Is my baby getting enough to eat from breastfeeding?

Question

In the beginning, my baby dropped quite a bit of weight when I was breast feeding exclusively. He dropped more than the recommended amount so (per the Dr) I began supplementing with formula. I am now giving him 4-4 ounce bottles a day and then demand breast feed him every 3-4 hours as well. He has been gaining well.
He has been doing great with the Avent Naturally bottles/nipples and switches easily to and from bottle to breast, but the past two days when he is alert and hungry he latches on well, but will latch off after about a minute or two and appears frustrated. He nurses fine when he is sleepy though. I am afraid my breast feeding days will soon be over because of possible nipple confusion.
I think the bonding of breast feeding is awesome and I want that for my baby, but when I pump both breasts I only get enough for a 2oz bottle. Can I return to strictly breastfeeding (so as not to cause nipple confusion) while pumping so little? I have heard conflicting advice.

My baby is 2 months old

Answer 1

Please ask your doctor and/or nurse about this!....LaMaz can help you too, but you need to have the doc that is caring for your child be the person who gives this advice to you!...

Answer 2

How old is he????

I went through something similar with my child, then went to breastfeed exclusively... and continued nursing for a couple of years. So I'm on your side.

I was never able to pump much (not even a 2oz bottle), and I spent the next year worrying that my milk was never enough, despite the fact that my baby was gaining very well. Just around his first birthday, for no apparent reason, he completely went off solids for one whole week and got nothing but breastmilk. He was happy and healthy the whole time. That got me thinking, gee, if I can adequately feed a 25-pound yearling, what the heck was I worried about???

All this to say that you are probably fine to feed this child. Some breasts are just very good at making exactly what the baby needs, not more. If that is your case, you will be happier in the long run. I've known more women who quit breastfeeding because they had too much milk than because they didn't have enough.

The best thing to stimulate milk production, as you know, is your baby nursing. My gut feeling is that he would do fine if you stopped giving him bottles, especially if he's latching on well. Also remember that babies get 90% of the milk during the first 5 minutes of nursing. So marathon nursing sessions are for pleasure, not nourishment. Don't panic if the baby seems to be done quickly. And if he's a little hungry after a feeding because there wasn't enough there, he will be sucking greedily at the next feeding, which is exactly the signal your body needs to increase production.

Another suggestion. This is extremely unpleasant, but it works: if you absolutely want to top him off (whether with breast milk or formula), don't use a bottle. Use a cup if he will take it, but there is another method recommended by lactation consultants. It involves feeding the baby not from a bottle but from thin surgical tubing taped to your index finger. The baby sucks on your finger and gets fed that way. It works because it develops the same kind of sucking action as for the breast (which the bottle doesn't), and the baby will not prefer this to the breast. Right now he's getting bored with the breast pretty quickly & is looking for his bottle. Believe me, he's not going to be looking for this silly little tube.

This is what I did with my son, with great success. I promise you that it's a pain in the ***, but usually it's not necessary to do this for a long time.

Based on my experience, I suggest you do this: Have him weighed (most public health clinics do this for free on a walk-in basis). Try feeding on demand, as often as needed (even if it's once per hour or so), and giving no bottles for about 8 hours. If you're baby not getting enough, he'll let you know. If he seems fine, try going for 24 hours. Have him weighed after two or three days. If he hasn't lost weight, you're on your way. Have him weighed every two or three days for the next little while, until you're confident that he's gaining well.

All the best. I know this feels like a nightmare right now, but by the time your baby is several months old and nursing like a dream, this episode will seem like a very short, very distant dream.

Answer 3

All babies drop a certain amount of weight from their birth weight; your son's weight loss had nothing to do with your breastmilk. Early breastmilk (colostrum) is extremely nutritious and full of antibiotics, but it isn't very fattening. Think of it as skim milk.

Pumping is a hit-and-miss thing. Some women can pump like dairy cows and other women (like me) can't. A baby with a good latch is the best way to pump.. and certainly some people (like me) can't get past that scary pump so it inhibits the let-down of the milk.

As far as going back to breast only - if you're going to try it, do so slowly. It will take a bit for your body to respond to the increased demands. Nurse your son before offering formula at every feeding. That way, you may find that his demands for formula decrease.

Perhaps his attention-span and short latching time when you nurse him has more to do with your hold? If you are holding him so that he can see what's around (and it sounds like he's an alert and interested guy) then there's a lot to catch his attention. Try changing your hold, or perhaps put him in a receiving blanket "tent" so there's nothing interesting to distract him from the task at hand.

