Difficult feedings

[kbearmytai]

My ds is 4 1/2 months old. He use to be a fabulous eater then he started eating from one side at a time, no problem, I just pump the side he didn't eat from. Now, it is a struggle to get him to the breast. It is almost as if he has no interest in breastfeeding. He will cry, fuss and sometimes scream. whenever he does this, I just pump and have dh give him a bottle of ebm. Is he trying to tell me something? Is he prefering a bottle to the breast now? He is not on any formula or food, strictly a boob baby, (until recently)

[Rhona]

There are certainly some kiddos who when they start to get regular bottle reject the breast. I often think it is a disservice to not tell moms this ahead of time so it is not so sad for them. Many women have to give bottles or choose to and that is fine for them but it can really bother them when their baby begins to act like this. It is often unpredictable which baby will give you some problems. If possible you can focus more on the breast and limit the bottles you may be able to coax him back to the breast. Bottles are a more passive feeding method and it is not that he doesn't want the breast he is just taking the more passive approach to eating.

[kbearmytai]

He didn't start off as a bottle baby. I have only given him a bottle the last couple of times because he has started this behavior. I just pump the milk because of painful fullness.

[Rhona]

I guess I am a bit confused. If you are overly full it may be because of the pumping. If he is satisfied with single sided feeding you should not be pumping off the other side. That is why you are making more than he needs. Babies do not spontaneously wean before they are a year old unless we have somehow disrupted the BF relationship. I thought that you said after introducing the bottle (recently) he started to act in this way when you attempted to nurse him. And even a good nurser can find an occasional bottle hard. So maybe that still is the culprit. Your body will adjust production based on stimulation to the breast so that fullness should improve if you don't pump regularly. Hope this helps.