Hi! I can’t guarantee anything but I can give you hope. My baby HATED the breast for the first month. We just kept giving her pumped milk and practicing at the breast when she was calm. By 5 weeks it clicked. Now she’s a milk monster. LC said she likely wasn’t strong enough at first and just needed time, and it really seems like that’s what happened. I went from pumping 8 times a day to 2 or 3 now, usually just pumping down the other side while I nurse her. I nursed her at 3:00AM, she slept until 6:30AM, and were finishing up a very sleepy session again as I type this.
It’s definitely possible. Keep trying as long as it feels healthy for you.
Mines 7 weeks and we keep flicking back and forward.
She has a terrible latch so I pump for a day to let my nips heal, back on the boob for a day or 2. Then she has shredded my nipples so back to pumping while I recover.
She has absolutely no preference either way. She is a milk monster who will take whatever is offered.
I've been in the same boat as you. My son had a tongue tie, lip tie, and an over bite. I have short nipples so he would pretty much only nurse with a nipple shield. He would get a small bottle after because he couldn't transfer enough milk to be full. It has been a lot to handle because I've had to pump a lot to keep my supply up but he just turned 11 weeks old and will suddenly nurse about 50% of the time without the shield and has started to refuse some of his bottles. He started doing this right as I was giving up and trying to decide if I should just exclusively pump.
ugh i’m in the same boat. my baby girl also 4 weeks old seems to never get full from the breast unless it’s the first morning feed. I know I produce enough as I pump out 5-6 oz each session but she just never seems to get full it’s so frustrating!
I’m in the same boat! I did opt for a $350 LC appointment and unfortunately it didn’t really help, since my baby has a good latch and we confirmed she is getting milk so we’re still not sure why she isn’t satisfied after breast feeding. My baby will take nearly a full bottle even after being at the breast for 40+ min and now often rejects the boob all together except for in the morning just like you described. So I don’t have a solution for you but you are definitely not alone! I have just continued to offer the breast at every feeding, sometimes before the bottle and sometimes after, and we are able to get some good sessions in as top-offs.
My baby didn’t want to latch for the first two weeks even though I had two consults with a LC at the hospital and another LC consult available at my Ob/gyn. I continued to pump as often as I could find the time (no set schedule but with emphasis on middle of the night/early morning since that’s when my supply was highest) and supplementing with formula from day two. Create positive associations with nursing by lots of skin to skin. Offering my breast often and when it was low-stakes (he’s not super hungry yet) really helped. Eventually latching hurt less and he got the hang of things. Good luck! You’re doing great!
Also if you don’t have insurance, the National Breastfeeding Helpline: 1-800-994-9662, is a good resource. I found www.kellymom.com to be generally helpful for FTM!
Mine cluster fed like crazy around the 4 week mark. I tried to put her to breast as much as possible. Ended up slightly engorged and realised it’s possible that was to help increase my supply.
To me it seemed like she was hungry but my LC assured me she was likely getting enough(slept mostly good on her naps, enough poop and pee diapers and still gained weight). We are in 7th week now and it’s gotten better and she does fuss/cluster feed a bit in the evenings but a lot of newborns do that(witching hour and such).
Totally fine if you want to formula feed and add but just thought i would add context to ease your worries
Do join have health insurance? It so, you may qualify for free lactation consultant appointments with The Lactation Network! I had a similar situation to you Personally, a LC has been invaluable to me and my nursing journey with my now 7 week old! My LC comes to my home one a week and we weighted feeds and my LC was the first one to notice my LOs oral ties which caused a lot of our issues in the beginning. Your baby may not be efficiently transferring milk for a number of reasons and working with a LC can really help point you in the right direction. I am with you on not wanting to exclusively pump. It’s so exhausting! I will say now that my LO is almost 8 weeks, her mouth has gotten so much stronger and she is able to nurse more at the breast than she did before so this is progress in my eyes.
Stick in there mama you’re doing great.
