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Breastfeeding/how can i get my baby back on the breast

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Expert: - 3/15/2005


Question
At the beginning things were good. My baby learned to latch on well and suck pretty good but after a day or so she began getting fussy at the breast after several feedings in which I would give a bottle after trying to feed at the breast with no luck. When I got her home it was the same thing. She'd fed at the breast for a long time and  then after a few feedings become fussy and refuse the breast. So I started pumping milk in between feedings and if she got upset at the breast I would give a bottle of breast, (only after givin the breast first) but now she is starting to refuse the breast all together, prefering the bottle instead. How can I get her interested in the breast again? I didn't have success breastfeeding my first child and I'm really beganing to feel like a failure at this. My child is a week old now and I'm afraid that I may have made a mess of things with the bottle. I really need some help here. I usually experience engorgement between feedings and lots of leaking then I would pump some milk usually filling a 5 oz bottle with one breast. She was sucking so well and everything but now she won't suck she would just hold the nipple in her mouth and then cry. I'm feeling so bad about this what should I do?

Answer
Dear Falonda,

After I reread your letter I thought I ought to reassure you on one point. You are clearly a caring, concerned mother, so even if you are not able to get your baby back on the breast, do not berate yourself! You tried your best, and remember that the most important thing is a healthy child, so if despite your best efforts to continue to breastfeed (and I can tell from your letter that you are motivated to make your best efforts), you end up having to feed formula to your baby, you can rest assured that many babies grow up very healthy and well adjusted being fed by bottle.

Again, good luck and best wishes!

Sally Olds

Breastfeeding

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Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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