just now has started clamping down on your nipple, I'd guess nipple confusion. He is expecting your breast to be as easy and work the same way as a bottle. I'd try to breastfeed more and bottle feed less so he starts realizing there IS some work involved in eating. Really, though, I cannot emphasize the importance of contacting LLL or a lactation consultant RIGHT AWAY to help you before the problem gets worse. You want to nurse longer and they can help you overcome this!
Is there a reason you are supplementing with formula? If you are using a bottle, that could be the problem. Here's what I recommend (I am not an expert, but BFing didn't come easy to me, so I have LOTS of experience with my kids. I do recommend calling the la leche league too):
- Stop supplementing with formula. If you have a low milk supply, then you can take fenugreek, drink mother's milk tea, and nurse like crazy to boost it. Remember, milk is supply and demand, The more you supplement and the less you breastfeed, the less milk you make.
- If you have to supplement, use a supplemental nurser system instead of a bottle. http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/breastfeedi... You put the formula in there and when baby latches, baby gets both breastmilk and formula
- When you do introduce a bottle again, make sure it is slow flow. There is a special way to feed a BF baby a bottle... http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html
I think he is getting frustrated with the nipple (yours) because the milk takes longer to come out. I really recommend ditching the bottle until he's older. Hang in there!! Trust me, it is absolutely all worth it!
As a midwife, when I see babies doing behaviors like this at the breast, I often see a correlation with babies having a an issue with their neck. I send my clients to the chiropractor and have the baby's neck adjusted and often that is all that's needed to fix the situation. If the neck is sore, then it hurts the baby to work his jaw. Re-aligning that is really simple. It is not a hard, firm adjustment like what happens with many adults who get adjusted. Infant adjustments are very light and gentle and they can make a world of difference.
If you want a recommendation for a chiro near you who routinely works on babies, email me privately. Most of the ones I'd recommend have worked on me and/or my children so I can vouch for them personally.
Keep being patient...my son had a hard time latching from the beginning. Try switching the position he is in. There is a breastfeeding support group at Banner Gateway on Thursday mornings. It is free and you don't have to be a patient or have delivered there. There is a lactation consultant who is awesome and can help with latching difficulties. If it wasn't for her my son probably never would have latched right. Also, when you give him the bottle, make sure you use a slow-flow nipple to make the bottle harder to drink out of. Babies learn quickly that they can get the milk faster and with less effort from a bottle. Good luck!
D.,
If you're dealing with low supply and that's why you're supplementing, he could be biting down trying to get more milk.
I'm not going to tell you that if you just pump more, drink more water or take the right herb you won't have this problem. I had low supply with both my babies and took fenugreek, fennel, goat's rue (every herb I could find that was supposed to increase supply) and all the lactogenic foods available to me. I also had two different lactation consultants who helped me but finally admitted I just didn't have enough milk. I still had to supplement. Some women genuinely have low supply due to insufficient breast tissue or other hormonal issues.
So, whatever is going on that you're supplementing, good for you that you're still nursing.
If it's not low supply, it could be nipple confusion but if you've been supplementing the whole time, I consider that unlikely.
Try breast compression when you're nursing to give him a little extra.
Most of all, try to get some rest. If he's sleeping, SLEEP! We all hear this advice but not many of us take it. It really is vital to milk production and good overall health for you both.
Blessings!
I nursed my daughter and am still nursing my 14 mo old son. It's hard sometimes just this morning he bit down more of a slow and painful thing really that almost made me scream. My daughter got teeth early and bit me too. Oh I dont want to scare you off. Obviously it is worth though. I went to a breast feeding support group with my first daughter and actually went last week. Its more a place to get to know other women who are doing the same thing and talk about mom stuff. I thought it would be more like an AA meeting " Hi my name is L. and I'm a breast feeder....Hi L." =) There is a lactation consultant who is wonderful. Mercy Gilbert medical center Fridays at 10am. Her name is Tracy Grady The group is on Facebook but I dont know how to tell you to get there. Good Luck Dont Give Up!!
yes, it sounds like a latching problem. Keep working at it. You can also go to la leche league online.
I have experienced this on and off with all my kids at various ages. One thing I've done is squeeze on my breast from either the side or the bottom which kind of makes your nipple bigger and should force him off and then he'll have to relatch. This doesn't sound as easy as it actually is. Hopefully someone else can better explain.
