This past Monday and Tuesday, I left our three-month old baby with his great-grandmother (who is visiting us from the Philippines) because I had errands I really needed to do. I was gone all day, which means Nathaniel had to eat expressed breast milk through a bottle.
This is the first time I have been away from my son for this long amount of time and who knew that in only two days, he would develop nipple confusion.
Breastfeeding has been a battle, he is not properly latching, and he exhaust himself from crying so much that he ends up just falling asleep after the letdown reflex has slow down. However, any feeding after bedtime is still the same and I think it's because he is too sleepy to notice the difference.
I have tried feeding him in a dark room where stimulation is at minimum, feeding him when he's happy or as soon as he wakes up, and pumping to keep my supply up. I'm not worried that he's not eating enough because he still has plenty of wet diapers a day. I'm just wondering when will he be "unconfused"? And will it always be like this every time I leave and when/if I go back to work?
I feel like I'm back to the newborn days when it comes to breastfeeding, which is something I'm just not ready to go through again. And this time, I don't think I'm strong enough either or even has the will to keep persevering... Oh, how quickly that feeling of
inadequacy just creeps back in.
Momaroos -any advice for this mom would be greatly appreciated!
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Comments (8)
It could be nipple confusion, or that could be coincidental and he could just be going through a phase (growth spurt, etc.). Every so often my babies would go through phases like you're describing, where it seemed like they weren't nursing enough, but they still had plenty of wet diapers. Keep persevering!
I agree with averyswife. My son slept a lot when he was growing. When he got older he got better at getting milk from the breasts so he didn't nurse as long. Most babies don't have any problem adjusting from going from one nipple to another, but if you really think that it is nipple confusion you can try bottles like the adiri or a similar version by Nuby. There are other brands that make bottles that are for feeding expressed breast milk that are supposed to prevent nipple confusion. It's been so long that I forget which ones we used, but I will be using the Adiri bottles with the next child.
i dont see how you got him to take a bottle period, lol ... i breast fed my daughter for 17 months and i tried every kind of bottle made, she'd never take one, she wouldnt even take a paci.
id probably just suggest staying strong with the boobie nipple thing, dont give in and give him a bottle, just stay on top of it, eventually he'll get it again.
I use bottles for night time. Because..basically I'm too lazy/tired to wait for him to finish feeding from the breast. But I still use breasts during the day. Sometimes he takes longer to take the breast and there's other times he'll latch right on. He's just so sleepy all the time I guess he doesn't have enough energy to really try all the time. I guess it just depends on how hungry he is.
@GorJessMommy@xanga - My daughter is the same as yours! I stare at babies with bottles trying to figure out how to coax my little one to try one... but she just loves to nurse, I guess.
I agree with what's above. Does he seem to be getting any teeth in? Or is he on the verge of a new milestone? My daughter strikes during the day when she's got teeth coming through or when she's learned a new physical activity (sitting, crawling, cruising), though she resumes nursing at night. Even though she's still getting about 80% of her nutrition through breastfeeding (shes 9 months and takes some - but not much - solids), some days she refuses to nurse for 6 or more hours and then catches up when she gets tired. She still has plenty of wet diapers and is doing fine weight wise. As she's never taken a bottle I didn't have the nipple confusion concern.
There are some awesome suggestions on kellymom.com for how to handle strikes. Here's a link for ya. Good luck, Mama!!!!!
I'm going thru the same thing.. i feel so guilty letting my little girl cry so hard but i'm trying to get her back to the breast so i'm going cold turkey on artificial teats.. i wonder whether she'll eventually be wooed back to my breast. Sob...
Things are coming out alright on the nipple, yes? Then check to make sure he isn't suffering from something in his mouth hurting him, or on his lips, or even throat. Is it possible that his stomach is upset?
That's really all I can think of.