Help won't nurse

[nikik15]

My son is 9 1/2 months old and is very small for his age. His weight is in the 3rd percentile. I am 9 wks pregnant and 4 days ago my son refused to nurse. I have tried everything, but he will not do it. So I have been pumping and at first he would only take the milk out of a cup. I also gave him whole milk to see if he just doesn't prefer my milk and he seems to like that more. Now he will drink the whole milk out of a bottle and prefers it to be cold. I haven't tried formula because my mother warned me against the oils that are used, and that they have been proven to be bad for people. I am also giving my son liquid vitamins, and he eats 3 meals a day plus a snack. I just think this is so weird. I have found that when I pump I am only producing about 2 ounces. So I just wonder if I wasn't making enough milk, or that my milk changed because I am pregnant, and he doesn't like the taste. The other thing is that he only drinks about 4 ounces in the morning and throughout the rest of the day when I feed him the bottle he only has about 1 1/2 to 2 ounces at a time. Should I be worried or just go with it? Should I give him the formula over the whole milk and vitamins? My insticts tell me that this is not just a nursing strike. Just watching how his with the whole milk and the fact that I am only producing 2 ounces! Also he is so small I wonder if he wasn't getting all he needs from me. Any advice its appreciated!

[dodoe80]

I will let some of the others address some of the issues you are having. I would like to say that this could be a nursing strike, among other things. Here is a link for you:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html

Also babies shouldn't get cow's milk until they are a year old.

[Brianna]

Many moms have a decrease in their milk supply very early in pregnancy. Most moms will lose their milk supply during the second trimester if not earlier. I was still nursing my toddler when I became pregnant this time. My milk supply dipped immediately. If you have no interest in tandem nursing your babies I would not push nursing. However, I would choose formula over whole milk. The AAP recommends that infants do not receive whole milk before 12 months.

If you would like to tandem nurse so that your toddler and baby both recieve the benefits of breastmilk I would encourage baby to nurse from your breast at least once a day so that he does not forget how to latch and nurse.

[proud_breastfeeder]

h

[SingingMom]

Nine and a half months is pretty young. As PP said, your supply WILL dip- probably to almost nothing- while pregnant. And older babies, who can talk, have often said that yes, the taste changes.

And at your baby's young age, I'd recommend supplementing with formula rather than cow's milk. Especially if you have concerns about his growth. Formula is balanced and has the correct amount of protein in it. Cow's milk is not well-formulated to meet your baby's needs; drinking too much of it will put a strain on his developing kidneys.

Formulas are mostly made form cow's milk. It isn't wise to avoid formula because of what's in it, only to choose cow's milk instead. In fact, formula is going to meet your baby's needs more safely than milk.