Breastfeeding problem with a 3 month old boy?

Question

my little boy has a problem. i started giving him the bottle early because he used to fall asleep on the breast and i never knew if he got enough. now he doesn't sleep anymore but he became lazy, he stayes on the breast just as long as th emilk comes easy but as soon as he has to work a little he starts screaming like crazy. i do have enough milk because i pump after and there is milk. it's gettign hard to pump all the time how can i have him drink from the breast normally. also how long should he stay on each breast, doc told me 40 minutes over all is that correct? he is 3 month and 12 pounds

Answer 1

Newborns generally fall asleep while nursing, it is very common. Babies will not starve themselves so there is no need to worry about the amount of breast milk he is drinking as long as he is having wet diapers and is growing. It is far easier to drink milk from a bottle nipple than it is to drink from the breast. If you want him to stop taking a bottle and only breast feed than you will have to take a few days to work on that with him. Let him nurse as long as he wants, when he fusses because it is getting too hard, keep offering him the breast. Don't give in, even once to giving him a bottle. He will not starve. Soon he will take the breast without a fuss when he knows that crying will not get him a bottle. It'll be a rough few days for both of you, but in the end it will work out just fine. Don't pump unless it is to relieve a little engorgement. As far as length of time for nursing, this will vary a lot from baby to baby. 20-30 minutes are about average, but some slow-poke eaters will take 45 or more minutes to finish the meal while others are done and ready for more action after only 15 minutes of nursing. Between 4-6 months is a guideline for when healthy full-term babies will double their birth weight. Usually by a year old, babies will have tripled their birth weight.

Answer 2

Go to kellymom.com it's a great breatfeeding help site. You can find key phrases to help you try and figure out why he's doing this. His weight sounds great (i am not a Dr. though!) I would not keep giving him a bottle often, this will get him too used to the speedy flow of it, and he'll become upset at having to "work" for his meal. Your posting sounds similar to my experience with my son at about 3 months. After thinking he had reflux (which he totally didnt) I finally figured it was my own let-down that was upseting him. I have a fierce letdown that would actually be too intense for him, so he would arch and scream (which are symptoms of reflux too, hence my confusion). Once I understood how my body was working, I could understand why it frustrated my little man. Needless to say, I stayed committed to nursing, and just felt confident that he was getting enough milk from me, even when nursing sessions seemed to be rough. Don't let ANYONE intimidate you out of breastfeeding your son. You're doing an AMAZING job, and an amazing thing for your child!! Monitor him for 4 days or so with not using any bottles, just the breast. If he's having consistent wet diapers, and not loosing weight, feel confident that he's getting plenty. Bear in mind that if he's 3 months old already, you're soooooo close to being past the hard part!! At about 3.5-4 months, his intestines and EVERYTHING will change so drastically and he'll be a much smoother eater! You're induring the roughest of it all right now.... so hang it there!

The reason for him screaming could be many things, or a combination. More than likely it is not anything bad, just try and find more information from all the resources out there for breastfeeding mommies.

Getting milk from your breast is much harder than the instant satisfaction of the bottle. So keep that in mind, he will definetly get used to the effort of nursing, just stick too it, even though it's hard sometimes!!

www.lalecheleague.org can be helpful too.

Best of luck! You are doing a great job Momma!!

Answer 3

Your baby has became lazy because the bottle is easier to suck from than a mothers breast. You can either tough it out and don't give him a bottle at all, or cave in and forget the breastfeeding all together. Sorry, can't have both, I've tried. Good Luck.

Answer 4

Sounds like he's just fine. 40 minutes sounds extreme to me! The longest your breast expels milk at one time is only 10-12 minutes! So, that's only 20-25 minutes total, which is what my daughter did.

Answer 5

I would call a lactation consultant in your area and you can even visit with them and they can help you. I would call the hospital where you delivered.
My babies never ate 40 min. More like 20-25 total.
He has probably gotten used to the bottle and it will take some work but please dont get discouraged, the lactation consultant will help you soooo much!!!
Good luck

Answer 6

Children are like puppies in one very special way, they won't starve themselves! If he doesn't want to work a little as you say, then he's done. Either you can keep catering to him or you can let him "work a little", chances are, he'll work a little for it. Just don't cave. Remember, you're a great mom!

Answer 7

Sounds pretty healthy to me! Keep at it with breast feeding, and maybe in the middle of night give him a bottle (your hubby, if you are married can do this one, and you can get some sleep. The little guy needs to learn to use his mouth muscles and that is the best way.

Answer 8

40 minutes seems about right for his age. you just need to be consistent with your baby when you feed him. set a schedule. feed a little more frequently or just stay there til he gets it right. be strong. once you got it down, you won't regret it.