I have been nursing my daughter for the past 3 1/2 months and it is wonderful. However, I have been using a bottle at least once a day (sometimes more) and now it seems she is having problems at the breast. She just seems so fussy at the breast...sometimes she will eat for a bit and then stop and just get so mad that i have to calm her down. I am using the playtex nurser with the disposable liner. Could it be that she is not working enough for the milk from the bottle and getting lazy at the breast? Are there any suggestions of another bottle that might help "train" her back onto the breast? I really want to continue nursing but I am brought to tears everyday out of frustration during these nursing sessions! I have looked at both "breastflow" bottles and "Adiri" but would like some opinions please! Adiri seems to be shaped very much like a breast, but i'm wondering how much they make the baby work for the milk...help!
I know I did the same with my oldest and she would get made when my milk wouldn't let down immediately so I would pop a pacifier in her mouth for a second and then have her latch back on...once my milk let down she would be fine.
May I ask why you are using a bottle? Is it because you are working or otherwise away from your daughter? If not, then lay off using the bottle. Babies can get lazy when the work of getting milk out of a bottle is so easy and getting it out of a breast is so much harder.
I second the idea of a cup if you need to use something else.
I went through this with my son when he was ~2 months. From talking with our pediatrician's nurse/breastfeeding specialist and all that I read on the internet, it is "nipple confusion" - the term isn't a good one though as really the baby is smart not confused and wants to have the easy way of the bottle. Usually after 3 months it should go away but maybe yours is happening now instead. I had been doing the same in terms of maybe once or twice a day, I'd let my husband give our son a bottle and mommy would get some extra rest or pump or whatever. Anyway, if you want to continue nursing, try to not use the bottle at all. For us I think it took maybe 2 weeks for the issue to totally go away, but it got better pretty quickly. I know it is sooo hard to survive those bouts of baby being mad and crying so much, but in the long run it will be better. That is all it took...well, that and to remember to drink lots and lots of water. I didn't have to use any special bottles (I used Born Free throughout) and I didn't go to La Leche as I wasn't interested in their ways.
Hi K.-
I had the same issue with my little princess and she grew out of it. I had to go back to work when she was three months, so 3 days out of the week she we being fed with a bottle. I don't think it was the bottle causing her to get fussy while nursing (I used the playtex drop ins also) I just thought it was a faze she was going through. She would nurse for about a minute then get really fussy and cry. I would take her off, hold her and calm her down, then try and feed her again. It could take up to three tries, but eventually she would nurse and get what she needs. That faze has passed and she nurses and takes a bottle with no problems. Hang in there and keep nursing. She'll grow out of this faze and move into another one!!!
K.,
I am the mom of 6. The good news for you is...that you are producing lots of milk!! That may be the problem. When the breast is overfull, the baby will suck a few times and the milk will "let down". It may be coming out too fast for your baby to drink which could be making your baby pull away and cry. Before you put your baby to your breast, express your milk until the milk flow slows to a couple drops per second. Then nurse normally. Just remember that nursing from the breast provides more benefits than drinking from a bottle. Good luck!!! Bette's sister Peg.
If you can, make sure that bottles are only given by other people, and not you. Also, when I was breastfeeding my daughter and supplementing with formula, I would make sure she'd eat as much as possible with me first and then follow up with a bottle only after I knew that she had gotten all that I had to offer. I've been told that some babies get "lazy" once they realize that the bottle is easier - I never ran into that problem though. I did make sure to use the smallest flow size for as long as possible too - in case it would help. I don't know anything about the bottles you are using - I was using an angled plastic bottle that vented on the bottom and had the standard nipple type that you'd find on most bottles, and it seemed to work pretty well.
I agree, stop the bottles if at all possible. La Leche League and kellymom.com are both great resources for breastfeeding information. If you can't stop the bottles altogether then make sure you are bottle feeding in a way that is compatible with breastfeeding. Some tips here: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html
Also see this link about babies being fussy at the breast. Breast compression might help keep her interested too.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/fussy-while-nurs...
Keep up the good work of nursing and contact LLL or an IBCLC if you continue to have problems.
K.:
try not giving the bottle for a bit/ if you feel that you must use an alternative use a cup or spoon.
P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions
The best thing you can do to "train" her back to your breast is to cut the bottle out for a while. If you're at home, this is easy. Just stop giving her a bottle. If you work, make sure the bottle that she's given (when you're gone - if you're ever around you should nurse her instead) has the slowest flow nipple available. Actually, I have found that the only 2 brands that have a really good slow-flow nipple are Born Free and Avent. I tried Gerber and Evenflo (haven't tried Playtex) and their "newborn" nipples were much much faster than I think they should be. Why is this a problem? If your baby is used to a fast flow nipple, she can get lazy about nursing because it's harder work. This leads to frustration at the breast.
So... I say cut out the bottle altogether for a few weeks unless you absolutely have to. If you DO have to, make sure when you hold the bottle as you would to feed her that it drips no more than once every second. If it drips faster than that, your nipple is too fast-flowing for a newborn breastfed baby.
Just offering you some encouragement.
You will persevere !
Best wishes and prayers!
My sister found a lot of help through La Leche.
I had the opposite problem -
My girls would never take the bottle-
Eventually they were willing to use cups.
Good Luck
My gut says she is upset about your letdown. The bottle is easier for babies and the milk comes out right away. At the breast she has to suck for a bit longer to get that rush of milk. I would say, if you can, hold off on the bottle for a few days/weeks until she isn't fussy at the breast and then start again with the bottle.
Have you considered a growth spurt? Most babies have a growth spurt around 3 months and will get fussy at the breast until they build your supply up to compensate for them growing. The best advice for almost any nursing issue is NURSE, NURSE, NURSE :) Hopefully if it is a growth spurt she will get your milk supply increased and the will stop fussy so much.
