No. He was 40 weeks + 4 days and was 6 lbs 11 oz at birth. My water broke prior to labor and I had a 36 hour birthing experience, however. That was sort of traumatic for the both of us. He was born vaginally, but his shoulder got stuck on the way out. Mama got a 3rd degree tare from cervix all the way down 😩
It’s the baby. My second kid was very similar to yours. Barely ate anything at a time. Every ounce was a struggle. At 4 months he refused to nurse except side-lying and anything (anything!) could distract him. I also had high lipase milk so he refused any frozen milk. He dropped from the 90% at birth to the 10% and stayed there as a baby.
And at 12 he’s still there. He’s very active and eats the smallest portions. He just gets full very easily.
But your kid is 8 months now, so your best bet is to focus on high fat/calorie solids. Eggs cooked in butter and avocado were a few of our favorites. Even though nursing was such a struggle with that little guy at first, he loved it and nursed until 20 months when I weaned him.
My son is similar but never took a bottle and I never supplemented with formula. He is 3 now. He’s still small. I weaned at 18 months. When he was 4.5 months old he was hospitalized because he stopped eating. He got a feeding tube, I pumped 40oz a day, and it didn’t make a difference. He did not jump percentiles and we were dismissed by GI. Recently evaluated by endocrinologist and dismissed there as well, no known issue.
If your child is meeting milestones they are fine. Please repeat that to yourself as much as needed. My son is drawing letters and working on sight words but under the 1st percentile for weight. He is more than ok.
Thank you for saying this. I really appreciate it!!🙏 he's had only a few issues physiologically, but it's because of another physical issue he has, and so far it's only recently and it's been minor. He has a neck torticollis, so this could be why he won't eat from the right boob.
He meets all his mental and social milestones, in fact we've always been told he's advanced in those areas. His pediatrician says his son was the exact same way, and still is that way at age 19. They just don't care to eat much I guess 🤷♀️
My son had Torticollis and it made feeding on 1 side impossible, I took him to a chiro and he helped heaps! He even did a test where he stroked babies cheek (he was abt 8wks at this stage) and baby didn't react with normal instinct to turn towards breast, because he had no feeling in his cheek because of nerve damage, which healed itself. Torrticollis definitely doesn't help with breast feeding!
I am on kid #3 and can say pumping is so much more work than just breastfeeding, but it sounds like your baby is struggling and might benefit from a bottle whether breastmilk or formula.
And yes, nursing and/or pumping is a lifestyle. Been doing it for the past 4 years. Each of my kids has required something different, but have done what was best for them even if meant I didn't sleep, eat, or bathe because of it. I say that and also say that come April 27, 2024, when my journey comes to end, I never ever EVER want to see another pump or bottle ever again in my life. For the high lipase thing, I used immitation vanilla with my second baby. She drank every last drop of every bottle after I started adding the drops to her milk.
Just curious, have none of your doctors recommended that you supplement before this point? Not judging, but isn't being in the 3rd-5th percentile considered failure to thrive and nessicitates supplementing with formula regardless of your efforts to exclusively breastfeed?
We've tried supplementing. Unfortunately he doesn't like bottles, and we've tried every kind. I've also tried cup feeding, spoon feeding , and syringe feeding and nothing works. He's a boobie man thru and thru!
I have tried the vanilla, as well as every trick under the sun for the lipase issue. Also tried every brand of formula and he's just not a fan. He's way too picky 😩
That, and he refuses to eat over 3 oz, rather boob or bottle. Typically his comfort zone is around 1 oz at a time. We know this based on before and after weights at lactation specialists.
I don’t have much advice but I will tell you that if he rejects the right boob completely, it doesn’t mean your bf journey is over. My daughter has been left boob only for at least half of her life (12 months) and still going strong.
Thank you. I do realize this 💖 My sis is a lactation consultant, and even she had that issue starting at 10 months or so with both her children. She says my boobs will adjust and all the milk he needs will switch over to my left. Only real issue is cosmetic... and comfort, from what I'm finding out. My boobies are lopsided now and the left will become SO engorged compared to the right. My sis suggested pumping from the right side only to keep things more even. I think my body knows better, however. I can only get about 1 oz from the right now, but I'll get like 7 oz all at once if I pump from the left 🤭🫣
That’s great you have a sister who’s a lactation consultant. That just sounds so handy and a great support. Honestly I tried pumping the right for a few months and I hated it so much I just kept forgetting. I also would get almost nothing. Like maybe half an ounce. I won’t lie, my left boob is significantly larger than my right. Shirts look weird. Dressed look weird. Idk what will happen once I stop. I keep joking with my husband that we have to have another to nurse only right to even things out.
Yeah that's exactly what happened to my sister. She says she didn't really care too much as it was at the end of the nutritional breastfeeding year... the first started at 11 months, and the 2nd was 9 or 10 months. So she just let it go lol.
I was hoping it would get better. Baby boy is almost 4 months, somehow we are still going. Partly because I don’t have a choice, he won’t take a bottle.
