Difficulty nursing

[Toshasmom]

Hi! My 6 week old daughter nurses exclusively since birth. BUT sometimes when she nurses she will pull away crying and fussing. She will still seem hungry tho. Other times she nurses fine, but it seems that she's fussing more than not. Sometimes we'll switch to football hold and she'll then nurse fine, but sometimes that doesn't work either.

[CherylParrott]

Perhaps she is a bit gassy?may be reflux giving her cramping type pain. so a quick look at Dr Newman's pages here on breastfeeding.com and look over overactive let down and also colic in bf baby and reflux and see if any those fit the symptoms your baby is having. This is fairly common behaviour

[Toshasmom]

ok couple more questions. if I eat something that upsets babys stomach, how fast does it enter my milk? and how long does it stay?
AND is it ok to give baby a bottle when we're out shopping or running errands?
thank you so much for your advice~

[CherylParrott]

absolutely ok to give her a bottle! 6 weeks is good..no great..we love our babies but we do need a few minutes to do something for us! as far as food goes, about 4 hours for most things to pass through. dairy and caffeine is worst at making babies uncomfortable. You are doing great!

[Toshasmom]

Ok so if I give her bottle, do I need to pump too?

[CherylParrott]

ideally yes, but you could pump either before or after you go out. if you need to build up a supply, then pump in the am, after she has eaten. it may take a few days to pool up enough, but then once you get it, you'll pump when you miss a feeding and then you will be ready for the next one. if you are wanting to use formula, then you don't have to pump, but will be more comfy if you do

[Toshasmom]

OK so if I give her formula while we're out, and don't pump, will my milk supply be affected for the next day when we BF exclusively? Sorry if I'm annoying you. I just want to be totally clear. lol.

[CherylParrott]

no, one time of not pumping won't mess up your supply. but if you start dropping/missing too many feeds/pumpings then yes, it will go down. no annoyance here...I know it's confusing to start adding bottles.