Feeding Troubles with a Newborn

sorry I didn't read all the other posts but you may want to try a nipple shield. I had latch problems with my first and it helped a lot. I used it for about six weeks til he got better at latching on. Keep trying it gets much easier as they get older. Good luck

I didn't read all the responses, but just wanted to let you know you are not alone. I tried breastfeeding with both of my children and even with a lactation consultant couldn't do it. We had similar problems to what you describe. I also didn't make enough milk with my first one, he couldn't latch, endless obstacles. After many tries and tears I decided to pump exclusively and give them the breast milk from the bottle. It worked for us. A lot of people may criticize it, but to me as long as they are getting the milk one way or another and baby and mommy and daddy are able to live with the choices made then that's what is important. Hang in there and I hope knowing that breast feeding is not a cake walk for everyone makes you feel better. Best of luck!

I know this sounds odd, but at this point anything's worth a shot, right? My 3 year old was exclusively breast-fed until the 2 month mark. It would take a LONG time to go into all the details (I think I've posted about this before), but she had some feeding/swallowing issues that were discovered by the lactation consultant & hospital speech therapist. The speech therapist taught us how to give her a bottle and it was like an INSTANT change. Although what happened with my daughter was a very unusual case (i.e. I am sure that this is not the problem with your daughter), the "hold" that the speech therapist taught us might work for you. I held her on my lap (her back to my belly), brought one of my hands around to her face, squeezed her cheeks slightly between my index finger and thumb, and supported her chin with my middle finger tucked underneath. I held the bottle in her mouth with my other hand. I know it sounds complicated, but after a few weeks it became much easier. B/c of the weak muscles in her jaws & lips, this gave her the "support" needed to drink more easily, gain weight, and increase energy (which in turn helped her to eat better). She was actually a more efficient breast feeder than bottle feeder (originally lactation suggested doing bottle but by itself without the cheek/chin support it was a disaster!) but never had the energy or strength necessary to complete a feeding (she was living off foremilk!). Eventually she went through speech and occupational therapy, but she began thriving and her feeding and swallowing issues were overcome! Like I said, the doctors assure me that this was a very unusual case and never could really find an exact cause or explanation, and even though your daughter is not struggling in these same ways as mine, this may give her a little extra support. Hope this helps! It worked wonders for us!

Has she been checked for tongue tie? That can cause the issues you mention. It's a very simple thing to have clipped and it heals fast.

I am absolutely no expert, but this sounds rather unusual. I would mention it to your doctor. I have never heard of a baby having trouble with the bottle. It really could be something as simple as tounge tie or something more unique.

My son also had a swallow study done and went to a speech therapist a couple of times. We were also taught some bottlefeeding techniques. He had been spitting up after every feeding. Spitting up is normal, it was the gagging sound he made that scared me. My husband thought it was odd but wasn't concerned. I told the doctor (she actually heard it while we were there), and she concluded that my son was aspirating. While it didn't sound like he had any fluid in his lungs, he could and that could lead to phnumonia.

My point is, ask. Ask you ped. Hopefully he/she will have some answers for you or at least help you find the right person to ask.

My DD wouldn't use any bottles other than the old style ones... she was about 4 months before she was able to nurse exclusively...

I was told not to force it if your baby doesn't want to latch. My son didn't latch he bit with his gums and it hurt so bad. I tried and tried but to no avail. I would pump and use these off brand walmart bottles but he refused the breast milk full out. So I had to give him formula which he took to right away and is fine. He acts better then most breast fed babies. The bottles I used for my son is called a Soothie bottle, it mimics the nipple maybe she would like that. You may have to order them online at amazon but they are amazing. I don't plan on breast feeding my next one either who is due in May but that's my choice lol. Good luck and congratulations on your new little girl.

Check with a pediatrician if she's tongue tied. Also, have you tried the nipple sandwich? It's when you take your index and middle fingers and put as much of your areola into it and squeeze. This will give your nipple a more flat and accessible start for the baby.

Try to limit bottles as much as possible if not completely... making her latch on is a huge thing and the more you offer bottles, the harder it will be.

Also, try taking a very warm bath together and lay her on your chest and try to nurse like that.

To be honest, it doesn't sound like the lactation consultant is much help. Get in contact with a Le Lecha Leauge Leader in your area asap www.lll.org. I would take away the pump, bottles and such, and just focuse on tracking your daughter to latch on to your breast. It sounds like she may also have nipple consfusion from the bottles too. Try nursing every twenty minutes to teach her to larch. So sorry to hear your baby going through this! Learning how to breastfeed in the beginning can be very hard, especially when pumping and using bottles too. try to stick with it. Good luck!

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!
Hang in there! Ask your lactation consultant to watch your daughter with a bottle. She should be able to make recommendations. If you don't feel like you are getting adequate support, seek someone else.
My daughter was born 3 weeks early and took 6 weeks to learn how to nurse. We wouldn't have made it without support from a lactation consultant (twice a week!). I started each feeding at the breast and tried for approximately 5 minutes. To supplement these unsuccessful attempts, at first we used syringes and tubes to finger feed expressed milk. This became exhausting, frustrating, time-consuming and the lactation consultant recommended switching to a bottle. I was reluctant to go that route for fear that she would develop "nipple confusion" and never learn to nurse. But, she had to eat and the lactation consultant made me feel good about that choice. (We continued to start each feeding at the breast.)
I won't sugar coat my experience, but will tell you at about 6 weeks, I started to feel like my daughter was rejecting me. She would cry every time I put her to my breast and would stop when she got the bottle. During a visit with the lactation consultant, I shared my concern and set a target date to stop trying to nurse. That day my daughter "got it" and nursed effectively (taking a bottle only when we needed her to) for 2 years.
So, while I don't have advice for bottle types, I do have encouragement for breastfeeding in general. Get support wherever you can. (In addition to access to a lactation consultant, our hospital offers weekly breastfeeding support groups. We were able to get professional support, weigh our babies and develop friendships with other moms.)
Good luck,
J.

