Overcoming Nipple Confusion/Preference

[MamaLoCo]

Does anyone have any tips/tricks for a newborn who has already been fed from a bottle probably too much?

My LO is a little over a week old and I still have not gotten her to latch onto my bare nipple. I have flat/inverted nipples so the nurses at the hospital had me use a nipple shield to help her latch on. She also had a tongue tie that was snipped but the doctor said her tongue is still pretty short even after that.

So we've been feeding her mostly from a bottle and sometimes even supplementing with formula when I don't pump enough. It's not a supply issue- just difficult to have to feed and pump at different times, sleep when baby sleeps, be present when she's awake and get anything done.

I do try to get her to nurse before giving her a bottle but sometimes she's just so fussy that I can't get her to take my breast. Sometimes she will latch but not for long. I have to use a syringe to drip some milk in her mouth while she's nursing because I think she just doesn't like that she gets a faster and fuller flow from the bottle.

Truthfully, most of the time, I can't even get her to latch onto the nipple shield anymore. When I have, she is still very hungry after she's done with it so I have to feed her from a bottle anyway. I don't want to be exclusively pumping because it takes up twice as much time and I feel like I'm missing out on serious bonding opportunity.

Also, my birth didn't go AT ALL like I wanted, our cloth diapers are just not working out, and I feel like nothing I had planned is ever going to go right.

 

[BostonGal]

The first month is really hard. Do whatever you can to get through it! Please stop worrying about the diapers. As for the nursing, if she's really fussy maybe give her a little bit of the bottle to calm her and then work on latching her to your breast. Rubbing a little milk on the outside of the shield might also help. Not sure what nipples you're using but you want to have as low a flow as possible. Some brands make a premie nipple with an extra small opening that might help in your case. Can you go see a lactation consultant again? I'm sure they can give you some good tips.

To give you some hope, my nipples were badly mangled when my baby was 1 week old and I had to exclusively pump for the next 2 weeks. It was a pain, but we were able to transition back to nursing. I just stopped using bottles and continuously put her to the breast until she latched and ate. She was fussy for a day but soon got the hang of it.

 

[sil]

I'm sorry you are having a difficult time. I wish I could give you a big hug.

I know how tough breastfeeding can be, especially in the first few months.

I don't have any advice for nipple confusion, but I also didn't want to read and run.

I did want to respond to this, however - "just difficult to have to feed and pump at different times, sleep when baby sleeps, be present when she's awake and get anything done." If you are wanting to pump and feed baby from a bottle (which I do once per day), why not do it at the same time? That way you will spend less time doing one then then other. I have invested in a pumping bra. Your breastpump will fit right into the bra keeping it on your breast/nipple so you can pump without needing to actually hold the piece on you.

https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Wishe...F8&qid=1440004285&sr=8-1&keywords=pumping+bra

This leaves your hands completely free to feed baby while you are pumping at the same time, killing 2 birds with 1 stone and saving time.

 

[MamaLoCo]

BostonGal, I did get her to latch today (with the shield) on both sides...I figured when she started crying and refusing to take the right breast after a while that she had drained it, so I put her on the left and she latched there for a while. After that she drank her normal amount from the bottles. It seems like she didn't get anything but I know she did because she had milk all over her face, in the nipple shield, etc. When I pumped afterward, I got my normal amount too.

When you transitioned, how were you able to calm her down when she wanted a bottle? When I tried to keep putting her to the breast today, she just got fussy and screamed her head off, flailing her arms around, ripping the nipple shield off of me until I give in to giving her a bottle.

I'm not sure what kind of nipples I'm using. I'll have to look for low flow.

Sil, how do you position the baby to feed while pumping? I have a pumping bra. I even cut holes in a sports bra for a backup while my pumping bra is in the laundry... but for some reason, even though I've thought about it, I can't figure out how I'd feed her without knocking things around. I think it's mostly because I try to nurse her before giving her a bottle so by the time I give her a bottle, she's upset that I didn't give it sooner so I don't even consider getting all set up with the pump while she's fussing around. I'll try though.

 

[BostonGal]

It's a great sign that you got her latched! Just because she still drank from the bottle does not mean she didn't get enough from your breastfeeding session. At the beginning, babies will nurse almost continuously to build up supply. Look up cluster feeding, it's perfectly normal and will ensure that you build up enough of a supply later on. It's up to you whether you want to continue pumping or not, but if she is latching and it's comfortable for you, I think you could probably just keep latching her for as long as she wants. Do not get discouraged if she is rooting and/or crying during feeds. This is part of building up milk supply and happened with both my kids for the first couple of months on and off. If you ditch the bottle, the best way to tell if your baby is getting enough is by making sure you are getting lots of dirty and wet diapers. You can ask your doctor what to expect but I think 3-4 BM and 5-6 wet diapers is a good goal. If you are getting the right amount of dirty diapers, don't worry too much about fussiness during feedings.

Also note that babies sometimes cry and root when they are getting tired (mine did). If you have been nursing for a long time and they are getting more and more agitated try putting down for a nap using rocking, swinging or sucking (mine always loved sucking on my pinkie).

Sounds from your post like you've really turned a corner with getting a latch today!

 

[MamaLoCo]

Well she wasn't latched directly on my nipple, but with the nipple shield.
I wish I could get her to even try latching directly on.
It does make things a little more difficult because she's very handsy so she will grab onto the shield and move it or pull it off. My goal is to get her to latch without it but every time I try, she won't even closer her mouth around my natural nipple. She just kinda looks at me like, "why are you cramming your boob in my mouth?"