I think it's great that you would like to try to go back to exclusively breast-feeding, but keep an eye on the weight, wet diapers and his overall health. If for whatever reason, it doesn't work DON'T FEEL BAD. You absolutely did not fail your son and not being able to exclusively breastfeed does NOT make you a bad mom!

Answer 4

The reason your baby doesn't want to nurse is because it takes more effort than drinking from a bottle. He isn't necessarily getting confused, but learning to prefer the bottle over the breast. The more you supplement the more your baby is going to only want the bottle, and the more your supply is going to decrease.

If you truely want to rev up the breastfeeding and cut back on supplementing, then you're going to need to spend a lot more time nursing and a lot less use of formula and bottles.

I am a big advocate of pumping because I had to return to work early and I really think this is good middle ground. If your baby really does prefer the bottle, than fine, but you need to be giving him more of your milk and less formula! You will need to pump at least every 2 hours for a week or so to really start building your supply back up. Even if you only make 2 ounces, thats fine, put it in the frig and add to it the next time you pump. Over a couple days, you'll see your supply increase and you'll have more of your milk to offer your baby.

Eat oatmeal, drink lots of water and milk, pump every 2 hours (even if you get nothing), and get plenty of rest.

Most of all, don't get stressed out and be proud that you are giving your baby some of your milk at least! Good luck!

Answer 5

You have gotten some great advice, there isn't much for me to add except that all babies sometimes have little episodes where they get temperamental about feeding for a few days. It's good to address it and take it seriously, I think you should talk to your doctor and go back to exclusive nursing (he may lose a little weight at first, but it should come right back within a month). Try seeing if the little bugger will step up the nursing to every two hours, just to put on a little weight before dropping the supplemental feeding.

Answer 6

pumping and feeding will give you different amounts. If you want to attempt to exclusive breastfeed again, let the dr know and watch diaper counts and weight. The more you feed the more you'll make. Also look into a product called fenugreek its what my lactation consultant told me to try to boost my milk supply (had the same problems, with my daughter i lasted about a month or so(no fenugreek) and almost 6 months of breast/ bottle feeding my son (with fenugreek)

Answer 7

I have a 5month old that is breastfed. I had the same questions when she was about that age. She would get fussy and continuously feed. If she is gaining weight you have nothing to worry about. Try not to give the baby formula if you are avaliable to feed her. You probably are producing enough milk, baby's really like to suck. And milk comes faster out of the bottle she may not realize how much she is taking in and if your baby becomes use to the fast flow they may become fussy at the breast because they must work harder to suck the milk out. Just continue to put her to the breast and things WILL get easier. I think it took about 3 months for use to get things going right, but now we feed with no problems. Good luck

Answer 8

You should contact the la leche league rather than take the advice of a doctor or just the doctors advice. I think the doctor should have advised you to monitor your diet and make sure your eating enough of the right foods in order to ensure that your breast milk provides all that your child needs. In my opinion, you should breast feed exclusivly and just be persistant while again, watching your diet. The la leche league which can be found online by putting them in your search engine will have excellent advice concerning this and much better information than I could provide.

Answer 9

i had to supplement my daughter with formula for 4 weeks due to medical problems. i had the same problem with the possible nipple confusion and the doctor told me i could switch to exclusive breastfeeding so long as she didnt start losing weight. it took 3 days of a cranky baby and lack of sleep, but, she finally readjusted and didnt lose weight. (she lost a few ounces the first 3 days but quickly gained it back)
It was hard, but worked. if u are worried about it tho, u could ask your doc and see what they say. good luck

Answer 10

if you keep doing formula, your supply will go way down. i have breastfed 3 girls, and i would give formula because my letdown wasnt as fast in the evening. so instead of waiting, i did formula, which eventualy led to constant formula. you must try to relax when feeding, but sometimes mothers cant (i dont know why!!)how old is the baby? a pump will get 3/4 of the milk a baby can, and thats if it is electric! dont worry about amounts. if your baby screams constantly and roots for booby, then he wants mre.

Answer 11

best thing to do breast feed him then immediately after you do go and pump even tho there is no milk coming out of you keep pumping for at least 5 minutes on each side.... if you do get milk save it and feed that to him only after he has nursed just to top him off..... then go pump again... milk is supply and demand.. if you do this your milk will come in full supply and you will have no problem.....trust me feed him then pump every time seems like alot of work but its well worth it