my baby wont breastfeed!!

Amanda - posted on 04/15/2010

yah im the same way as u i forget all the time to pump cause im just so busy with other things so my milk has gone down and he is drinking alot more formula now and i feel so bad sumtimes i make sure he gets at least two breast milk bottels a day but i cant for the life of me remember or get the time to pump every hour or two like the books say to get my milk going strong again .......fustrated :(

Brean - posted on 04/08/2010

this exact same thing happened to me. my daughter was born with low blood sugar and we both had fevers. the nursery nurse told me i couldnt breastfeed (without asking my daughters pediatrician) she made an executive decision to formula feed. i cried as i watched her drink out of the bottle. and now she is almost one month old and still will not latch on. consecutively pumping is hard cause i tend to forget to do it. She now drinks breastmilk and formula from Dr. Brown bottles. I try a couple times a week to latch her on and she screams, cries and fusses because the bottle is so much easier for her to get her milk. All I can say is don't give up, I've read a few books that say around month 3-4, they may latch on. It gives me hope.

Amanda - posted on 04/08/2010

thanks everyone u really helped take the stress away i thought i was just hopeless but ur right i'm doing what works for my son and i thank you so much for the support it means so much xo

Martina - posted on 04/06/2010

i also had problems with breast feeding --- the la leche liga woman at hospital kept talking to me for hours and from all sides it yells "breast is best" --- YUK! --- can only laugh at that now --- but i cried a lot about it. --- i spent the first months besides sleeping and walking outside with sitting on the sofa/bed my son at breast... he would drink some seconds then fall asleep, drink, sleep ... and so on - and so i decided after 1 1/2 months to switch to bottles, he was sleeping better, there was a special preperate for cholics which was suggested by the doctor, and my son and me were happy :-)

Amber - posted on 04/06/2010

I was in the same position as you. My son refused he would become angry when I tried to breast feed him and I tried and tried like you. I eventually found it less stress for the both of us to just stop trying. I pumped for 9 months and then I weaned him onto formula. I was so stressed that for me it was just easier to pump which is not easy at all. I had to return to work also so I always knew I was going to pump. And as far as your family I had the same issues everyone insists that since they did you can do it. My boyfriends mother told me my son would breast feed and it was wrong that I pumped and bottle fed. She told me she knew because she breast fed all three of her boys. So my response was that this was my baby and unless she has breast fed my baby she knows nothing about breast feeding my baby. Not everyone can do it and it isn't natural or easy for everyone. I was in your position and you are doing what is best for your baby. Your baby is an individual just as you are and what is right and what works for you is what you do. As hard as it is ignore all of them. You are doing a wonderful job.

Autum - posted on 04/05/2010

My son had the same problem. I would try to pump a little bit first to stimulate let down that way he doesn't have to work much to get the milk. Or try when he is really sleepy and use the breast as a pacifier for a few days.

Shauna - posted on 04/05/2010

my baby had some problems when she was first born and i wasn't allowed to breastfeed her right away so they gave her formula. Of course after that she didn't want to do it the hard way so what i ended up doing was using some expressed milk in a dropper or medicine syringe and putting her up to my breast and putting some milk on my nipple i did this for about 20 min each time before I finally gave her a bottle. it does work but it is a long and exhausting process that requires absolute determination and support. I did it for every feed during the day and let my husband feed her at night. after about 2 weeks of this she finally started latching on her own. Now she is 8 months old and doesn't like her bottle! just hang in there it is totally worth it!

Niki - posted on 04/05/2010

as long as hes got a choice he'll go with the easier option of a bottle - take that out of the equation and he'll ajust soon enough, you might have a very tiring, frustrating couple of days, but he'll get used to the breast and it will be well worth it. during the adjustment phaze if absolutly neccessary then could top him up with breastmilk from a cup - but dont offer the bottle anymore.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 04/05/2010

A nipple shield may help. Spend lots of time skin to skin with him and try offering the breast frequently before he gets too hungry. You can also try pumping just enough to stimulate a letdown then latch him on. This way he will get an instant reward. Here's some more info on nipple confusion and refusing to breastfeed:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T022400...
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby...

Sarah-Anne - posted on 04/05/2010

my daughter was given formula in the hospital and for the first two or so weeks. it took that long for my milk to really come in. i tried to get my daughter to breastfeed, but she always stopped to take a break and breathe every five or six sucks, and would get squirted in the face. after about three tries she out right refused to breastfeed. this was actually better for me. i pumped up to 40oz a day and what she didn't drink went into the freezer. what was nice is that she only wanted it cold, so i never had to worry about how i was going to heat milk up when we were out. i never really wanted to exclusively breastfeed anyway because then i would be the only one who could feed her. my daughter also just turned 1, two weeks ago and it only took her 3 days to not want a bottle at nap times and another 3 to not need one before bed time. my doctor said that as long as she was getting the breastmilk, it didn't matter if it came out of a boob or a bottle.

Sammantha - posted on 04/05/2010

have you tried using a nipple shield?

Iysha - posted on 04/04/2010

Forget the pressure from family and do what works for YOU and your BABY. They don't have to breastfeed a baby who refuses to breastfeed....they couldn't possibly know the frustration you're going through. I can. Lol. My daughter was born at 35 weeks gestation. She was bottle fed right away. I started pumping that night. I tried breastfeeding because it was the "thing to do" and she would latch but be too tired to really get anything. She took to the bottle because it was easier for her. Breastfeeding takes a lot of work for our babies. The bottle is less work. So, I ignored comments from people saying I should breastfeed, had to breastfeed, stop being lazy...blah blah blah. I did what was easiest for my baby and me and ultimately what was best for us. I was frustrated so breastfeeding was something I did not look forward to. My daughter was constantly frustrated during the breastfeeding and was hungry every time I was done breastfeeding and I gave her a bottle after each breastfeed....what was the point of breastfeeding if she was going to be getting a bottle? If I wasn't struggling with breastfeeding, I was pumping or bottle feeding and I was not enjoying my baby as much as I should have been.



My daughter ended up being completely bottle fed by 1 month or so. I had a lot more fun with her, feedings were something I looked forward to, and we were a whole lot happier. I thought my baby was a cryer...lol...once I just bottle fed I found out that my daughter is a very easy baby.



My advise to you: bottle feed every feed. Simple as that.

Christin - posted on 04/04/2010

actually mine never did either. she wanted nothing to do with breast feeding or breast milk. she jsut wanted formula. some babies do not breast feed and either wean themselves early or just want a bottle and nothing to do with breast feeding.