advice needed please. My 12 wk old son has been a nightmare to feed since yesterday. He was faffing about on the breast all day. At 1500 I gave him about 3 oz of formula he dank this straight away no faffing about I tried him on breast at 1630 he fed a bit. He was given a bottle at 1830 (he always has had this) then woke at 2230 and refused to feed and just screamed at breast- I put dummy in and tried feeding again at 2300 and he had a smal feed. He woke at 0200 and the same happened again he eventually fed at 0230 and had a good feed. He then woke at 0530 and screamed at breast so I put him in cot with dummy and he went back to sleep without a feed. At 0645 he was fed after waking and again was difficult to feed. He is happy enough and playong at the moment but why is he doing this? I dont want to go to bottles! Please help! How oftne should a 12 week old be fed?
12 week old breastfed baby help!
- Thread starter LISAMJS
- Start date
hi hon
if you're boob feeding, you should just let your LO feed whenever they want
unlike formula, its impossible to overfeed a breast fed baby! my little boy fed every 1.5/2 hours right up until he was on 3 meals a day. if it seems like your LO's hungrier and wants to feed more, then you need to let him as he will be stimulating your milk production to match his needs. if he's fussing, it could be down to a growth spurt or teething and some babies simply fuss; its perfectly normal, even if it is a bit annoying!
one thing's for sure that if you give him a bottle when he starts fussing, he'll stop wanting to bf cos a bottle is so much easier for him to drink from. boob feeding requires effort from a baby, and if your LO starts associating fussiness with an easy option (ie bottle), you'll find yourself en route to stopping breastfeeding.
if you don't want to go to bottles, my advice would be to stop giving them to him completely. if you want to continue with the formula feed in the evening, try giving it to him in a cup instead.
ride out the fussiness hon, offer your boob whenever you can - even if he doesn't seem hungry, and you'll find that this a phase that passes soon enough
if you're boob feeding, you should just let your LO feed whenever they want
unlike formula, its impossible to overfeed a breast fed baby! my little boy fed every 1.5/2 hours right up until he was on 3 meals a day. if it seems like your LO's hungrier and wants to feed more, then you need to let him as he will be stimulating your milk production to match his needs. if he's fussing, it could be down to a growth spurt or teething and some babies simply fuss; its perfectly normal, even if it is a bit annoying! one thing's for sure that if you give him a bottle when he starts fussing, he'll stop wanting to bf cos a bottle is so much easier for him to drink from. boob feeding requires effort from a baby, and if your LO starts associating fussiness with an easy option (ie bottle), you'll find yourself en route to stopping breastfeeding.
if you don't want to go to bottles, my advice would be to stop giving them to him completely. if you want to continue with the formula feed in the evening, try giving it to him in a cup instead.
ride out the fussiness hon, offer your boob whenever you can - even if he doesn't seem hungry, and you'll find that this a phase that passes soon enough
Hi,
I might not be able to help much here but I breastfed Kayleigh until around 12 weeks, she was acting the same.
I started her on a bottle of formula a day at around 8 weeks, just to give me a break and eventually she was refusing the breast - she would latch on then just latch off again and get annoyed and just keep shaking her head around, like she couldn't find what she was looking for (if that makes sense) and then getting annoyed. I stopped breastfeeding and put her fully on formula (which i was very upset about at the time) by around 12 weeks but although I was upset that she didn't want to bf anymore I was also quite happy for her to go onto formula. If you would prefer your lo to stay bf then maybe stop the formula feeds so there is no bottles at all. The hv & mw told me that it is easier for babies to feed from a bottle than it is the breast (less work involved apparently) so they do sometimes take a liking to the bottle and prefer that
I might not be able to help much here but I breastfed Kayleigh until around 12 weeks, she was acting the same.
I started her on a bottle of formula a day at around 8 weeks, just to give me a break and eventually she was refusing the breast - she would latch on then just latch off again and get annoyed and just keep shaking her head around, like she couldn't find what she was looking for (if that makes sense) and then getting annoyed. I stopped breastfeeding and put her fully on formula (which i was very upset about at the time) by around 12 weeks but although I was upset that she didn't want to bf anymore I was also quite happy for her to go onto formula. If you would prefer your lo to stay bf then maybe stop the formula feeds so there is no bottles at all. The hv & mw told me that it is easier for babies to feed from a bottle than it is the breast (less work involved apparently) so they do sometimes take a liking to the bottle and prefer that
LISAMJS said:
the problem with boob feeding hon, is that you can't regulate or predict it, like you can with formula feeds. your boob milk is perfectly formulated for his guts so it is absorbed quicker and more easily, which is why bf babies feed more often.
fussiness is just part of babies being babies; if you look back through posts here, you'll see that others have had just the same problem.
if, as you said, you don't want to go to bottles hon, then you need to get a bit stubborn; replace your bottle feed with a cup feed and be prepared to boob feed little and often.
Boob babies have to work twice as hard for their milk as their ff counterparts. It comes out of the bottle really easily... so why should they work for something then they have a good old fuss and they get it quicker..
You cannot regulate how much or how often a breast fed baby will feed. They only ever take as much as they want and never over fill. So they become grazers as such.
As Purple13 said, if you are determined to breastfeed.... you need to ditch the bottles asap.
You cannot regulate how much or how often a breast fed baby will feed. They only ever take as much as they want and never over fill. So they become grazers as such.
As Purple13 said, if you are determined to breastfeed.... you need to ditch the bottles asap.
What the others have said.
If you want to breastfeed you are going to have to be stubborn and ditch the bottle and go with demand feeding. If you offer formula do so in a cup. I'd personally stick with breastfeeding alone and ditch the formula altogether and let your LO guide you in how much he needs and when.
