help with bottle feeding

[Habibi87]

My beautiful daughter is 9 weeks and 3 days. We have had issues with breastfeeding from day one with her not latching. We saw both doctors and lactation consultants who also treated her tongue tie, but with no difference in terms of breastfeeding. To cut a long story short, I have effectively been exclusively pumping since she was born. I am however still concerned that she is not drinking enough milk even from the bottle. I produce over 1l a day and she is drinking about 680-690ml a day when I thought at 9 weeks she should be drinking at least 720 a day. She has been in the 28th-29th percentile for weight but when I checked today she was on the 24th. Doctors and health visitors seemed happy that she was growing along the 25th percentile so I’m not sure if I should be worried about her weight this morning ? Other than my worries for her feeding, she is a very happy baby. I have tried 4 different kind of bottles and I have settled on the MAM ones as she seems to drink more milk from these, but all your experience is welcome. Are there any tips on what I could do to get her to drink a bit more? She is on size 1 teat, should I try to go next level up in case she gets too tired or is that a bad move? Yesterday, I tried giving her formula milk in the starter pack that comes with the pre-made bottle and teat and she drunk it very quickly and happily. Could she prefer formula over breast milk or is it the teat shape/flow? From the time she wakes up in the morning (around 6) to about 9 in the evening, I feel I constantly have a bottle ready in case she wants to eat, but ultimately I can only give her milk when she’ll drink it (we also wake her up at midnight for extra food). Any tips welcomed, including just accepting she doesn’t have a big appetite. X

[Millbanks]

Hey lovely,

I combi-fed to begin with and found that it became a bit tricky. He was never particularly happy on the breast, even though numerous specialists told us he had a good latch and was sucking well. He just always seemed hungry after.

We had a few days where he cluster fed for the whole day and still wasn't full - and I just had enough - so decided to move exclusively to a bottle and within 2 days he was a happier, fuller baby and actually started sleeping through. This was at 11 weeks.

I tried a lot of different bottles too and the one that he preferred (and still does) is the Lansinoh ones. It might be worth going up a level, I think we went up to a 2 (or the next one up from newborn) at about 11 - 12 weeks as he had started to get a bit frustrated and it made a big difference. Don't be alarmed though if she struggles with it - we went up to a 3 a bit early and he got upset as the flow was too fast. It's all a bit of trial and error.

My little one didn't seem to have a preference between the actual milk (breast or formula) but was very happily guzzling it down from the right bottle. He was never massively fond of the Mam / Tommy Tippee / Dr Browns bottles.

Ultimately all babies are different, so just do whatever works for you. xx

[Habibi87 in reply to Millbanks]

Thank you so much for replying! I have ordered the next size up for the teat and I’ll see if that makes a difference. I will most likely start to reduce pumping and move to formula so that I get to spend more time with her 💕 xx

[Millbanks in reply to Habibi87]

Good plan!

I felt so torn about stopping BF - I felt a lot of pressure to keep going (have to say it was mostly me putting that on myself) but as soon as I did, I couldn't believe how much better we all felt.

Its a big decision I think for a lot of mums, but ultimately if you have a happier baby then you have a happier family!

And I feel that bottle feeding is a lovely experience as I get to nuzzle in to him while he feeds - tricky when you're holding them by your tummy!

xx

[Habibi87 in reply to Millbanks]

I have just tried a size 2 teat and she was so much happier! She drunk faster and happily, no complaining at all and no choking. Thank you again for the support, what you said re formula is really true xx

[Millbanks in reply to Habibi87]

Ah that's great news!! So pleased for you both. xx

[Seb9]

You sound like you're doing amazingly! Pumping mums have my absolute respect! She sounds perfect and so does your milk. 25th percentile is fabulous. If she's backing lots of wet dirty nappies and gaining, she sounds like you're providing her with everything she needs.

Formula is fantastic stuff if pumping gets too much for you, I would not have been able to do it, you're doing everything a breastfeeding mum and bottle feeding mum are doing , so double the work, so if you need to stop or take a break, look after yourself and your needs too.

Congratulations xx

[Habibi87 in reply to Seb9]

Thank you so much Seb9 💕

[LucyAlana]

Well done for giving her breast milk all this time. It is a lot of work but I am sure it has been beneficial for her. The difference between 24th and 29th centile is not significant, if you weighed her morning and afternoon one day to the next, you would see small differences which could easily take you over a few centiles like that, and babies have growth spurts too which means they fluctuate around a centile normally.

Moving forward, you should do what feels right for you and her. Breast milk is great but formula is fine too, there are so many more important things to being a good mum than what type of milk goes in. If all the time spent pumping is affecting what you can do then maybe a switch is right but only you can make that decision. x

[Gardener11]

hello! You’re doing really well, how fantastic to pump as much as you do! It’s so easy to worry about every little thing when they are so young, I did with my LO. My baby was born on 25th centile and now at 5 months is just below the 9th centile and no midwife’s or health visitors are worried at all. It’s a lot to do with genetics and I’m small plus his dad is tall and slim so it’s just how we are built.

I was told the weight they are born at is a reflection of how well the placenta does it’s job and obvs your size and then once born the weight is a lot more to do with genetics. Every baby class I go to my baby is always the smallest even when others are several weeks younger. As long as they are having the standard amounts of wet and dirty nappies then I don’t think weight is an issue. The health professionals will let you know if they think there is a problem.

My lo also had tongue tie and we use Medela bottles which he likes as it’s a good mimic of a nipple. He is exclusively Breastfed but took 3 months to sort breastfeeding out even after TT got sorted at about 9 weeks.

I took him to an osteopath that specialised in babies and he helped a lot with releasing tension from birth and TT.

Focus on the positives and keep going!

[claire16c]

it sounds like she is developing normally and growing well on your breastmilk (which contains more calories per ml than formula) so I would just keep doing what you’re doing! It doesn’t sound like you need to buy any milk. Don’t worry about precise amounts she is drinking - if she was latching wouldn’t know. Just keep feeding responsively and checking for plenty of wet and dirty nappies x

[StarsAllAround]

Hi I had issues with feeding and tongue tie with my lo. The best advise I was given is if your baby is happy, alret, doesn't scream all the time when you put them down, having plenty of wet and dirty nappies then you are not starving them so don't stress about the amount they are eating. Every baby is different and will drink slightly different amounts. If you were feeding from the boob then you wouldn't even know the amount they are getting so it wouldn't be an issue. Also with weight it really can change on a number of factors like if they just had a wee or poo they will weigh lighter or if they have had a big feed will weigh heavier so it's really common to fluctuate between a few percentiles.