My little one is 15 weeks old .She first started refusing the right breast...this went on for 2 days, now she doesn't want either. I am beside myself, don't get what to do and how to overcome this. I've tried giving her formula as that is always my go to when I can't produce enough milk, but even that she doesn't want to take. I don't want her to go hungry but I don't know what to do. Please helpp
My baby has gone off breastmilk - Pregnancy and Par...
My baby has gone off breastmilk
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Cakecrazy88
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If it happened to me I would leave giving by breast and write down how much formula my baby has taken through the whole day then dial 111 and speak to the team. They will refer you to hospital straight away if they need to as your baby is soo young.
So during the day she was fine with the breast. This was yesterday. At 4am this morning I woke up and fed her while she was asleep and she had the breast. I am still worried because she didn't seem herself yesterday and usually she is up by this time and is still sleeping. I tend to only give her formula at night as I've read that it's heavier and takes longer to digest so keeps baby full for longer.
That's actually not true, about formula keeping babies fuller for longer. Babies will also change their feeding frequency as they grow. If you're concerned then speak to your health visitor but it sounds like you could also really benefit from speaking to a lactation consultant. Find 'Lucy Webber breastfeeding' on fb, she has lots of good tips and myth busting but she found also put you in touch with someone in your area. Please don't give up on the breast feeding, it really is the best thing for your lo. And try to stay calm, sleep when your lo sleeps and remember, if she is a little bit poorly then your breast milk will get her better. first step, health visitor and ask for a referral to a lactation consultant... and stop offering the bottle, if you want to continue breast feeding.
Definitely want to continue breastfeeding, I love the connection it gives me with her. I hate having to give her formulà but get desperate some nights. And then atleast I know she's fed. I've got a GP appointment today so will get them to do their checks to make sure there isn't anything sinister.
It’s harder for their body to digest yes. But babies are supposed to wake frequently and breastfeeding reduces risk of SIDS x
Yea she does wake every 4-5 hours once she's asleep to feed. If she doesn't then I wake up anyways so I'll feed her, coz I'm always worried she's not getting enough
Try not to worry 
if she’s hungry she will wake for a feed. You only need to wake them to feed if they are showing signs like not pooing or weeing enough, not gaining weight, poorly etc x
Yea I know I shouldn't worry, but with it being so hot these last few days I don't want her to get dehydrated.
Just keep putting her to the boob when she makes hunger signals your milk adjusts to be more watery in hot temps too! It’s amazing x
That is amazing! I pumped yesterday and was shocked at how watery the milk was.
Yup it changes in so many ways sleep hormones at night, when baby is ill and latches on, through the saliva your body knows what anti bodies to make to help protect them. It’s really quite something! So just remember why you are doing it x
Definitely know it has loads of benefits, which is why I prefer it to formula. She's decided not to feed again tonight 😭😭
I wonder if she’s teething. Try feeding her when she’s asleep. What does she do when she doesn’t want to feed. Does she go to feed then change her mind or? Xx
I tried again half an hour later n she fed fine. She usually resists and stiffens herself, no idea why! I've started giving her multivitamin drops, been suggested to give her to get her appetite going.
That’s good. She will let you know when’s hungry
Who said that to you? Before 6 months the only vitamins babies need is vitamin d if they are breastfed, (because mums are usually deficient in it). Vitamin drops containing anything else shouldn’t be given til baby is 6 months it doesn’t make them want to eat either lovely.
It sounds to me like you’re doing a fab job and your baby is doing well. Don’t doubt yourself! If she doesn’t want to feed do exactly what you did - try again a bit later xx
Hi there, I've never heard of a baby going off milk before. However my little boy (who is about the same age) has refused my breast temporarily. This was because there was another problem which one time was high temperature and another teething pain. Also if he's very upset sometimes he needs a while to calm down before he will latch so I just keep soothing and offering. And sometimes he doesn't want a particular side because it has less milk at that time or is blocked. If he doesn't feed from one side though keep pumping that side instead to keep the milk flowing. Hope this helps.
