When Does A Baby Latch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the same poster from 5/29 and 6/02 about my newborn not gaining weight, and if pumped milk has the same benefits as nursing. I switched to pumping shortly after his two week appointment because he wasn’t gaining weight. He had a “ weak” suck and the LC said he will may get better with age and his latch and suck get stronger. I’ve been exclusively pumping since then with the hopes that we can switch to breastfeeding. My baby is now 14 weeks old and won’t breastfeed. We have tried at least once a day since 4 week to see if he would latch and he won’t. He had been gaining weight and he is happy and healthy. I’ve been considering switching thing to formula, but then I start to wonder if he will eventually catch on and want to nurse. I have 6 months maternity leave and I’m considering pumping until then to see if he will nurse. I don’t plan to pump with work or pump when my he becomes more active unless he’s breastfeeding. Do you think he will ever latch? Should I keep pumping until 6 months or switch to formula?

I am in a very small minority that had a baby latch at 4 months. Dont try and do it while he is awake. Try during twilight sleep or a nap. Continue to do skin to skin. I took skin to skin naps every afternoon with him to help my supply when I was EP. He latched during an afternoon nap one day. We still had to go to the LC a few times afterwards 1- because I didnt believe it was actually working 2- it was still a bit shallow 3- needed to do weighted feeds to ensure the transfer was enough bc with pumping you can see how much you are producing and well PPA is a b*** just an FYI. I tried breastfeeding for the first few weeks and we had so many issues. Tongue tie, lip tie, reflux, other issues. I stopped trying around 4 weeks and just EP but would try to latch one/week when both of us were calm- a hard balance since PP was a very difficult time for me and he had reflux.

Switch if you need to or want to. Theres no point in continuing to EP if you are going to stop when you go back to work. Youll want to transition to formula before you decide to stop and IME the longer you breastfeed the more hormonal swing as you wean.

Make the best decision for your family.

OP here. I don’t hold him for naps. He is sleeps in the the Snoo for night and naps. I pump while he naps. I have tried various times throughout the day and he won’t have it. He will suck for maybe a minute and then scream. He acts like I’m hurting him if I try to stick my nipple in his mouth. He won’t even nurse for comfort.

I like the idea of breastfeeding during this time with the pandemic and during flu/cold season. If I go to 6 months, will probably have enough milk to get him to a year if I give him 1-2 bottles a day, or 8/9 months if I give him all of the breast milk. We do give him a bottle of formula a day so he is used to it when I stop pumping.

[Anonymous]

I don’t have advice but I’m thinking of pumping because I don’t like nursing. What would you recommend? My baby 1 months old. I prefer the pump.

[Anonymous]

I’m in the minority but I think you should continue until 6 months for the immunity benefits.

I had my baby in June and had latch and weight issues too. I decided pumping was the best choice and I plan to pump until 6 months. My baby is a little over 8 weeks and I pump 7 times a day. It’s hard but it’s worth it to me. I have a large supply and I’m able to freeze 4-8 ounces a day on top of the 28 ounces he eats. I also feed him one bottle of formula a day to make sure he is used to it.

I would keep pumping if possible. You can stop if it gets too be too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t have advice but I’m thinking of pumping because I don’t like nursing. What would you recommend? My baby 1 months old. I prefer the pump.

Not OP but I’m the PP that just posted. I chose to pump after latch and weight issues. I liked knowing how much my baby ate, but wanted to give him breast milk.

I started off pumping every two hours during the day and every 3 hours at night. Every two hours was too much and I ended up switching to pumping every 3 hours. He started sleeping longer stretches at night and I would drop a pump when he did so I wasn’t having to wake up and pump. I’m down to 7 pumps.

This is our schedule

7am: I wake up and pump
7:30: baby wakes up and eats
10am: I pump
10:30am: baby eats
1pm: Pump
1:30: Feed
4pm: Pump
4:30: Feed
7pm: Pump
7:30pm: Feed
10pm: Pump
4am: Pump and feed

Most people I know who pump feed their baby next days milk but I feed my baby the milk I just pumped. I put whatever he won’t eat in the fridge to use for another feed or to freeze.

I plan to drop the 4am pump when he starts sleeping through the night and then slowly increasing the time in between pumps. I don’t think that will happen for another 1-2 months.

