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Hi

My baby is now 6 months old, I have been fully breastfeeding her since birth. I now really want her to take expressed milk and mayweanibe sometimes formula from a bottle or cup but she refuses, she just spits it out.

I am beginning to feel really trapped and it's getting me down. She also won't take baby rice, I've been trying for a week now following all advice so think I will give this a break for a couple of days but how do I get her to drink her milk from somewhere other than me?

My husband works away and we don't live near friends or family so I can't get anyone else to help.

Thank you for your help.

Lorri

Hi Lorri,

Firstly, I am sorry to hear of your plight with tryingto get your daughter onto the bottle and trying to get her to become more familiar with solid food.

From what alot of women have reported in the past once a baby is fully established on the breast it can be very difficult to get them to ever accept a bottle, even if they are given it at a good time, (around 3-8 weeks after birth). By six months it might be worth trying other recepticals, I know you have mentioned a cup or bottle but it may be worth also trying a beaker with a basic spout.

At this stage, I am wondering what your main motivation is for weaning her from the breast, is it just time for you to move on? The next six months will bring about other changes like the baby starting to drop feeds and gradually embracing solid food so that by the time they are around a year old most babies will drink from a cup and be eating about three square meals a day.

It may be worth offering lots of different food to her at this dtage providing she can sit up properly, as she is interested in what you are eating, and her tongue thrusting reflex is not so evident, she may also be able to pick things up now and put them near her mouth. You might like to google Gill Rapley as she is the author of a great book on baby-led weaning.

It may take a while for all of this to fall into place, have you thought about somebody else giving her a bottle or cup? A neighbour or your husband when he is back, it sounds like it is really tough time for you right now please feel free to call the NCT Breastfeading helpline on 0300 330 0771, open 8am-10pm daily.

Good luck
best wishes

Jane Saville, Breastfeeding Counsellor

I have been breastfeeding for three months. My left breast has developed a lump within the last 24 hours. how can I unblock it?

Hi, Madeleine. Thanks for posting. Sorry you have developed this problem - what bad luck.

 

Without more information, the best suggestion I can make is for you to call the breastfeeding line 0300 330 0771 . We discuss issues like this all the time, and the counsellor will ask for more details and work out with you what the next step might be to resolve it. 

 

Heather Neil

I am so upset i cannot breast feed my baby just could not latch on, i tried for 24hrs while i was in hospital with the help of four midwives. My baby is now 5 days old and my milk has come in and i feel its such a waste, i really wish i would of tried harder and im now regretting bottle feeding as breast feeding has so many benefits and i feel im depriving my baby of the health benefits. I just cannot let it go and even im getting confident and feel a good mum in every other sense i cry just because i cant breast feed. Is there any point me trying to express as i have a pump or could i try again. I just dont know what to do i wish i could turn back time.

Aw, Leanne.....I am so sad you are feeling so upset about this. Rather than go into detail in writing about what you can do now (and there is a lot you can do, honestly...it is much too soon to think breastfeeding is not an option for you) can I suggest you call the NCT breastfeeding line?

 

0300 330 0771 - call it now, we're open every day until 10 pm. If you dont get to speak to someone immediately, then leave a message and you will get a call back very shortly. 

 

If you decide not to phone, then please post again and we can see how to help. 

 

best wishes

 

Heather Neil

My baby is 7 weeks old and is now going to hospital for surgery. I will not be able to breastfeed him for 3 days.
Any tips on how much I need to express? I am intending to use a double electric pump.

Thank you

Hi Rebecca. It’s very tough for your little baby to be going into hospital. However you are making a great contribution to his recovery by expressing milk for him.

It’s difficult to say exactly how much as it is difficult to know whether he takes above average or below average. The average daily intake of a baby is about 750ml, but anything from 600ml to 900ml is regarded as normal.

You haven’t said when he’s going into hospital, so I don’t know how much time you have to build up a small supply. Maybe express once or twice a day for the moment? It might be only necessary to have half a day’s supply built up, and then express when he is taken away for you. This of course would depend on your being able to have regular access in order to top up his feeds, however he is going to get them.

You will need to express for the 3 days he is not able to breastfeed for your own comfort, so hopefully this could be used to feed him for some of that time. On those days you will need to express at about the times he would normally feed.

Best of luck with this Rebecca. It’s a very worrying time for you. You might very well want to ring us for moral support in that time too. 0300 330 0771

Eithne Murray, breastfeeding counsellor

my 6 day old baby feeds well but at night time once finish the feed and put down in the moses basket he seems to get unsettled, should i nurse him for a bit before putting him down and this might settle him better or does he get too attached to me and this will make him worse when you go put him down.

Hi, Sinead. Thank you for posting to NCT.

Congratulations on your new baby. Your baby is behaving perfectly and totally normally, and it's lovely for him to feel cuddled, comforted and close, even if he has finished eating.

 It is very important that he gets attached to you, as this gives him confidence in the world, and the knowledge that he is loved by the people close to him. He needs to see you as more than someone who fills his tummy - he is getting to know you as a mum when he seems to 'ask' for more settling. Research shows that babies cared for responsively in this way cry and whine less when they are older - so nursing him and settling him and staying close does not make him 'worse' but actually makes him 'better'. 