This is what I'm thinking if there is another issue which is stopping her from feeding. She hasn't got a temperature and I've been told by the HV that she has started teething. Gave her Calpol last night to soothe her and thought after that she would feed but it did the opposite. Also when I tried to pick her up and soothe her to sleep she was really fidgety, so i put her back in her cot n she eventually dozed off to sleep. The last few nights she's been crying a lot due to being overtired as she doesn't sleep much during the day. But I usually try n get a feed in by about 7pm so atleast she has been fed and then can drop off to sleep. I pumped yesterday for the first time since she was a Month old. Managed to give her that side when she was fast asleep in the early hours of the morning.
Is she teething? Try give her some teething gel or one off calpol see it it helps her to feed.
Yea she is teething. Gave her Calpol last night before she decided not to feed anymore. Anything else I can do during the day to help her? Tried giving her a slice of apple yesterday to chew on but she wasn't too keen and the teething rings she doesn't like coz there isn't a taste to them.
Bit of hard carrot?
You can get teething gel or granules from pharmacy
Anbesol liquid is excellent for rubbing in the gums although im not sure if 4 months is too young to use it. They hate the taste but it's instant relief and seems to work better than bonjela. I aldi sweat by the amber necklaces you will have seen babies wearing. I don't know how but they really seem to soothe the pain and all the other symptoms of teething, like stingy bottoms and excess dribble.
I've read about these amber necklaces on a different post. Where can you get them from?
I got mine from ebay and both of my youngest have worn it day in, day out from the time they started teething.
I went for the unpolished version myself and it's worked a treat for my two.
I've just purchased the necklace, hopefully that gives her some relief during the day
You do know the necklaces are supposed to be worn by the mum so the baby can play with them whilst feeding to help sooth teething. You should never let your baby wear a necklace for risk of choking!
No, these are meant to be worn by babies. There are warnings when you buy them but they're too short to be dangerous and fit snugly to baby's neck. Of course parents have to make their own decision but the ones im taking about are definitely meant to be worn by baby. The leach sicilic acid into the skin which has a calming and soothing effect. I also found it lessened the severity of nappy rash and those ruddy red cheeks that they tend to get.
in reply to amazed
You can also get ones the baby can wear on their ankle. I terms of choking risk, just be sure to get one wear the bits of Amber are individual knotted rather than threaded on. My friend swore by the these for both her babies when they were teething
How long do these necklaces take to have that calming effect? I tried it on her today for the first time and she was really weepy. I took it off before her bedtime as she is quite a fidgety baby
My 19 month old has been wearing it for over a year, day in, day out, I literally never take it off! I would definitely leave it on her whenever she's awake and if it's a close fit to her neck then when you feel ready you could let her sleep in it too.
When my youngest son used to wear it a friend of mine's baby started teething and were taking about the necklace. She went and ordered one but her lo was suffering so much, and my boy was absolutely fine so I offered to lend her his necklace for a couple of days. Within 12 hours his cheeks were bright red and his bum got really sore- I had to ask for it back! It probably only took a day for his symptoms to calm down again. So I'd say, if you want to leave it in for 24hrs then you will hopefully see an improvement.
I got so sick of seeing my scientifically- minded sister's twins looking sore and uncomfortable in WhatsApp pics I actually ordered her 2 necklaces for them. I think she takes them off at night but they wear them every day, religiously. I don't know how or why but they do really help. Good luck and I hope you're managing to get some rest xx
Perfect! Thank you so much. I will keep it on during the day at least. It's not well fitted round her neck so I am still worried about leaving it on at night. But I shall persevere
She hasn’t gone off breast milk - seems she doesn’t want to eat but maybe worth seeing a gp asap or ringing 111 if she won’t have anything
I totally agree. She might have some underlying cause for being refusing to eat. Call you GP or go to nearest A&E. If she's fine and no issues found, I would advise you going for an cranio osteopath, sometimes you find free treatment on baby cafes. When my baby was younger he used to prefer one breast to the other and it was tense muscles on his neck and jaws. She might have some pain that is preventing her to feed due to muscle tension. One free osteopath treatment in a baby cafe solved the problem.
Yes this is particularly true if you had a traumatic birth, although all babies can benefit.