My baby sleeps in my room so I use the nursery as my pumping station. I would recommend you get a place where you can have your pump set up and ready to go.

[Anonymous]

At 14weeks, I doubt he will latch unless you want to have some intense intervention with a LC. I would switch to formula if I was EP and not nursing. The only reason I nursed was because it was easier - pumping seems harder than mixing formula.

My first child had a weak suck, but I put him to the breast for every feeding first and topped him up with pumped milk after each feeding. I was completely BF without bottles by 6 weeks. It was a grueling schedule, but it was my 1st kid and I was stubborn. If it was my second kid, I would have done formula and saved myself a lot of stress.

I don’t see how the baby would have gotten stronger at latching and sucking if he was only practicing once a day.

[Anonymous]

Had the same issue with my son when he was an infant and I ended up pumping for over a year. In my experience, he did not start latching later. Why would he? A bottle is easier for them.

[Anonymous]

My first didn’t really latch well until around 4 months at which point I was only nursing for comfort at bedtime and using formula otherwise. My second, latched within an hour of birth. That’s when I realized how much time I wasted trying to get my first to latch! Some babies are just poor breast feeders. Thankfully we have the option for bottles!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried a nipple shield yet? Mine wouldn’t latch without one until about 6 months but was able to nurse quite easily while using it. Probably worth a try if you haven’t already. Otherwise I’d probably be inclined to pick a deadline and do formula if it doesn’t happen by then.

+1

Nipple shields are amazing.

I hope you are working with a lactation consultant.

+1,000 Nipple shield and lactation consultants were life-changing. I had the same experience as the PP, but mine learned to nurse without the nipple shield at 4 months. Some lactation consultants will steer you away from them. Don't take no for an answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried a nipple shield yet? Mine wouldn’t latch without one until about 6 months but was able to nurse quite easily while using it. Probably worth a try if you haven’t already. Otherwise I’d probably be inclined to pick a deadline and do formula if it doesn’t happen by then.

+1

Nipple shields are amazing.

I hope you are working with a lactation consultant.

+2. I would not have been able to continue breastfeeding if not for these. Used them a few months, easy transition off and then nursed for 18mo. without

[Anonymous]

Agree with all the posters that mentioned nipple shields. They are a game changer. Do give them a try if you haven’t already

[Anonymous]

You should have had the nurse I had when my son was born. She was mean (yelling at me because I didn't want to stay in bed after the delivery) but when I was trying BF and not getting much of anywhere she said something like "just stuff it in" and reached down and baby got a big mouthful of breast and clamped down.

[Anonymous]

I’m sure you’ve explored all of this and tried, but here are my suggestions:

1. Get an evaluation for tongue / lip tie; that may be factoring in together with a weaker suck

2. Put baby to breast before each feeding; if he gets frustrated not being able to do it and wanting the bottle, growls him a little earlier than normal to try or when he is done with the bottle try to latch him before burping. I think if you want to give it a fighting chance you need to try to latch every time you do a feeding, not just once a day.

3. Try the nipple shield again! You may need a different size.

4. Rest assured it is totally fine to continue pumping or switch to formula or do both. I had a lip and tongue tied preemie who could never latch. I tried all of the above, which was good advice from lots of different people, and it still just did not work out for us. It sucked, but my baby did awesome on formula and after a few I tried all of the above, which was good advice from lots of different people, and it still just did not work out for us. I was pumping eight times a day and getting maybe 2 ounces total for the entire day. It sucked, but my baby did awesome on formula only and after a few days, the stress and guilt I had melted away. Good luck whatever you choose!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should have had the nurse I had when my son was born. She was mean (yelling at me because I didn't want to stay in bed after the delivery) but when I was trying BF and not getting much of anywhere she said something like "just stuff it in" and reached down and baby got a big mouthful of breast and clamped down.

I had a similar experience with a LC. She almost violently forced it down his throat to the point it stimulated the reflex and he was forced to nurse. I was shocked at how forceful she was. As a first time mom I would never have the confidence to do that.

[Anonymous]

OP I think if you want him to nurse you will have to be a little mean and let him taste hunger by withholding the bottle. He is lazy. Some are. I had very difference experiences between only 2 babies. One required a lactation consultant and supplementary nursing system, the other latched in the recovery room of the OR like a champ.

[Anonymous]

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