Not sure what to do ?

[coz]

Charlies nearlly 4 months now and im still really enjoying breastfeeding although i dont think its enough for him he crys all the time which i think is to do with his reflux but he seems hungry all the time too i dont think my milk is satisfying him, sometimes im feeding him every 2 hours still and hes still up twice a night for feeding, the last 3 nights ive gave him a bottle of formula before bed and hes slept better. Any advice im not sure whether to go over to bottle feeding now but i dont really want to ??? He doesnt seem happy when breast feeding either he doesnt feed for long and then he pulls off and goes back on for 2 secs and pulls off again and gets really frustrated but when he has a bottle he happily sits there drinking all of it - strange ? xxx

 

[Margerle]

Sounds like his pulling off the breast is flow related. He has to work to pull it off the breast, and if your letdown is a little delayed, that will frustrate him compared to bottle.

Also, this is strategic growth spurt for babies. 4 montsh, 6 montsh and 9 months are all times when mamas find their babies are much hungrier... that's cuz they ARE hungrier. They need to cue your body to make more milk.

If you wanna breastfeed, just go with the flow, let him bring your milk in and you'll find things settling down again.

Also, breastmilk takes about 2 hours to digest, formula takes considerably longer. Imagine how you feel after eating a good easy to digest meal, vs. one eaten during a holiday (ie Christmas turkey dinner). A heavy meal makes us sleepy and satisfies us a lot longer.

 

[coz]

Sounds like his pulling off the breast is flow related. He has to work to pull it off the breast, and if your letdown is a little delayed, that will frustrate him compared to bottle.

Also, this is strategic growth spurt for babies. 4 montsh, 6 montsh and 9 months are all times when mamas find their babies are much hungrier... that's cuz they ARE hungrier. They need to cue your body to make more milk.

If you wanna breastfeed, just go with the flow, let him bring your milk in and you'll find things settling down again.

Also, breastmilk takes about 2 hours to digest, formula takes considerably longer. Imagine how you feel after eating a good easy to digest meal, vs. one eaten during a holiday (ie Christmas turkey dinner). A heavy meal makes us sleepy and satisfies us a lot longer.

hes allways been like this when he pulls off and pulls back on i was wondering if it was something to do with the flow but once he starts doing it i cant get him to feed proply again

 

[Margerle]

Now that is a sign that my lo makes when she's got a stuck burp or is just done

 

[LaDY]

Hey hunny...i had the exact same problem and also my LO has reflux...i was in the exact same dilemma as you. My LO was always crying and pulling off...he just didnt seem satisfied...I occasionally tried complimenting the feed with a bottle and it was amazing, it was like another baby...he was happy and content...however like margele said formula milk does take longer to digest...so babies who are formula fed tend to settle for longer rather than breastfed babies...
I breastfed for upto 8 weeks but then went onto bottle...it was a big decison to make as just like you i really didn't want to but i had a look at the pros and cons..in my case i had a happier and content baby and a much more fuller one...i guess i had to put his needs before mine...plus no one supported me breas feeding the LO which in a way pu me a little under pressure to go onto the bottle which upset me at the time...but deep down i knew that i had done the right thing.
At the end of the day hunny you know your LO so follow your instincts...listening to other people won;t help...whatever you decide everyone knows it will be or the best...Goodluck hun xxx

 

[parkchick2]

You may not be producing enough milk. Try to feed him breast then bottle or vise versa.
until you have enough milk to keep him satisfied after his growth spurts.

 

[freckleonear]

You may not be producing enough milk. Try to feed him breast then bottle or vise versa.
until you have enough milk to keep him satisfied after his growth spurts.

Supplementing with formula during a growth spurt will actually make the problem worse, as then your body won't know how much milk your baby actually needs and may not produce enough.

Coz, Aaron is seven months old now and I still feed him every two hours most of the time, unless we are out and he is distracted. He is also still up 3 or 4 times every night, so I know what it's like.

If you are enjoying breastfeeding and don't want to stop, then keep going! You can do it!

 

[coz]

Ive been giving him a bottle of formula last thing at night to help him sleep longer and i think im going to carry on with the breast feeding for a bit longer now, hes got some gaviscon for his reflux and seems alot happier so i feel so much better now , i dont think il last any longer than 6 months with the breast feeding though, he still keeps pulling off all the time but im just gonna try my best with it xxx