in New Mums - Breast and bottle feeding support - South West London

Supply decreasing

The last few nights my baby has not fed in the night or will only latch and fall asleep and so isn’t drinking. In the daytime it’s generally been fine until yesterday where I noticed less wet nappies. I pumped to try and increase my supply and that’s when I noticed I’m barely even pumping 2 oz. What can I do? My baby is exclusively breastfed and has refused almost every bottle on the market. I’ve tried all the tips to get baby to take a bottle but with no luck. I’ve tried a sippy cup too again no luck.

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How old is your baby?

@Lisa -Bump Birth & Boobs baby is 5 months old

What normally happens at night? Was this a sudden change? How many feeds are they having in 24 hours? What's the qty of wet and dirty nappies? I usually reccomend a bottle with a graduated teat like Lanisoh natural wave.

@Lisa -Bump Birth & Boobs Baby is having roughly 6-8 feeds which don’t last very long. The night feeds roughly lasted 5 mins before baby fell asleep. Baby has maybe 2 dirty nappies and 3-4 wet nappies but they aren’t heavy. I have tried the lansinoh bottles but not had much luck. As soon as I put the bottle to baby’s mouth baby will turn away, or push the teat with their tongue. Baby doesn’t suck, despite pushing teat towards the top of the mouth

There's really 2 separate items here. One is the bottle dislike and that is something to be worked on but the larger concern is the possible dehydration associate with this drop in feeds. It sounds like the night feeds were much for comfort. Do you feel there was much active feeding happening at this time? I would suggest some breast compressions during your daytime feeds and trying to feed more frequently. Also check your position and attachment. Ideally you want an asymmetric deep latch to help evenly drain your breast.

@Lisa -Bump Birth & Boobs feeding has since improved and I believe baby is actively feeding more now. But the nappies haven’t really improved that much. I’ve spoken to the GP and they said baby isn’t dehydrated. How do I get over bottle dislike?

Excellent that you GP has reassured you that your baby is not dehydrated. Have you tried all the suggestions I make in my blog post https://bumpbirthandboobs.co.uk/blog/postnatal/introducing-a-bottle/

There are other things you can try too but this would be the starting point

@Lisa -Bump Birth & Boobs Hi, yes, I’ve tried all those tips but unfortunately no luck :(

Have you tried a faster flow teat. Breast Milk can come out with force and sometimes a slow flow teat can be frustrating for an older baby. Warm the teat first in warm water, dip it in breast milk. Cut a hole in a old tshirt that smells of you and poke the bottle through that. Try putting the bottle under your arm and switching your baby from your breast to the bottle (best when drowsy).

Hello Lisa, can I please send a Dm? I’m really struggling to breastfeed my little girl as she has just suddenly refusing the boobs and wanting bottles instead.