2nd time around not so easy, he seems to WANT formula!!

[Arkaidy]

Ugh, where to start, and how to keep it short. I breastfeed DD who is now 3 until she was 2 years old. DS is almost 4 months old and breastfeeding. I have been suspicious that he wasn't liking my milk, he is always fussing at the breast, latching on, unlatching, crying, arching his back, and just not seeming to drink enough. At times I feel COMPLETELY empty when I should have lots. I only work 12 hours a week, at which time DH gives a bottle of milk, pumped if I can get any out, formula if I can't.

Today I worked for the first time in a week, and DS downed a lot of formula and has been so much happier than he has been in weeks. He will just lay there relaxed after a feeding, not crying, and he seems to be very hungry. So, feeling horrible that I may have been underfeeding my little man I felt horrified and gave another bottle of formula later on today when he was again basically refusing my breast, and same thing, he is so much happier and content!

You know, I thought myself to be a seasoned breastfeeder, but I feel like I'm doing it for the first time!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and I'm also wondering what is the dose for Fenugreek? I have a bottle left from DD, I think it's 620 mg, but I forgot how many I need to take to see my supply boosted.

Thank you!

[VeganCupcake]

Could you have a overactive letdown, or could he have reflux that causes him to fuss at the breast? Arching the back can be a sign of silent reflux.

If he's gaining and having sufficient wet and poopy diapers, I doubt it's a supply issue. Is he gaining? Also, your breasts should not usually feel overly full after your supply has regulated in the first 6 weeks. If they feel full, it means you haven't nursed recently enough. A breast that feels "empty" can continuously be supplying milk to a baby as s/he nurses because milk is always being made if it's being removed from the breast.

I'd suspect it's something other than supply. It can be tough to figure out what, though!

[marlabee]

The mechanics of taking a bottle are different than the mechanics of nursing from the breast - your son can't control the flow of the bottle nor can he stop filling his mouth with milk when he sucks, where he can do these things at the breast. So he may have taken in more from the bottle than from nursing - and then, with an overly full tummy, he may have appeared content where his body was simply needing to take extra time to process the formula.

For cutting back on formula in the bottles: Can you add in more pumping sessions at any time - at work or at home? Pump from one breast while he nurses from the other?

I doubt it's that he prefers what's in the bottle (formula), but he may prefer the bottle itself - something you can work through. More time at the boob, fewer bottles - he may be fussing because he's going through a growth spurt, and that's normal too. He'll fuss, he'll stimulate your supply, you'll catch up in a day or so - unless you give bottles, in which case your body will never get the message to catch up.

I apologize if you knew all this - just trying to get some ideas bouncing around! Good luck - I believe in you!

[Arkaidy]

Thanks so much ladies. I'm going to see an LLL meeting to figure out more, but it seems like I need to kick the bottles and work on nursing and increasing my supply.

[caedmyn]

I was going to suggest silent reflux or overactive letdown as well. He could very well seem more content after a bottle if either of those were the case, either because the formula doesn't cause the reflux, or there's no letdown with it. It sounds more like a reflux issue to me though than overactive letdown.

[cupcakewright]

GOod thinking, and good luck but if you still have to use a bottle sometimes, try the breastflow, it is harder to eat out of and more like the breast.

YOU can do this!