I've got an appointment booked with GP today to check if there is anything else which is why she won't feed. She seems quite mobile in herselg, I'm hoping the feeding goes well today.
Oh thanks God she is mobile and send herself. I was very worried. Thanks for the update. Ask the GP to check her for oral trush, it can be painful and is quite common, reflux sometimes can be very painful as well, does she posset or vomit a lot? Good luck and Keep us posted.
She's had 3 feeds via breast since my initial post so im relieved. I'm going to get the doctor to check for thrush and any ear infections. She sometimes seems to snort so I don't know if she's got a blocked nose, although she does sneeze a lot. She doesn't posset that much now she's older n vomits very rarely. Hopefully it was just an odd episode and doesn't continue. I have a feeling she could have just been overtired as well, and that could have been why she was so cranky yesterday
in reply to Cakecrazy88
Might be worth thinking about what you’ve eaten the last few days in case that’s changed your milk in a way baby doesn’t like e.g certain foods can cause wind etc
My little one refused two feeds the other week and then had a runny nappy. I was going to the gp anyway re reflux issues so mentioned it and as a precaution she sent us to a & e as she thought he was a little dehydrated. He wasn’t, it was all fine but it was scary. Main thing to look for is are they still producing wet and dirty nappies? But always worth a check up with the gp to be sure.
Re the stuffy nose, my boy is having a nightmare time with that at the moment, impacts on being able to feed. Doctor at the hospital said it could be a symptom of silent reflux or allergies.
Hope you’re lo is ok x
Cakecrazy88 in reply to
I haven't really changed my diet, I like to keep it pretty much the same. I know when I don't eat fruit, it impacts on her poo. Nappies are fine, she gives me one dirty one daily n several wet ones. So in hoping that means that she isn't dehydrated. She's fed well so far today so i think yesterday was just an off day but being a first time mum n no experience with babies does mean I panic if she doesn't feed properly. Going to get her checked with the GP anyways and see what they have to say.
in reply to Cakecrazy88
That sounds positive. And I hear you re the first time mum and anxiety thing; I’m in the same boat!
Cakecrazy88 in reply to
Yea just need to make sure she is well in herself. GP reassured me as well that nothing to worry about and she can have off days, just to make sure she is hydrated. She's back to being a monkey today! So relieved. And I'm thankful for everyone on here, you guys really helped me, this forum never disappoints!
in reply to Cakecrazy88
That’s great news x
Just throwing ideas out, but might she have thrush? I guess you'd know as you'd be in discomfort too, but a painful mouth might be what's causing her to refuse feeds.
Best advice is what the ladies above said, get to your GP asap. You don't want to risk the baby getting dehydrated. Hope its sorted asap!
My LO was 3 weeks old and wasn’t drinking much milk, (I used to write down how much she drank so she doesn’t dehydrate as LO had reflux because I had to give formula) as I was producing next to nothing in breastmilk when pumping. My husband insisted I dial 111 and they referred me to A &E. Turned out LO had both reflux, colic and urine infection and had to be treated with antibiotics.
Hi, babies can get a bottle preference. Does she have bottles a lot?
It’s important if she does to pace feed them so the milk doesn’t come too fast and then they start to prefer that. If you just stick to boob she won’t have the bottle to compare to x
In the mean time I would try feeding her in the bath, lots of skin to skin, squeezing a bit out onto her lips. Feeding her when she is asleep too can work x
It took her a few months to warm up to a bottle and even that she only prefers the nuk teats. I only give her the bottle at night to add to the breastmilk she has. Otherwise during the day it's only breastfeeding.
Maybe something else was going on then. Did you know your milk at night actually produces sleepy hormones xx
Ok so I'm having the same issue again where she just won't take the breast, been trying all day and I've had to resort to formula which she seems to be guzzling down! I haven't changed my diet either so I don't know why she's resisting the breast. I tried expressing and I'm so disappointed in what I've managed to squeeze out, it's not even worth keeping it! Thought I'd express n try n give that to her but I haven't even managed 1 Oz and this is after pumping for over 15 minutes. Does this mean I will have to give up on breastfeeding? Feeling really dejected right now.
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