I've run into some problems with feeding Ryan and am wondering if any of you had the same problems and if you had any suggestions.
I've googled and googled and am not finding much, so why not come here and see what my nearest and dearest readers think?
Ryan seems to not want to breastfeed any more. He will eat in the mornings (and if it is light outside, it is for a very short time), and that's pretty much it. For example, he ate this morning, then two hours later when I got up I offered again. He ate (surprisingly) from one breast, but stopped in the middle of a let down. 4 hours later after his nap, I offered again. I ALWAYS have breastfed him after naps and he would hungrily eat. Wouldn't give me the time of day at this time. So this week I had been just skipping it and going to his meals and seeing if he would breastfeed before his nap. Today I didn't do that. I just didn't feed him and kept offering. Finally he took it, but again stopped right in the middle of the let down.
When I go to feed him and get him in the nursing position, he throws his head back and throws a tantrum. He is generally happy and loves to play. I am worried because I know that milk is supposed to be his main source of nutrition up until 1 year, and he is nursing a total of maybe 3 times a day. The only time that he actually has a full sitting is in the morning and then the rest of the time, he doesn't even stay on long enough for most of the let down.
I plan on calling his Dr. in the morning for some suggestions. The other day he had eaten a total of 5 times between nursing and solids. Here are my thoughts on what's possibly going on:
1. I've been having migraines lately and taking Excedrin for it. It has caffeine in it, which when Ryan was a little baby, I could tell my drinking any sort of caffeine bothered him. I've stopped taking this for my headache and we'll see how tomorrow goes.
2. I've eaten a lot of Oreos lately. The bag is gone now, so I don't have to worry about that, but there is a possibility that he doesn't like Oreo tasting breastmilk.
3. He's self-weaning and doesn't want to nurse anymore.
4. I've tried to "force" him to nurse and now he just associates nursing with throwing tantrums.
Kellymom.com suggests to nurse him in the middle of the night while he's sleeping, because babies always will nurse when they're sleeping. I've also started pinning down his arm behind me and this seems to work until the let down.
I just feel so frustrated. I know what he needs, but I can't force him. I can't even bribe him to do it. I hope the Dr. has some good suggestions, or someone has something for me. I would love to hear anything you got. Okay, go! (Thanks in advance!)
9 comments:
Hmm... first I would rule out Thrush. If he has Thrush it can hurt for him to nurse. Google it and you can see pictures of what it looks like although sometimes it can be hard to see when it first starts. If he doesn't have thrush then: second, if he is growing and gaining weight I wouldn't worry too much. Trust your baby and trust your body. He will eat when he needs to. If he is starting to wean himself that is okay. The lactation consultant once told me that when your baby starts to eat less your body adjusts the concentration of nutrients so your baby still gets what they need even though they are eating less. I didn't research that. But I hope that helps! Let us know what you find out :)
Oh and this is Tina! Just realized I am signed in under James and I am too lazy to change that :) ha ha
That is funny, because Cameron is only 4 months and has started doing that. They are trying to figure out what is going on because he is also an extremely fussy baby. It may be reflux or lactose intolerance, which I'm sure Ryan couldn't have developed all of a sudden. So really, I don't have any suggestions but I do how frustrating it is. Eating time is a huge battle for us, so my doctor told me to pump for the time being and give Cam a break. He seems to take bottles just fine. Some of it for Ryan may simply be that he doesn't want to be turned inwards and would prefer to be out and looking around--Cam seems to have that issue. Anyway, sorry I can't help, but good luck!
Hi Tina! I don't think it is thrush because he will still nurse in the mornings and doesn't seem uncomfortable. As for the weight gain, their weight slows down so much, so it's hard to tell. He was 19 pounds at his 9 month visit and going by our scale (not digital) he is still under 20 pounds. I'm going with the he seems to be happy, but I'm just concerned that it wouldn't be his main source of food.
He did wake up at 11 last night and ate from both sides and went right back to sleep. So maybe we'll just rely on these two feedings and see what happens! Thanks for your info on the nutrients; that makes me feel so much better!
Camille! Thanks, I think you are right about him being turned inwards. It can only get so dark in a room during the day and he gets distracted so easily.
Good luck with Cameron. Nursing is so emotional! I was feeling so bad that Ryan didn't want to eat and that I was failing him. I'm sure that you are doing a wonderful job and I hope that things get figured out really soon!
Could he be teething? When Ryker was around 9 or 10 months there would be days he would refuse to nurse because of his teeth hurting.(we didn't know that is what it was at the time it was happening) He would go on nursing strikes and then be back to eating just fine. I was worried he was done and self weaning. But a week or two of off and on strikes he started eating again once his teeth came in.
Not sure if that is it or not? Good luck, nursing can be so frustrating at times.
You could try pumping and giving him a bottle, he may just be too curious about what's around him to face your chest for half an hour. He is a very curious fella!
I'm not sure if the Kellymom idea is such a good idea...because eventually he will become used to it and it will be a habit that you will not be able to break for a long time. Even after you stop breast feeding, he may want a drink or a bottle. I just think it'd be better if you could get him to totally sleep through the night without a feeding. You could try only offering milk instead of food. Babies will eat when they are hungry and he may be getting too much solids. Although I think that 3 times breast feeding a day is perfect. he's a growing little guy, solid foods are awesome and it'll keep him happier and more content. Hopefully it will get better for you :)
Sorry I didn't comment sooner. We've been buying and selling and fixing up houses.
Anywho, my advice is to chill. Ryan knows when he's hungry and how much he wants. Unless he's acting sick or otherwise impaired somehow, you're good. Sometimes babies just don't need as much as other times, their bodies are pretty little. :)
Also, you're an excellent mommy. You really are. :)
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