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Breastfeeding/baby refusing breast at 4months

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Expert: - 12/14/2007


Question
hi there, my son is now four months old...up until now i have been partially formula feeding my son on and off, but mainly breastfeeding. the reason for this is that i haven't had an abundant supply, and when fully breastfed his growth went down(so much so it concerned our plunket nurse). he is currently teething also...i am trying my utmost to fully breastfeed, however am finding this increasingly difficult as my son keeps refusing to feed from me...he cries, pushes against me etc and gets rather upset, i try to settle him and then try again, but he eentually just goes to sleep, without a feed. every now and again he will feed but at the moment his last feed was 5 hours ago!!this worries me as it is hot and im afraid he will dehydrate. also he doesnt have very many full nappies unless formula fed. any advice as how to convince him to feed from me instead of the bottle?? (also my let down is slow, can take up to 7 min before my milk lets down)

Answer
Dear Carmen,

First, congratulations for giving your son the best start in life by giving him your breast milk!

Your son may be resisting your breast because the milk comes so much more easily from the bottle, or possibly because, as you say, your supply has not been abundant. Ordinarily, a five-hour gap between feeds for a four-month-old baby is not a source for worry, but if your son's weight gain has been slow, I can understand your anxiety.

I would suggest that you try nursing your son with a nursing supplementer. In the U.S. we can purchase them from Medela, Inc. in McHenry, Illinois. They may have a distributor in New Zealand, where I assume you live. Or your plunket nurse or lactation consultant may be able to help you locate one. This is a gadget that delivers milk to a baby while the baby is suckling at the breast. A thin plastic tube runs from a plastic bottle hung upside down from a strap around the mother's neck. The end of the bottle is placed near the mother's nipple and held there with surgical tape. (I have a photo of this in my book.) You should do this only under the supervision of an experienced lactation specialist, and your baby should be monitored for weight gain and other signs of adequate nutrition. With this system he will get enough milk and will also suckle at your breast. This will stimulate your milk supply and should satisfy your baby.

Good luck!

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.  

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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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