If you want to breastfeed you are going to have to be stubborn and ditch the bottle and go with demand feeding. If you offer formula do so in a cup. I'd personally stick with breastfeeding alone and ditch the formula altogether and let your LO guide you in how much he needs and when.
hey hun just want 2 give u these
i posted bout this yesteray, my lo is 9 weeks old and isdoin exactly the same as ure lo!!
he has been like this 4 2 days it is sooooo frustrating!!! stick at it hun ppl have told me that it passes!! xxxx
i posted bout this yesteray, my lo is 9 weeks old and isdoin exactly the same as ure lo!!
he has been like this 4 2 days it is sooooo frustrating!!! stick at it hun ppl have told me that it passes!! xxxx
Charlie:-)
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Could it be nipple confusion? Maia went through a similar stage and i changed her dummy and bottle to ones that reflect the shape of the nipple and she seemed to improve and stopped crying at the breast. Haven't had the crying since although she can still be fussy especially when feeding in public she's so nosey. I use the NUK bottles and dummy now.
LISAMJS said:
When i put her on formula she was having about 4oz every 1.5 - 2 hours but when i was breastfeeding her it was just when she decided, also whta you got to remember is bf babies cluster feed in the late afternoon and early evening. Kayleigh would feed constantly from 3pm till about 11, she would feed for 10 mins then fall asleep, I would put her down and she would want feeding again and so on, also they might just want a drink so have a little feed and then fall asleep, there is no way of knowing which they want so you just got to go with the flow. It is really hard work, which is why I decided to give kayleigh a bottle a day - mainly so I could have a break and my oh could feed her whilst i had a bath or a sleep. My oh only gave her bottles tp try and avoid cconfusion, which did work for a while but eventually she still refused the breast. You just have to decide if you want to carry on bf or not, if you do I would do as everyone has advised and ditch the bottle before it is to late (as in my case). I was upset she didnt want boob feeding anymore but also I was kind of ready to stop but the decision was made for me.
Also you got to remember you are knackered
so everything seems so much harder, your hormones are still all over the place so you feel even worse. I hope you managed to work things out flowergirl
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At around 10 weeks old Kathryn suddenly stopped feeding for any longer than 8minutes. She had been a twenty minuter up until then so I was concerned. She would come on and off the breast and would scream as if I was trying to kill her after the 5-10 mins was up. She fed every 2-3 hours during the day as she had done since birth and was still sleeping fairly long stretches at night and she continued to gain weight at an average of 4oz per week. After watching this pattern continue for weeks and the feeding remain erratic and short-winded, I came tot he conclusion that she knew best and that she had probably just become much more efficient at getting milk from me. She's the same now. If she has 10 minutes from me at a feed I am amazed!
I'll echo what the others have said- the bottle makes feeding too easy at this stage- ditch it if you want to carry on breastfeeding. By 6 months it seems to be a different story- Kathryn will take a few ounces from the bottle but if mummy is anywhere near she just wants the boob!
You are doing brilliantly to have breastfed for 12 weeks- many people have given up by this stage so you should congratulate yourself for that. Keep reading the posts on here about breastfeeding- you'll soon realise that ALL breastfed babies do the same thing so there's always a steady stream of advice and support. Good luck with whatever you decide. xxx
I'll echo what the others have said- the bottle makes feeding too easy at this stage- ditch it if you want to carry on breastfeeding. By 6 months it seems to be a different story- Kathryn will take a few ounces from the bottle but if mummy is anywhere near she just wants the boob!
You are doing brilliantly to have breastfed for 12 weeks- many people have given up by this stage so you should congratulate yourself for that. Keep reading the posts on here about breastfeeding- you'll soon realise that ALL breastfed babies do the same thing so there's always a steady stream of advice and support. Good luck with whatever you decide. xxx
well thanks for the replies. I fed him by breast last night and he was up every two hours. Do you think this is cos I ditched the bottle or could it be the 12 week growth spurt.
He was fed the folowing times
1850 the put to bed
2200
0100
0400
0530
0645
and 0900.
He used to sometimes go up to 6 hours. He is a big baby and was 14 lb 2 oz at 11 weeks.
I hope this is a growth spurt!
He was fed the folowing times
1850 the put to bed
2200
0100
0400
0530
0645
and 0900.
He used to sometimes go up to 6 hours. He is a big baby and was 14 lb 2 oz at 11 weeks.
I hope this is a growth spurt!
Hey Lisa,
I can't give advice as I'm struggling at the moment with feeding too (trying to perservere through it though!
) but I wanted to say you're doing great. Keep at it (if that's what you want to do) because you CAN do it.
Evie has never latched (I think she has since yesterday getting her tongue tie cut) but my nipples are so sore that feeding hurts, a lot!
She's been feeding badly today so I really do understand what it feels like to want to cave into a bottle. It really is the easiest option sometimes. The one thing holding me back is that once my milk has dried up, I can never get it back again and I really don't want that!
I guess what I'm trying to say is you're not alone! There are a lot of us on here having feeding troubles, so feel free to PM me for a chat about it or one of the more experienced boobie feeders!!
Cheers xxx
I can't give advice as I'm struggling at the moment with feeding too (trying to perservere through it though!
) but I wanted to say you're doing great. Keep at it (if that's what you want to do) because you CAN do it.Evie has never latched (I think she has since yesterday getting her tongue tie cut) but my nipples are so sore that feeding hurts, a lot!
She's been feeding badly today so I really do understand what it feels like to want to cave into a bottle. It really is the easiest option sometimes. The one thing holding me back is that once my milk has dried up, I can never get it back again and I really don't want that!
I guess what I'm trying to say is you're not alone! There are a lot of us on here having feeding troubles, so feel free to PM me for a chat about it or one of the more experienced boobie feeders!!
Cheers xxx
