I think i have been beaten

[Jen114]

Unfortunatly i think i have given up the fight ....

Jessica is now almost 7 months old and i have been battling for a while, she is very hyper and moves all the time so it is really hard to feed her the breast and it has been getting worse and worse...... i have tried and tried to hold her but she just gets really frustrated and starts to scream... What she has been doing is she has now learned how to roll over properly so we will be laying on the bed feeding and she wil suck for about 3 mins and then turn on to her tummy and then come back for a sip and then turn again.... i have tried holding her and calming her ( by the way this is in a dark room with no stimulation)

Well the past two days after 1 hour of trying to feed her and only managing to have one breast finished i have made a bottle for her and she will drink the whole thing.. first she trys the same thing of roling and playing but then since i can move the bottle with her for a secs she then calms and drinks it.....

well this is my story any advice would help.... not sure if i can go through making her breast feed again my patience has run very very thin

thanks in advance

[franchick]

No real advice, just want to send you some massive (((hugs))) and say well well done for making it to 7 months - that is a massive achievement in itself!

Does Jessica settle any more readily for any specific feed (e.g. first thing / last thing)? If so, maybe you could just drop to one BF a day (you need to keep it consistent i.e. every day or pump, otherwise your supply will definitely diminish too much) and maybe use a sippy cup for expressed breast milk or formula the rest of the time?

I know friends who did extended BF (right through to 2 - 3 years old) and who went through some really rough patches, but their LOs always came back to them for snuggled BF, even after a few days of almost virtual nursing strikes.... so I guess persistance does pay off to some extent. Also, if you think you might want to keep going, then (I am sure you will know this), limit bottle feeding strictly, as otherwise your LO might just prefer to switch to the bottle full time (easier to drink from).

Take care xx

PS Jessica is absolutely adorable!

[Samuel's mum]

BIG HUG
Frances is right - phases at this age can sometimes be short-lived so don't give up hope entirely.
Might she be ready for a longer EASY? Can you post your routine?
Are you on solids? When do you schedule them and what are the quantities?
Might she be frustrated with a slow letdown? Are you someone who can tell when you have a letdown?

If you think you may be using bottles more and more then do consider a bottle like 'the haberman feeder' (now medela special needs feeder) as recommended by Tracy or a 'breastflow' bottle (from Boots in the UK) which helps to prevent flow confusion/ frustration at the breast.

[Jen114]

Thank you very much for your posts, it is encouraging, i am pumping still to keep my supply there as much as posible while i decide what i feel comfortable with. On one hand i am thinking almost 7 months is pritty good going on the other hand i am thinking it is our special time together i dont want it to end. We introduced bottle at 4 months 1 time a day because she had severe reflux and her ped recommended on AR drink a day to help keep the milk down..... also at 4.5 months he recommending starting baby rice very slowly becasue nothing was helping the reflux. Jessica was on Gaviscon adult 3 times a day and Motilium 3 times a day... the good thing though is that it stopped with the baby rice thank goodness!!!!!! so basically here i am saying she has had much more than breast up untill now.. Let me post my normal day routing

7am Breast ( normally not soo hungry at this time)
8am 3 tsp baby rice with 3tsp fruit
9-10.15ish NAP
11.00 Bottle 180mls ALL
11.30 3 cubes vegg 2 tsp baby rice
12.15ish - 2.15ish NAP
2.30 ( trying to get close to 3) 210 mls formula ( rarely drinks it all today leaving 70mls )
4-5 NAP
5- baby rice + fruit
6 bath
6.30 breast
7 NIGHT NIGHT
10.30 DF ( EBM)

So basically she was on 3 BF and 2 FF.... the situation though is that i cant get her to eat she is soooo curious what is going on even in the dark,,, all she wants to do is roll over and sit up and play no matter how tired she is i have tried everythign so it is not that she is not hungry she is just more interested in what she whats to do ......( i mean she is really well behaved during the day) but when it comes to feeding she turns it to miss wiggle worm and it takes me shoving the bottle in her mouth and she stops i have even tried hovering over her with the boob lol

Well i am not sure what to do.... i might just call i day as from what i have heard it is like she is self weaning off the breast in the end i wont have to deal with the teeth that are on there way out....... i wil miss the bonding though ... as you can see i am in two mind lol

[Jen114]

I can tell when the milk is coming and generally when she lets go it starts to drip so there is milk there for sure

[Samuel's mum]

It might be that she is accustomed to bottle flow and finds the breast frustrating in comparison. This can be pretty common when a baby gets bottles regularly. I can see why you might call it 'self-weaning' although that term applies to older babies/ toddlers.
It might also be that your supply has dipped a little (as you've only been using the breast twice a day and using pumping and formula alongside) - and now that she isn't feeding from the breast very effectively, perhaps a little bit more.

I would definitely have a think about the type of bottle Tracy recommended for mums who want to combination feed.
Perhaps some general measures to increase supply like pumping after feeds or even taking a herb like fenugreek to boost supply.
With the distraction problem you could go the other way and get a nursing necklace and then she stays focused on the area around you and your neck. You can buy them on ebay.

One more thought  - I'm sure you know that fussiness and refusal to feed is related to reflux. Do you feel confident that is all under control now?

[Jen114]

It could very well be that i really dipped when i was forced to go away on business and leave jessica behind. i was away for 3 days and pumped whilst i was there, at first she refused the breat but then she was back to normal but this was only 2 weeks ago and she reverted back to the way she was....

the nursing necklace sounds like a good plan.. going to feed her in an hour and will try that for sure.... i havent given up completely yet ..... unfortunatly i dont think i can get those bottle from Malta and if i had to order on the interent by the time they get here i think it will be too late if you know what imean......... i am still waiting for something i ordered two weeks ago on the interent the malta post is very very slow .. will keep you updated.. did you think routine was ok>

[Samuel's mum]

I am rubbish at 'routine analysis' so hopefully someone else will comment on that.

Malta - cooool. I had a very interesting holiday there once and enjoyed spotting the Gladiator film sets.

[ahollifield]

The same exact thing happened to me. She was only calm enough to nurse 1st thing in the morning. I kept tht BF and give her formula the rest of the day. Don't feel bad...at least there is formula now... 

[franchick]

I am also not very good a routine analysis, but, to me, yours looks really good - she does seem to enjoy her solids, which is great. Fingers crossed the nursing necklace will help a lot!

[Jen114]

THANKS GUYS!!!!!!!

It worked... I am back to breast feeding at least the twice a day so i am really happy with that!!!The neclace worked and also a positive attitude towards the situation and instead of laying on the bed i am holding her tight in my arms .. i must say she does fight a little but then she gives in and eats I unfortunatlyhad to suppliment her with a bottle lastnight though after the breast feed as i felt quiet empty to be honest so i was sure she hadnt had enough to drink but anyway i am sure i will get there again.

thanks again

[Samuel's mum]

I'm so glad you are feeling more positive.
Do remember that milk is actually manufactured during the feed from your own blood supply so feeling empty is honestly not the whole story. And if both sides are done you can always go back to the first again and switch around several times. You'll often get a new letdown.

[franchick]

Well done you! I wish I had had your perseverance when we gave up BF due to really difficult feeds during the peak of reflux.... anyway, go you!