am i making a mistake? pls help if you can!

[ava'smom]

hi everyone!

So, Nate is six months old, and up to now, I have been nursing exclusively.  In the last week, he has become increasingly agitated during feedings.  He's always been a quick eater (5-7 min total) and is pretty chubby, so I've always felt sure he's gotten enough, until now. He's usually so easygoing, but has been so clingy and seemingly unsatisfied after eating. So, I started offering a bottle once a day or so when he seemed hungry.  (He wouldn't nurse anymore at these times--he'd suck for a minute or two and then start crying, like he was frustrated that nothing was coming out, or not coming fast enough). I feel like maybe my supply is diminishing...I'm not sure. I bf my daughter for 13 months and never had this issue.  Could it be a growth spurt??

Today I ended up giving him two bottles in addition to his normal bf times.  He sucked them both down! I did try to bf first, but he didn't want to. It didn't seem like I had much at these times.  And when he DOES bf, he seems to get annoyed when the let down is over and the milk isn't coming fast anymore. Impatient boy! 

Anyone have any ideas? I'm just worried that I'm making a mistake by supplementing, in that he'll prefer the bottle over me and not want to nurse anymore. I'm not sure I'm ready to wean yet. But I don't wanna deprive a hungry boy, either! I've been drinking more water and offering the breast more, etc. but it doesn't seem to help.

Oh-- I've also begun to try solids--rice cereal and pears, working up to twice a day. Hoping that will help.

TIA, ladies!!!

[Samuel's mum]

I really hope we'll be able to find someone to help you. Great job to get to 13 months with #1!

the not-so-good news first...
The sad truth is that for every bottle you give (of formula?) your milk supply will diminish further. The  growth spurt around 6 months is often a biggy so it's possible  he was initially unsatisfied because he needed to feed more regularly. If you did happen to remain on the same schedule without any increase in nursing your supply would not have developed to match his new need. Then by supplementing, which is totally understandable if you were worried, your supply will have reduced further. It could also be that he now prefers the 'ease' of drinking from a bottle as it is a lot easier to do.

I know that doesn't sounds very rosy in terms of long term breastfeeding. If you carry on as you are the truth is he might not be breastfeeding at all in a few weeks time.

The good news is that the situation is reversible. Although you may need some help from someone qualified if you find it's not working on your own. (e.g a helpline or La Leche league - numbers are on this page). I'm going to assume for a moment that you want to continue breastfeeding and you would prefer not to be supplementing. You may need to start by using a pumping regime to build up your supply. Then try and reduce your use of bottles. Always offer the breast first for every feed. Have lots of skin to skin contact.
Some might suggest you go 'cold turkey' to eliminate dependence on bottles and have a few days where you really focus on breastfeeding and have a 'baby honeymoon'. I've even heard of mums who supplement if they really need to using an open cup (you can use little medicine type cups):
This link talks about cup feeding (scroll down for tips)
http://www.breastfeeding.org/articles/cup.html
Of course this may not be too popular but if the alternative is hassle he may go back to preferring the breast!

I think you've got some choices:
- Try and gradually reduce bottle use yourself by always offering the breast first and pumping to increase supply. You could also hand express just before you put him on so your 'let down' has already started. It could also be useful to take some supplements to help your supply. It's possible his initial unsatisfaction was due to supply problems although supply problems are VERY rare if you are not over-scheduling. This link has some suggestions for increasing supply other than nursing and pumping which are the 2 main ways.
http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/herbal_galactagogue.html

- Try a more dramatic option like cold-turkey on bottles preferably with some support from a trained person.

- Or if you don't feel able to increase nursing, develop your pumping skills and ensure that if he is going to be more dependent on bottles you can at least put some expressed milk in it some of the time.

Good Luck. Hope some of that helps.

[daisymelan]

I think I remember my son going through something similar at that age.  I found he was really distracted and didn't want to nurse ever.  Have you tried the quiet, dark room, etc?  A nursing necklace maybe?  He may prefer the bottle because he gets to satisify his curiousity by looking around wherever he wants.

Good luck.  I'm sure he'll go back to wanting mom, but I would be careful on supplementing with the bottles as the last poster had mentioned.  Maybe just nursing more often and throwing EASY away for a few days, maybe more like EAES or something. 

[Monika aka annamum]

Amy,

I hope things will soon get better for you and Nate. Great info from Samuel's mum so I will just cheer you to keep going!!!

[ava'smom]

Hi!

Thanks so much, you guys. Samuels' mum--that is great info. Thank you--I'm going to read it all again and figure out what to do. I know offering the bottle is counterproductive to my supply, so I will work on other solutions. I have a pump, but it's a manual one, so it's not as easy to pump with a six month old and toddler running around!  But I will work on it for sure. I haven't been overscheduling with him, but he seemed to get all frustrated with my supply out of nowhere. Maybe I'm not drinking enough.

Daisy...yeah, he's pretty distracted at this age. And his big sister poking and prodding him while he's eating doesn't help! 

Monika--hi! It's good to see you...it's funny, I was gonna email you about this!

Thanks again, keep those ideas coming! I'll keep you posted.

[ava'smom]

Just to update...things seem much better!

I've upped his solids intake, without decreasing number of bf's, and he seems more content. He's nursing better now, and i haven't offered a bottle in several days now!  I think maybe he just got a lot hungrier all of a sudden. I just wasn't prepared for it, Ava was never all that big on eating--bf or solids!

I think he may also be teething, and I've heard that nursing can be painful when that happens, as it puts pressure on the gums.

So hopefully, we're out of the woods. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it so much--it's hard when you start to question yourself and your supply!

[daisymelan]

Amy, that is great news, thank you for sharing.