A book that explains this a bit more and which will be helpful to you is 'BabyCalming' by Caroline Deacon. 

 

I hope this helps you. 

 

Heather Neil

My baby is 6 days old, at the start he was feeding every 3 hours, but now he is changing to every 2 hour feeds during the day and every 1 hour feed at night time. is this normal? he only feeds for 10mins at a time and falls into a deep sleep, i have tried waking him to feed again but he doesnt seem to. because he is getting short feeds is he waking up more? also he is bringing a lot of milk up after each feed, is this ok? would there be acid in this and burning his throat.

Congratulations Sinead on your new baby. It must be so frustrating when you think everything is going so well, and then the pattern changes. And to make matters worse you now have to wake up every hour at night. His early time with a new baby can be very changeable, but you might certainly hope that you could get one or two longer intervals between feeds, even at night. Although his pattern is still changeable you would probably find it easier to talk this through with one of us on the breastfeeding line,  0300 330 0771. There might be a few things you could tweak even at this stage which might make things easier.

Small babies often posset a lot, bringing up milk after a feed. Do you think that’s what your baby has?

Hope things work out a bit easier for you soon Sinead.

 

Eithne Murray, breastfeeding counsellor

My baby is due on the 13th March and I intend to breastfeed and I would like to know if it is safe to use the merina coil while breastfeeding and also do I have to wait until my 6 week check up to have it put in?

Hello Nicola

Thanks for your email. I hope I can help you.

Different women react differently to different contraceptives - as I'm sure you know - and your birth experience may also effect what contraceptive may work best for you in the short term. Some women do feel their contraception affects their breastfeeding, so it may take some adjustment before you find the solution which works best for you.

So it's not really possible for anyone to give you a definitive answer now - although it makes a lot fo sense to think through the options. Some women do combine types of coil with breastfeeding - your midwife or health professional will be able to help you consider our own medical history in deciding whether this would be an option for you to consider. After the birth your midwife or another member of staff will talk to you about contraception before you are discharged. They will be better placed to help you take into account factors such as the type of birth you have had and whether this needs to be taken into account.

After the birth it can take some weeks for a number of natural stages to be achieved (such as postnatal bleeding to cease, your uterus to return to a smaller size, your body's hormonal balance to change and the breastfeeding hormones to become settled and established). Some contraceptives may affect these natural processes, or may be less reliable because of them, and so your health professional may suggest waiting if required. Again your midwife or health professional should be able to talk to you about this in more detail and help you time decisions based upon your own situation.

Nicola, I'm sorry I can't give you a more specific answer, but I hope that you can find some solutions to match your personal circumstances.

Kind regards

Kirsty Nicol

Breastfeeding Counsellor

 

 

I am currently expressing bm for my partner to give to our baby each evening which works really well.
I am due to go out next week and wish to express for the lunchtime feed. However, my partner is going out for the day and wishes to feed whilst out and about. How does he carry/store the milk until he needs it. We are probably only talking about a few hours but I obviously want my milk to be ok to use.
Tks

Hello Donna. If your partner leaves the milk in the fridge as long as possible and only takes it out as he is leaving, a cool bag, which you can get in outdoor shops, will keep it fresh for some time.

Good luck going back to work.

See the and the NCT leaflet and the BfN leaflet  about expressing and storing.

Eithne Murray, breastfeeding counsellor.

 

Eithne Murray, breastfeeding counsellor

I have been exclusively Breast Feeding my baby boy for 13 weeks now and all of a sudden he is only feeding for 10 minuites at a time then he pops off and winges until I give him back breast then same again after about 1 minuite, I am now sitting trying to feed him for 2 hours out of every three please help?? I have tried changing positions, changing breasts changing enviroment and still the same ??

Hell o Sara and thanks for contacting us.

It’s so frustrating, isn’t it, when things have been going swimmingly for so long, and then they appear to go pear-shaped.  It is difficult to tell from here what exactly is happening – there are lots of things which might be happening. Of course it could always be that there is nothing much going on, and that he is getting what he wants quicker. Without knowing more though Sara, i could not say for certain.

You will probably find it easier to talk it though with one of us in person. Call us on the breastfeeding line, 0300 330 0771 and you might be able to get a clearer picture of what is happening.

Best of luck Sara, and i hope things work out for you soon.

 

Eithne Murray, breastfeeding counsellor

I had my baby by cesarian section on 10th December 09. How soon can I attend a yoga class?

Hi Janine,

Thank you for contacting the NCT and many congratulations on the arrival of your baby.

You may want to discuss this with your GP when you have your 6-8 week postnatal check and  with the yoga teacher who may have experience of mothers starting yoga after a caesarean birth and will want to know that you are a new Mum. 

Start gently after your 6-8 week check and listen to your body, don't try and overdo it.  It takes everyone some time, months, to get back to normal. 

Best wishes

Clare Charlton, Antenatal teacher

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