So against my preferences I've had to start supplementing my baby's feedings with formula. Now when he's at the breast he seems to eat slower. He used to suck down milk like he was starving, but now it seems he will suck for a couple seconds then nothing for several seconds. Also he unlatches for seemingly no reason. I double check to make sure he is still getting milk and re-latch him. He does eat better from one side than the other. My left breast produces less milk and he eats slower from that side. He seems to do much better on the right side. I'm also asking to make sure he is getting enough milk. My pediatrician is having me supplement with formula because he wasn't gaining weight as fast as "normal" babies. I would very much like to strictly breastfeed and get rid of the formula.

Thanks in advance!!

What was his wieght gain and how old was he at those wieghts?
Just wondering why doctor thought it wasn't "normal"

If you do have to supplement can u do it with a feeding tube instead of a bottle? I know my LO had tongue tie so I had to supplement I used the feeding tube because I don't want to confuse her with bottles. I no longer have to supplement.
I would suggest that you supplement on the third offer of breast.........by that I mean offer the right side and let him suckle till he stops for a burp or won't drink anymore..........then offer the left side and if he still needs more then put him back on the right and supplement with feeding tube. Then he is still BFing but getting the extra that he needs without you having to use a bottle. This will help to keep your supply up and if he doesn't need a third round then he doesn't get the formula because he is full from breastmilk. By using the feeding tube he may enjoy Bfing more.
Sucking from a bottle is a different suck then at the breast. With a bottle they don't even really need to suck at all to get the milk as it drips into their mouth. Breastfeeding is an active suck so that may be why he is prefering the bottle over the breast.

Your LO is 18 days old - are they back to birthweight - it was til day 18 that my LO was back to birthweight - I was told to use formula too.

My LO is a very slow gainer - always has been and thats just him!! At 5 months he is just 12.5 lbs, but exclusively breastfed and happy and healthy.

If you do not want to supplement, then dont! Just put LO to the breast - even for short time every hour if you need to.

I'm starting to think I have a low supply. I started noticing last night that he will suck pretty vigorously like normal as long as the flow is good, but once it starts to slow down he's no longer interested. Also I feel like he has pretty well drained both sides. After this he usually takes 1-2oz of formula. I got some fenugreek yesterday to help with possible supply issue, but if there isn't really a problem I don't want to create oversupply. The bottle I like to use is the BreastFlow by The First Years. It works really well at mimicking the natural flow of BFing. He still has to work at getting the milk out.

My son was 8lbs 8.9oz at birth and at his two week appt he was 7lbs 11oz. They said he had a touch of pneumonia 3 days after birth, but I think the fluid they found in his lungs was just left over amniotic fluid from birth (I had c-section). My pediatrician started me and him on this "feeding bootcamp" to try to get his weight up. We started on Tuesday and on Wednesday they weighed him and said he gained 2oz. He was also eating just before they weighed him. I have to go back today to have him weighed again.

Oh, something else I just thought about. I took him to a LC at one week where they helped me learn how to get him latched properly and all. They weighed him before and after his feed and he ate 1.5oz. I'm thinking that's about all my body is producing per feed. Since I started supplementing he nurses about 20 mins and still takes a couple oz of formula.

My son also has a strong urge to put his hands in his mouth and/or push away from me when I try to nurse him. He is an amazingly strong little booger. Swaddling him just seemed to make him angry, but I may have to try it again.

I'm starting to rethink my low supply theory. I tried to nurse my son this morning and he did ok about 15 minutes on each breast until I had to switch him to a bottle because he was so fussy. After I finally got him settled I started pumping and managed to get another ounce and a half. The next feeding went a bit better where I managed to get him to feed off both sides for a good while, but still had to give him some formula and still pumped at least an ounce afterwards. Now I don't know what the problem is. I know he can get milk out. Chest compressions don't seem to help. That just seems to startle him and he unlatches. Also I've noticed he doesn't always wake every few hours to eat. I have to wake him, which is a chore, and then try to stay calm enough to get him to feed. I am planning to go to the next breastfeeding support group offered at the hospital. I just really hope I can keep my patience long enough for him to learn to BF well and I can stop this formula crap.

1.5oz of breastmilk for a 2.5 week old is pretty normal, babies tend to take less breastmilk than they would formula, one because of delivery method its a lot easier to take a large amount from a bottle before starting to feel full and breastmilk direct from the breast fills them more but digests more quickly than formula from a bottle. Also you have to bear in mind while feeding on demand-the amount taken at each breastfeed will differ depending on your baby's appetite at that feed, so at one feed a baby may take 1.5oz, yet at another feed they may take anything up to 5oz, unless you do several 'test weighings' its impossible to know accurately how much they are taking for each and every feed xx