So you think that even though I was able to pump a lot afterward and she was still hungry, that she's getting enough from my breasts?

 

[Aliop]

My first was really tricky to feed in the early days too I used to swaddle him and then feed him to stop he getting overwrought and grabbing my nipples etc (he was really handsy too) after a bit we got better at it and I could feed him without swaddling and it all fell into place GL

 

[BostonGal]

I never used a nipple shield, but I think that whether she latched on the shield or your breast that's a great improvement. Nipples get flatter when you are engorged, so sometimes pumping (or hand expressing) for a couple of minutes before latching can help a lot. Another way to tell if your baby is really getting milk when latched is to listen for swallowing noises. It sounds kind like a little rhythmic sigh or hiccup. You can also see their little throat moving as they gulp. Those are all signs that everything is ok.

How are things going today?

 

[noon_child]

The grabbing for your nipple is a newborn reflex that is thought to help the baby stimulate your nipple to become erect and help the baby find it. I assume that your nipples don't stick out once stimulated, so she's just getting in the way!

Re your birth: the more intervention, the harder it is to establish breastfeeding straight away but it can be done, just don't beat yourself up thinking its your "fault". Also if you were given fluids during labour, your breasts will likely have been full of fluid during the first few days and this will have increased how inverted your nipples appeared/behaved. Even though now this extra fluid should be gone, you have milk and blood flow causing engorgement which will once again exacerbate the inversion or flatness of your nipples. Maybe try https://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/rev_pressure_soft_cotterman/
But if your nipples are actually tethered to your breasts and never become erect it will be harder to stimulate your baby to suck so you may have to stick with the shields.

If LO seems still hungry after both breasts, you can try her back on the first breast again, maybe use some breast compressions/massage to get the milk flowing faster for her. A baby using shields might experience more wind than a bf baby so it may be that she is confusing wind pain for hunger. Oh the newborn days are just a constant stream of one guess after another and it us so frustrating!

Cloth nappy wise, they don't always fit newborns very well (skinny legs etc). I didn't use mine till my LO was 2-3 months because she was too small for the ones I had!

 

[mummytobe_93]

Does anyone have any tips/tricks for a newborn who has already been fed from a bottle probably too much?

My LO is a little over a week old and I still have not gotten her to latch onto my bare nipple. I have flat/inverted nipples so the nurses at the hospital had me use a nipple shield to help her latch on. She also had a tongue tie that was snipped but the doctor said her tongue is still pretty short even after that.

So we've been feeding her mostly from a bottle and sometimes even supplementing with formula when I don't pump enough. It's not a supply issue- just difficult to have to feed and pump at different times, sleep when baby sleeps, be present when she's awake and get anything done.

I do try to get her to nurse before giving her a bottle but sometimes she's just so fussy that I can't get her to take my breast. Sometimes she will latch but not for long. I have to use a syringe to drip some milk in her mouth while she's nursing because I think she just doesn't like that she gets a faster and fuller flow from the bottle.

Truthfully, most of the time, I can't even get her to latch onto the nipple shield anymore. When I have, she is still very hungry after she's done with it so I have to feed her from a bottle anyway. I don't want to be exclusively pumping because it takes up twice as much time and I feel like I'm missing out on serious bonding opportunity.

Also, my birth didn't go AT ALL like I wanted, our cloth diapers are just not working out, and I feel like nothing I had planned is ever going to go right.

I went through this with my now 20 month old. She wouldn't latch or would latch sometimes. I started to express and give her pumped bottles of milk for the first 3.5 weeks of her life. Eventually I get fed up and decided I wanted to try and breastfeed again. She literally would turn her head and scream if I tried to get her to latch at all and she would refuse.

I found that if I gave her an ounce of milk by bottle or syringe so she wasn't overly upset or hungry then I had a better chance of attempting to get her latched on.

In the end I think I just binned the bottle and syringe fed her expressed milk too and just constantly tried to get her back on the boob. I would stop the bottle because for as long as you are using it your baby is going to prefer that as its easier and requires less effort to get milk out.

You have to dedicated about 30 mins at a time to just trying to get them latched on. it probably won't happen the first second or third time but eventually it will. I would also bin the shields if possible.

You could try in a warm relaxing bath with your baby so
You're both relaxed and plenty of skin to skin. This is what I did and it did help.

Also as your baby is so young could you ask your midwife for help and advice? Also do you have a local breastfeeding support group you could go to. They are very well trained and have the time
To help you xx

 

[nicem815]

Just wanted to say that I hope things are better--and also wanted to say my little girl was born on the same day!

 

[spicyorange]

I'm no expert, but a, couple things I've learnt in regards to fussy attachment.
1. Don't force nipple into her mouth, ur well make her throw her head backwards like if someone tried to shove it something in tie mouth. Instead wait for her to open then bring her slightly forward to latch herself.
2. found that if I gave her some milk by syringe so she latched better.
3. Medela calma tears are supposed to be good set replicating breast as the baby has to work hard for the milk. I hadn't used mine yet though.
4. Try skin to skin. Both of you strip off and let her sniff and lick at your nipple, just let her explore it, she doesn't need to latch she might even suckle without feeding, but it gets her used to it. Do it when she is calm, maybe peckish but not starving.
Hope you manage.xx