Continue BF or try to Exclusivley pump?

[tiggy85]

Help! 3 month old baby I'm currently exclusively breastfeeding.

Problems
- weight gain slowed -was following 50th centile until 12 week weigh in where he dropped to 25th centile
- short feeds 5- 10 mins total , has been this way since birth
-goes through periods of being really fussy, being hungry but won't relatch after initially taking the first 5 minutes well. Sometimes taking up to an hour of "trying to feed" but becoming a battle .again ths fussiness has been a problem since birth but between 8 and 12 weeks things really settled down and he was hardly fussy at all but this was when his weight gain slowed?

But now at 13 weeks the last few days he is really fussy again. I don't know if its related to when my milk flow slows as I have a fast initial let down where he chokes sometimes. When he slows down swallowing I try breast compressions but sometimes I don't catch him in time and he is off and won't relatch. Sometimes he will take the other side again but refuses the first side yet I know there is still milk there..... i don't like him to have the other side unless I know he has finished the first side due to my concern about him not getting the hindmilk!

-he has plenty of wet dirty nappies but concerned about poor weight gain and fussiness.

I also have plenty of milk as can pump a good 4 oz in 15 mins from one breast.

He won't take a bottle from me therefore my options are limited but I am really fed up of the fussiness and concerned about the slow weight gain now,

I will have him weighed in 10 days and if he isn't gaining enough I'm not sure what else I can do.

 

[sallybee]

I really wouldn't try to exclusively pump hun if you have any choice. I have done it for 4.5 months now and it rules your life. I feel like a cow being milked all day! Every time my supply drops a little bit I used to freak out, it was so much stress and hassle, not to mention expensive trying to find a pump that suited my needs. Now at 4.5 months my supply has dropped so it isn't enough for LO and I'm having to top up with formula and honestly I'm cutting down expressing as it's just horrible. I'm fortunate because I have a 600oz freezer stock which will allow me to combi feed for another two months or so but honestly if I had managed to bf I wouldn't have all these issues and I wish I had tried harder
Have you got a bf support group you could go to hun to check your latch/see if there is a reason for the fussing? There is a growth spurt around 12/13 weeks which may explain it I think? Big hugs xx

 

[Belfast girl]

I'm a breast feeding newbie but find in the side where I have a fast let down the laid back position/ biological feeding position works really well. Something about them being able to regulate the flow themselves.

Hats off to all pumpers, I tried to exclusively express with my first and managed just a week! Was very hard work.

 

[mrswoody]

Hey lovely,
My LO got very fussy around the same age as yours, she would come off and scream at me :/ I didn't know what was wrong with her. She feeds really quickly though so I took this as her telling me she's had enough.
Bf babies will steady out with their weight gain so it could be this? Like Sally said try and get to a bf support group as they will be able to help you. Expressing does take alot of your time and if you can avoid it do so.
My LO won't take a bottle but I still try it with her as I'm not giving in! Lol x

 

[tweetyfoo]

I wouldn't try to exclusively pump if you can help it, like sally said, its a pain in the arse! I've been doing it for 7 months, and have just about had enough now.

Like the others suggested try to get to a bfing group

 

[CARNAT22]

There really is no good reason to exclusively pump unless you absolutely have to. It a tiresome, thankless task with none of the rewards of BF'ing and all the hard work of FF'ing

I'd try to find a local group and persevere.

Best of luck

xxxx

 

[tiggy85]

Thanks ladies, I really want to carry on breastfeeding but its not knowing how much he is getting and the weight gain that makes me think the pumping might be better as i can be sure how much he has. But yes it's double the work but if it means he has proper weight gain and breast milk then ill be happier. I will try and go along to a group to see if I'm missing something and also hold out till next weigh in before I make any decisions.

 

[tweetyfoo]

Thanks ladies, I really want to carry on breastfeeding but its not knowing how much he is getting and the weight gain that makes me think the pumping might be better as i can be sure how much he has. But yes it's double the work but if it means he has proper weight gain and breast milk then ill be happier. I will try and go along to a group to see if I'm missing something and also hold out till next weigh in before I make any decisions.

Aaron's weight gain has been up and down and I exclusively pump. On paper he's having more than enough milk, but his weight gain hasn't shown that - I think its down to the individual baby x

 

[sallybee]

Hun I really wouldn't worry too much about one centile. My friend's little girl was born on 50th and has since dropped to 25th, and the HVs aren't concerned. I would just wait and see until the next weigh in personally and then wouldn't be worried if he was still on the 25th only if he fell below?

I will be completely honest here and say that exclusively expressing has really caused a lot of stress especially to my relationship with my OH and my LO. There was a point where my whole world revolved around expressing and looking back it was very strange. You can get really obsessed about numbers. Don't get me wrong I don't regret a thing but I would kill to be able to breast feed xx