Seems Nathan thinks he has better things to do than be latched on to my breast for 40 minutes. I have been having a hard time getting him to eat for the past two days and don't know whether it is because (a) he has gotten more efficient at eating; (b) he is becoming more aware of his surroundings and is more easily distracted; or (c) he is teething and the suction from breastfeeding is causing him pain. I am loathe to feed him from a bottle, but am pretty anxious about him getting enough to eat because he fell off the growth chart at the last doctor's visit. I don't want to give up on breastfeeding and just pump and feed him from a bottle because I enjoy feeding him and HATE pumping. I am also worried that if I just pump that my milk production will fall off.
Anyone else have these problems? Any solutions?
I've been going through similar stuff right now with my guy (3.5 months) who is suddenly way too excited about the world. I'm hoping our main issue is that he has recently learned to suck his thumb, so breastfeeding is now just about eating, rather than using me as a pacifier. I googled "nursing strike" and found a lot of encouraging info.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya about hating pumping and the milk production, I don't know how to help with that, can you feed him in a dark room for the part (b) or maybe pump for a little bit until his pain goes away for his teething?
ReplyDeleteZach is an incredibly distracted eater during the day but better at getting to the task at hand during the night. I have no advice but I think it's normal for him to become more distracted and harder to keep on the breast.
ReplyDeleteClaire gets distracted too so try not to worry too much. If Claire is twisting to look all over, I just keep my breast available and let her go back to eating by herself. I think you have to trust that Nathan is getting the nourishment he needs. Perhaps babies go through food phases too - sometimes wanting or needing more than other times. But, yeah, I hate pumping too. I don't think pumping instead of nursing will decrease your milk production though.
ReplyDeleteOh, and post picture of your redecorating when it's all finished. Fun, fun.
Definitely google nursing strike. There's a ton of info out there. Also, even though he's nursing for less time, is he still nursing fairly often? Most babies get more efficient and can completely empty a breast in less than 10 minutes as they get older. (Shoo could nurse 5 minutes on each side and be completely sated, and unlike Jones, was always a pudge.) If you do resort to pumping, make sure you pump as often as you nursed and try to go for at least 2 letdowns. Feel free to email me if you want to discuss more. I nursed both my boys well past a year, so I've pretty much dealt with any and all issues that can come up.
ReplyDeleteHi, haven't read your blog except this post- noticed the title on another blog's link to yours. I have 2 kids and breast-fed the first until he was 18 months, and am currently nursing the second who is 16 months old. When she was 7 months old she had an incredible bout of 'breast-rejection' but I was determined that I would only breast-feed her, so we carried on and I had to use all my energy to insist that she nurse. I hated pumping, so only did that once when she had completely missed a feeding. She got over whatever it was (I think teething) within a week, and she got back into the swing of breast-feeding again. I think that your determination is everything here- what do you want to do? - if you want to keep breast-feeding your baby for a long long time, then keep at it and don't give up now. You can pump and give him a bottle of breastmilk and your production will not go down- follow MCM Mama's advice. You CAN do it- it's hard work, but keep at it. A quiet, un-distracting environment always made a big difference for my kids as well. Hope that encourages you- keep up the good work- breast-feeding is wonderful!
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