Lots of babies that have difficulty latching have a tongue tie and correcting it is simple. Look into it.

My little one didn't latch on in the beginning either...at first, I pumped and then used a medicine dropper to feed him. I would have him suck on my finger while dropping/squirting in the milk. Soon after we used a nipple shield, which we used for about 3 months and then one day, he just didn't need it anymore, and nursed like a pro. Hang it there, I remember feeling like he would never get it, but he did, and yours will too.

If your daughter is having SUCH a hard time feeding from both breast and nipple, I would try another lactation consultant, and also see ask your pediatrician how to find out about your daughter's palate. My son has a high palate and he had a tough time latching at first. Good luck!

A friend of mine has preemie twins. She had the same issue with the latching and the milk dribbling. The babies just got too tired. It did improve over a few weeks as they got older and stronger. Pumping is a lot of work and to see your milk dribble away is tough. Just keep in mind that you are doing the best for your baby and that this issue is only temporary. They outgrow these infant issues very quickly. Hang in there, you are doing an awesome job!

Sweetie pie, I don't think you are doing anything wrong, or if you are, then I did it wrong, too. And don't fret about your beautiful, perfect baby having God knows what weird problems. It's probably nothing of the sort, breastfeeding is just hard, hard work. I had no idea what it was like before the baby came, I thought you take the breast, you take the baby, you put them in proximity of each other, and then, automagically, like magnets, they just work together and you enjoy sweet surrender. I only have one child, so I've been trough it once, and it was hard-hard-hard-hard-hard. I envy all the mommies who didn't have trouble with it (if there are any).
In my (humble) opinion the bottle is not the best at the very beginning - it confuses them like crazy having milk come from the breast, then from one kind of bottle, then another. I still felt her confused with different bottle nipples even when she was 4-5 months old. What we used was a feeding syringe (they have them at amazon, it's basically a syringe with a thin tube at the top). You wrap the thin tube around a finger, and have the baby suck on that finger. When you feel that they are sucking, you give them some milk by pressing the syringe piston. And, yes, there will be dribbling, you will see the milk spilled after you know how much pain you went trough to get it pumped, but it will be less than with the bottle. It takes patience, a feeding usually lasts about half an hour once you get the hang of it (it takes a while until you learn how much of the tube should be in her mouth, and how to wrap it around the finger to get it to stay in position).
My husband was the syringe expert. Your lactation consultant should be aware of it. We got ours from the hospital when we took the baby home, it was in the well package. It was a welcome break for me when he was feeding the baby with the syringe. Like you, I thought I had "production" issues, I would have a lot of milk in the morning and noon, but towards the evening, it would be less - and that was when she was the hungriest. So we gave her formula with the syringe for the evening feeding, and then a couple hours later I would breastfeed her and she would fall asleep in my arms, happy and full. My baby had issues with jaundice, so the doctor recommended one feeding with formula anyway. She was born in 5% weight wise, and she got in the 40% at 1 month, and then 60% at 3 months, and she was in the 90% at 6. She lost the "fluff" when she started walking, so don't worry about that.
I remember I was always worried if she's getting enough to eat. My let downs were very powerful, she would gag when the milk came, and then let go of the breast (sooo frustrating). That's probably because of all the pumping I did - your body tries to adjust the production to the needs of the baby. If you pump, try to do it at the times when the baby will eat. If you set it for max suction (as I did, willing to do everything in my power to get MORE milk in those stupid bottles) it will expect your baby to be sucking with that same power. More pain isn't more gain.
I remember sending my husband to get me something to weigh her, NOW, I needed to know that she's getting enough milk trough breastfeeding, so the plan was to weigh her before and after the feeding. I never craved anything while I was pregnant, never sent him for ice cream or pickles, but for that he had to get out of the house at 8PM - BabyRUS is open until 9.
I remember that breast shields were life savers once every couple months, when she would chew my nipples raw.
I remember trying on a sports bra, because it felt good and then getting engorged breasts and plugged milk ducts, and high fever because of it...
I remember her having spit-ups until we figured that we shouldn't play with her for half an hour to an hour after she ate, and we should make her sit a little upright...
Oh, and I remember my mother in law, who could not breastfeed because she has inverted nipples, tell me how she envied people who breastfeed, because they could do it in their sleep, while she had to wake up, mix the formula, heat it, and then fed the baby. I vividly remember opening and closing my mouth a number of times until something polite came to me... It did get there, eventually, but it was a long time until then.
All my best wishes, and please make sure you get some rest, whenever and wherever you can get it...

I would continue to try putting her to the breast........ Because IF she would get too used to the bottle, you will really have a hard time getting her to breastfeed.

And I would DEFINITELY get another opinion. Go to a female doctor who has training in breastfeeding. Go to another lactation consultant. Someone who sees what your daughter is doing should be able to give you some more suggestions......

Dr. Brown has a preemie nipple that is even slower than the level 1. You could try that.
Feeding issues are very frustrating. Hang in there, she will figure it out.
And as a previous post mentioned, have her checked to see if she is tongue tied. If she's not able to stick her tongue out as far as she needs to it can make latching on to any nipple near to impossible. Also another exercise you can do with her is take a pacifier and stroke her tongue forward helping her learn how to extend it. Your lactation consultant should be able to show you this exercise.

Good luck. Hope she figures it out soon so you can enjoy this newborn stage!