i guess i belong here now :]

[mrsadair]

i was BFing my son exclusively, but i had to take my husband to the airport out of town about a week ago, and left my son with my mother for the day... i left her liquid formula and bottles to give him, and since he's had that, he does not WANT to BF at all. i can still get him to latch on but he gets frustrated and pushes his head back and starts screaming. sooo i've been giving him formula because i'm too worried about him not eating.

my question is... has anyone else had that problem and been unable to get their LO back on the breast? i think that my supply is down, if not gone... he's been eating mainly bottles for 2-3 days now and i haven't gotten engorged at all. before, when we were exclusively BFing, they'd start feeling engorged whenever it was about time for him to feed. but now they don't feel that way at all. shouldn't they get engorged for a few days and hurt while the milk dries up, if i'm going to exclusively FF him?

 

[loopdido]

that happened to me, i was having to give top up ff while waiting for my milk to come in and then when it did i had a 36 hour migraine and couldn't feed her as she sucked it made my head pound more! and also she was doing what your lo is doing trying to latch then pulling head back and screaming til we gave her formula.....so we gave her ff and i took migraine meds, then let my supply dry up. I was engorged for 3 days, and they leaked like crazy. 3 weeks on they still leak at night when she cries which drives me mad, lol.

 

[chuck]

Have you tried usng nipple sheilds? They make the nipple more like a teat in size although yes still more difficult to get anything out of!

When I was trying to BF my LO started refusing my boobs once he had used a bottle and shields...he coped better with the sheilds on but alas things just weren't meant to be with my LO and BF'ing.

Have you thought about pumping so LO can still get some BM?

I'm sure you could get him back on the boob it'll just take perseverance...get him off the bottles and use a cup istead - have you contacted a lactation consultant?

 

[mrsadair]

i haven't yet but on wednesday i'm going to sign up for a breastfeeding class... then maybe they could like, tell me if i should keep trying or just give up. the way he is eating now though, there is no way i could keep up with him... he must be having a growth spurt lol. i used nipple shields at the hospital when i first had problems getting him to latch on but i couldn't really get it to stay on my nipple and i'm not sure he liked it much. i guess what i am worried about most is him not gettin enough.

i think also... i'm trying to convince myself that i'm not a bad mom just because i can't BF him. i just feel like it because i feel like my body isn't doing what it should do to feed him i guess.

my breasts still haven't gotten engorged and i guess it's been like 4 days and i'm not really leaking anything at all.

 

[dom85]

Have you posted this in the BF section hun? I'm sure they'll be loads of people who can give you advice abot increasing your supply and getting LO back to breast if you're determined to do it, I imagine it will take a lot of skin to skin and perserverance, if you're feeling guilty about it then it's probably a good idea to give it a go.

If you're not engorged then i think your chances of getting him back to BF are better if you do something now rather than waiting until Wednesday. He's probably getting a bit frustrated because he can the milk easier out of a bottle.

 

[Vickie]

You are not a bad mom if you choose to go with formula If you really do want to continue with BF I would also suggest posting in the BF area as you'll get more answers from people about how to build your supply etc. Also there is a sticky thread in that area called Breastfeeding Champions, you might want to post in there as well for support I know there are a few on here who have gone through relactation (rafwife is one) who might be able to give you some good advice

 

[mrsadair]

i posted there, they were helpful but i will admit i did kind of freak out when i read about having to nurse for 6 hours straight. i'm not sure i can handle that emotionally... i can't even handle him crying because he didn't get enough from me. he seems happier with the bottles so i think i will just stick with formula. :]