Problems feeding expressed milk

Emily - posted on 08/29/2010 ( 7 moms have responded )

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My son is 6 weeks old. He is not exclusively breastfed; I give him 6-8 oz. formula each day (2 feedings) so that I can save some pumped breastmilk for relief bottles and to freeze for instances where I will be gone or can't bf (i.e., during church).

Aside from the formula, he gets 2 bottles of expressed breastmilk each day--one from his dad when his dad gets home from work, and 1 overnight, around 3-4 A.M., which I pump and then feed him immediately. I do this because otherwise he will bf for 5 min, fall asleep for 20 min, bf for 5 more min, etc. I pump it so that he will drink enough to fill him up before he goes to sleep.

We have been following this routine for 2-3 weeks. A couple of days ago, he suddenly started fussing during his bottle feedings. He will act as though he is ravenously hungry, suck from the bottle for about 15 seconds, and then scream and look at me as if I've just fed him brass tacks. After we struggle through 3 ounces, he will begin to cry uncontrollably and pump his legs up and down; I change his position until he gets fussy again, then roll him onto his stomach, repeat, repeat. I don't believe the formula is the problem, because he fusses just as much after being fed expressed breast milk as formula. This leads me to believe that the bottle is the issue, that it is filling him with gas--which still doesn't make sense because we have been using the same bottles all this time, and he was doing fine up until this point. Note: He feeds at the breast perfectly fine, in small, frequent feedings throughout the day.

Anyone have an issue similar to this or have an idea of what could be going on?

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7 Comments

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Brandy - posted on 09/16/2010

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My daughter takes a bottle at the babysitter of expressed milk. We switched to the closer to nature tommee tippee bottles and they worked great. I also took eggs and dairy out of my diet. Now, she never cries unless we don't catch her hunger cues fast enough.

Alex - posted on 08/30/2010

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sounds like he is just at the age where he is going to have fits. both my boys had about 4hrs at night that all they wanted to do was scream. there was no consoling them during this time as muchas my husband and i tried. they both grew out of this phase in about two weeks.

Emily - posted on 08/30/2010

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Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts; we are still trying to figure it out...I breastfed exclusively last night before bedtime to see if that helped, but he was still very fussy for about 2 hours before I got him to sleep. Yesterday I tried cutting back on the amount in the bottle; I also burped him after each ounce, and that seemed to help just a little bit. Unfortunately, in response to Liesl, he fusses just as much when Dad gives him the bottle as I do, although that would have been a viable solution! My next step is to change the actual bottle, and if that doesn't help, I'm going to suck it up for a couple of weeks (my doctor said the peak of fussiness in babies is from 6-8 weeks old), and if it doesn't go away, I'll be looking into lactose intolerance or reflux. Thanks again for your input!

Liesl - posted on 08/29/2010

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Does he do fine when Dad feeds him but not when you do? If this is the case, it might be that he is wondering why the heck you are giving him that bottle when you have the real thing. Maybe only have Dad feed him the bottle, and you breast feed exclusively.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 08/29/2010

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It does sound like gas. Or it could be reflux. My daughter fell asleep frequently too. I always burped and changed her diaper in between breasts to wake her up. When you feed with a bottle you need to burp frequently (every oz or 2). If it was reflux he would probably be fussy at the breast too, but you can try keeping him upright during feeds and for at least 20 minutes after.

Erin - posted on 08/29/2010

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On top of the gas/burping suggestion from the pp. Maybe he's eating to much via the bottle and its hurting his little tummy? 3-4oz of formula seems like a lot (I could be totally wrong) for a 6 week old. I know with bottle feeding you have to be careful not to overfeed them as unlike at the breast they won't always stop when they're full. My little guy is 11 weeks and loves to eat (90th percentile) but will only usually eat about 2oz and occasionally 3oz of pumped milk from a bottle.

Melanie - posted on 08/29/2010

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I only breastfeed, but I have had similar incidents. It might be gas. When you give a baby a bottle, you might have to stop them about every ounce or so to burp them. Babies swallow more air with a bottle. Also, can I ask, without being rude, why you cannot breastfeed during church? I think people there should have more acceptance to it than people anywhere else. I breastfeed walking through Walmart or in the grocery store. If she's hungry, she gets it then and there. At his age, babies do tend to fall asleep more during feedings. Try tickling his feet or rubbing his back to keep him awake during nursing. My daughter still falls asleep sometimes when I don't want her to. I take her off and burp her and then continue to keep her awake. (I let her nurse herself to sleep at night so I don't always do this.) You could try baby massages or tummy rubs before feeding him. It might help expel the gas.

Good luck!