Breast Feeding HELP!!
Lauri McFadden
I am having a frustrating experience with my daughter. She is six weeks old
and she has decided that she doesn't really enjoy breast feeding. Her first
feeding in the morning always goes well. She sleeps through the night so
she's really hungry at this point and I have no problems. However, with her
subsequent feedings she almost invariably decides that she wants to cry at
my breast. Sometimes she will feed for about five minutes and then she will
decide to cry, sometimes she doesn't really feed at all. Needless to say,
this can be very frustrating for both of us...
What my husband and I have decided to do is to let her cry it out and
really get hungry. This seems to work eventually, but she really gets worked
up and I'm not so sure that's good for her and she doesn't seem to be
learning from it.
I think it might be our fault because we have fed her out of a bottle when
we go out, so I think she might prefer to eat out of a bottle. Today she
was crying at my breast, so I grabbed an empty bottle and gave it to her
to see if she would suck and sure enough she did.
I'm torn about bottle and breast feeding. Breast feeding is definitely
better for her and it's cheaper and I can enjoy it but.... bottle feeding
is faster and my husband can help me.
Also, I have heard that certain foods can be irritating to a baby's tummy.
One of these such foods is chocolate. Do any of you out there know any
other things I should avoid.
I would appreciate all the help I can get as soon as soon as possible.
Thanks in advance!!
--
Lauri L. McFadden
trwrb!felix!lauri
Jeanette Haritan
>
>
>I am having a frustrating experience with my daughter. She is six weeks old
>and she has decided that she doesn't really enjoy breast feeding. Her first
>feeding in the morning always goes well. She sleeps through the night so
>she's really hungry at this point and I have no problems. However, with her
>subsequent feedings she almost invariably decides that she wants to cry at
>my breast. Sometimes she will feed for about five minutes and then she will
>decide to cry, sometimes she doesn't really feed at all. Needless to say,
>this can be very frustrating for both of us...
>
>we go out, so I think she might prefer to eat out of a bottle. Today she
>was crying at my breast, so I grabbed an empty bottle and gave it to her
>to see if she would suck and sure enough she did.
>
that you may find helpful. It gives the child the feeling that she is
feeding from a bottle, but in reality you are both still receiving the
benefits from breast feeding.
>
>Also, I have heard that certain foods can be irritating to a baby's tummy.
>One of these such foods is chocolate. Do any of you out there know any
>other things I should avoid.
You should also avoid oranges, strawberries, cabbage, brussel sprouts,
broccoli, spinach, cauliflower,and anything spicy. It sounds like alot,
but all these things really upset my baby's tummy. Every baby is different,
so you can try these foods and see if it upsets her before you totally
eliminate it from your diet.
Laura J. Morrison
Guest on this account
--
jeannette haritan
yeah sure
Steve Mezak
>
>
>and she has decided that she doesn't really enjoy breast feeding.
<Also, I have heard that certain foods can be irritating to a baby's tummy.
>One of these such foods is chocolate. Do any of you out there know any
>other things I should avoid.
>
Try getting a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by the La Leche
League International. My wife has a copy and found that it contains a
great deal of good advice. She says that switching between bottle and
breast can cause "nipple confusion" for the baby.
Foods can cause a problem, like garlic, cabbage, beans and other gassy
foods. The book mentions a mother that had a problem with breast feeding
because the spray deodorant she used irritated the baby. Switching to a
stick deodorant fixed the problem.
If you want the baby to sleep try drinking some wine before breast feeding!
Barbara Charles
The nipple shield has been around for years and it has been found (check
with La Leche Leaque in your area) that it is more of a hindrance than
a help. Yes, the baby does feel she/he is nursing on a bottle, but
your milk flow is not stimulated has well as if the baby is nursing by
you. Result: 1) limited milk supply 2) breaking baby from nipple shield.
A copy of the "Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by the La Leche League is
a must.
If the baby was given a bottle in the hospital, alot of patience, love,
cuddling and understanding is all you need. Sound like alot? It's not
if you truly want to breastfeed. Don't get discouraged. When babies get
bottles in hospitals, they don't have to work for their food and they get
a little lazy. (Bottles are easy to suck on). Breastfed baby's work for
their food. That's one of the reasons it is good for the formation of
their jaws, teeth, bones, etc. Your baby has to work for the milk and that
may be the problem. Make sure the tongue is below the breast when he/she
is nursing. You can simply stick you pinky under the breast to see. If
this isn't happening, take him off and try again. Again I say don't get
discouraged.
Contact the LLL in your area and attend their meetings. A series is
4 meetings - one a month. The first meeting is on "Getting Started"
and the last meeting is on "Weaning, How to Introduce Solids" - these
2 meetings I recommend. The second or third (can't remember which)
is on "Overcoming Difficulties." You might also want to attend that
one. I urge you to attend all the meetings. Having a support group
behind is the best thing. You'll find that someone else out there
is probably having the same kind of problems and that you are not alone.
If I can be of any help, I'm available. Good Luck
Barbara Charles
Bradley Childbirth Instructor
gamma!tif
(201) 740-4352
Eisaman
My wife has had problems breast feeding our son. In the hospital,
without our consent, the nurses gave him a bottle. We didn't know
about it until we left the hospital and called after the next couple
of days because he wouldn't eat. One of the nurses suggested using
a beast shield and eventually wean him from that. We tried that and
he ate for a while but it still wasn't what he wanted. He would take
her milk when she pumped it and put it in a bottle but not from her
breast, even when she dripped it into his mouth. We tried everything
we could think of to get him to breast feed but he wouldn't do it.
When he was about four weeks old, and losing weight, we put him on
formula. I think that the main reason is that he was bottle fed several
times in the hospital. The nurses feed him despite our requests to
wake up my wife and have her breast feed. Also I don't beleive that
the nipple sheild helped. I would suggest that you keep trying to
breast feed your baby as long as you can.