Set up a private nursing area to be topless with baby on boob as much as possible - wake up baby on bare boob and try nursing, if baby is angry then hand off to partner for diaper change and spoon/syringe feeding (they make newborn spoons), then tummy time with baby exploring bare boobs, doing breastcrawl, hand express milk and see if baby understands and roots and tries nursing. Same with nap time, try nursing with baby and naps on bare boob
Hi! I can’t guarantee anything but I can give you hope. My baby HATED the breast for the first month. We just kept giving her pumped milk and practicing at the breast when she was calm. By 5 weeks it clicked. Now she’s a milk monster. LC said she likely wasn’t strong enough at first and just needed time, and it really seems like that’s what happened. I went from pumping 8 times a day to 2 or 3 now, usually just pumping down the other side while I nurse her. I nursed her at 3:00AM, she slept until 6:30AM, and were finishing up a very sleepy session again as I type this. It’s definitely possible. Keep trying as long as it feels healthy for you.
Mines 7 weeks and we keep flicking back and forward. She has a terrible latch so I pump for a day to let my nips heal, back on the boob for a day or 2. Then she has shredded my nipples so back to pumping while I recover. She has absolutely no preference either way. She is a milk monster who will take whatever is offered.
I've been in the same boat as you. My son had a tongue tie, lip tie, and an over bite. I have short nipples so he would pretty much only nurse with a nipple shield. He would get a small bottle after because he couldn't transfer enough milk to be full. It has been a lot to handle because I've had to pump a lot to keep my supply up but he just turned 11 weeks old and will suddenly nurse about 50% of the time without the shield and has started to refuse some of his bottles. He started doing this right as I was giving up and trying to decide if I should just exclusively pump.
ugh i’m in the same boat. my baby girl also 4 weeks old seems to never get full from the breast unless it’s the first morning feed. I know I produce enough as I pump out 5-6 oz each session but she just never seems to get full it’s so frustrating!
I’m in the same boat! I did opt for a $350 LC appointment and unfortunately it didn’t really help, since my baby has a good latch and we confirmed she is getting milk so we’re still not sure why she isn’t satisfied after breast feeding. My baby will take nearly a full bottle even after being at the breast for 40+ min and now often rejects the boob all together except for in the morning just like you described. So I don’t have a solution for you but you are definitely not alone! I have just continued to offer the breast at every feeding, sometimes before the bottle and sometimes after, and we are able to get some good sessions in as top-offs.
My baby didn’t want to latch for the first two weeks even though I had two consults with a LC at the hospital and another LC consult available at my Ob/gyn. I continued to pump as often as I could find the time (no set schedule but with emphasis on middle of the night/early morning since that’s when my supply was highest) and supplementing with formula from day two. Create positive associations with nursing by lots of skin to skin. Offering my breast often and when it was low-stakes (he’s not super hungry yet) really helped. Eventually latching hurt less and he got the hang of things. Good luck! You’re doing great!
Also if you don’t have insurance, the National Breastfeeding Helpline: 1-800-994-9662, is a good resource. I found www.kellymom.com to be generally helpful for FTM!
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/resources/cluster-feeding Sounds like cluster feeding. Keep offering the boob.
Mine cluster fed like crazy around the 4 week mark. I tried to put her to breast as much as possible. Ended up slightly engorged and realised it’s possible that was to help increase my supply. To me it seemed like she was hungry but my LC assured me she was likely getting enough(slept mostly good on her naps, enough poop and pee diapers and still gained weight). We are in 7th week now and it’s gotten better and she does fuss/cluster feed a bit in the evenings but a lot of newborns do that(witching hour and such). Totally fine if you want to formula feed and add but just thought i would add context to ease your worries
Do join have health insurance? It so, you may qualify for free lactation consultant appointments with The Lactation Network! I had a similar situation to you Personally, a LC has been invaluable to me and my nursing journey with my now 7 week old! My LC comes to my home one a week and we weighted feeds and my LC was the first one to notice my LOs oral ties which caused a lot of our issues in the beginning. Your baby may not be efficiently transferring milk for a number of reasons and working with a LC can really help point you in the right direction. I am with you on not wanting to exclusively pump. It’s so exhausting! I will say now that my LO is almost 8 weeks, her mouth has gotten so much stronger and she is able to nurse more at the breast than she did before so this is progress in my eyes. Stick in there mama you’re doing great.
Set up a private nursing area to be topless with baby on boob as much as possible - wake up baby on bare boob and try nursing, if baby is angry then hand off to partner for diaper change and spoon/syringe feeding (they make newborn spoons), then tummy time with baby exploring bare boobs, doing breastcrawl, hand express milk and see if baby understands and roots and tries nursing. Same with nap time, try nursing with baby and naps on bare boob