Teddy is teething and has not been too interested in nursing the past few days. I didn't pay much attention to that fact as he just has not been interested in nursing that much since hitting 4 months. He was still having lots of wet diapers and I thought he was nursing enough but now I am not sure.
As he now has twice refused to go on the breast at all. I just tried pumping and got basically nothing and now I am freaking out. My supply must really have dropped in the past days as I couldn't even get an ounce. I gave him half a jar of plum and pear just because I don't want him to feel too hungry but I have been trying to get him to latch on every two hours and he just won't.
Does anyone have any tips? I'm drinking nursing tea again and ate oatmeal for lunch.I'm also pumping on each side for 10 minutes every hour but nothing is coming out which is making me depressed and of course worried about supply.I'm committed to making this work as I know babies don't naturally wean before a year,and if I give him his homeopathic teething tablets right before nursing he will sometimes latch on for about 30 seconds, making me think it is really related to teething.
Hopefully he'll latch on again. I don't know anything about breastfeeding or teething so I am of no help.
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet:)
ReplyDeleteOh no! That is so frustrating - I think you are doing the right thing by continuing to attempt nursing as often as possible and at least pumping throughout the day when he won't latch. I have heard of nursing strikes being common when babies teeth, and I know that you are committed to BFing, so try not to stress too much! You are doing what you can - he will latch on again soon I'm sure. I would bet that KellyMom has some advice about this... that's usually where I go (or LLL) with questions about BFing.
ReplyDeleteGL!
I did look at kellymom but sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed with the site. However it was nice to read that nursing strikes can be normal and that they aren't permanent. I just wish I would have noticed how little he was actually nursing sooner. He is used to a fast let down and so now he gets even more frustrated when not much comes.
ReplyDeleteAsh - I don't have any tips, but just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you and I hope he will take the breast soon again and your supply will increase.
ReplyDeleteWe are going through the same thing at our house! Try Fenugreek (all natural supplement) Take 3-4 pills 3-4 daily, and continue pumping every 2-3 hours during the day. This should increase your supply- I had to do this around 4 months, my daughter wouldn't nurse and my supply went down.I was on some message boards and they gave me this advice, be topless as much as possible and keep close contact with him, take baths with your little one, and when he is sleepy or near sleep attempt to nurse then. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteTeddy was on a nursing strike when he was a bit older. I think his trigger was that I'd shouted at him when he bit me while nursing, so he just wouldn't latch on, or just bite. I was devastated! I think the best advice was on the LLL website and I followed all their tips - stay really calm, make sure it's a calm, quiet environment with no distractions (I used our darkened bedroom). When he'd bite again I just told him "no", and waited until he had calmed down and then tried again. It took a while but then he'd just go back to nursing as normal.
ReplyDeleteSee if you can identify what Theo's trigger was, and definitely check out the LLL website for tips!