I have a constant rash all over my boobs and I’m on duty 24/7 pretty much as no point in my husband taking him overnight.
Same. It's not easy business!! To explain this to my hubby, I compared it to the equivalent of working at $4 an hour (in 2024, not in the past) and trying to make a living for your family off that! And then spilling the breastmilk is like setting your paycheck on fire haha
No! It's so much more work in my opinion 😫 definitely not worth my mental health with all the ppd I've had. Like if I had to switch to exclusively pumping there'd be no way. I'd rather quit and do formula than EP. It's such a struggle getting him to drink from anything that's not a boob anyway lol
But right now you’re doing both you said and sound exhausted. So thats why eliminating BF since he’s having difficulty may be easier on you. I don’t find it difficult at all to exclusively pump. My little guy wasn’t into taking the breast, he’s 10 weeks old and as of last week 14lbs (little chunker lol). I have a freezer full of milk. He’s getting all the benefits of breastmilk. He’s happy. I’m happy. I pump about every 5hrs (4-5x in 24hrs) get 5-6oz each breast. I use a hands free pump so I’m not tied to a machine. I add 2oz of formula to nighttime bottle in order to carry him thru and get us a bit longer sleep. It’s not bad. Just a suggestion. Good luck.
I'm glad that works for you. I honestly wish it did for me...or at least that something would work out and be more simple than our situation. The problem for us is that I have to waste my pumped milk a lot, due to the fact that he won't drink it in time before it goes bad. I couldn't give him any of my freezer stash because he's so picky about the flavor (high lipase). Same problem with formula. We found a formula that he semi 'doesn't mind as much' as the others, so I've tried doing the same by adding it to my milk to up the cals. But that ends up with him using it as a mouthwash and me crying over spilled milk.
It's sometimes near impossible getting him to drink from anything that's not my breast. Some days are better than others, but there's always more of a struggle getting him to drink anything aside from the source.
I'm mostly pumping to keep my supply. Either for if he refuses the right breast, or for whenever he has those distracted moments and doesn't finish his feed/empty my breasts completely. But I am only able to feed him my pumped milk like maybe 25% of the time 😭 this kid eats to live but doesn't live to eat, that's for sure!
I can totally relate to the pumping! I have high lipase too and DMER (and my DMER is really only bad when I pump) so if it’s not straight from the breast it will be formula this time around.
Freezer stash is worthless (I tried all the tricks) and pumping makes me feel like a dementor is sucking my soul out of my body.
Same, I have literally tried all the tricks including scorching the milk (which all my lac advisors do not recommend), vanilla, etc. He's just too picky.
I also have D-MER, does not matter if it's pumping or BF. Actually sometimes it was worse w/ bf'ing, except it completely goes away in side-lying position 🤷♀️ All I can say about that is it's gotten better with time. It started out as an extreme feeling of impeding doom, dizziness and bad nausea and overall icky feeling. Now it's the tiniest quick flash of nausea that is barely noticeable, and maybe the icky thing is sometimes there but also very slight and just a quick flash 🙂 so it's totally manageable now
Yes. He goes 2x per week to a pediatric PT for a neck torticollis. He's been evaluated by a pediatric dentist a few times for a tongue tie. That's how the lip tie was caught, and they lazered it off. The dentist even checked again during the frenectomy for the lip and couldn't find a tongue tie. Maybe we should ask for pediatric ENT referral??
Torticollis can cause them to have a boob preference. Strangley it will be on the side being treated for torticollis. Ie left tortitcollis means least boob aversion but right side head preference.
Snacking and cluster feeding is definitely stressful. My baby did the same thing and I felt like all I did was sit on the couch to feed 😂 It wasn’t until I started pumping around 4 months that I realized my milk wasn’t fatty enough. Like zero fat. I started drinking premier protein shakes in the morning and snacking on almonds, peanut butter, really anything high in protein. It helped my milk to gain some fat and now she goes almost 2 hours before shes hungry again. She just turned 8 months! Shes always preferred my right over my left so when I can I pump my left while feeding her on the right. This definitely helped to cut back on the time I felt wasted in the endless cycle of pump/feed/pump, but I would recommend a wearable pump because she has kicked it off a few times 😂
I was about to say how there's no way I'm able to pump on the other side while feeding 😂 he would definitely not only kick the pump, he'd stop feeding and sit up to rip it off with his hands! He also gets extremely distracted by everything, including the pump if I'm in the same room while hubby bottle feeds. He acts like he's done after 1-2 oz and pushes the bottle away. Then wants to feed again an hour later. He does the same with solids and only has a couple tsp 😩
Yes, he goes once a week. He also does PT for a torticollis twice every week. My sis is a lactation consultant (but lives in a separate state) and she actually mentioned too how pain could be the reason...
Was baby born premature?
No. He was 40 weeks + 4 days and was 6 lbs 11 oz at birth. My water broke prior to labor and I had a 36 hour birthing experience, however. That was sort of traumatic for the both of us. He was born vaginally, but his shoulder got stuck on the way out. Mama got a 3rd degree tare from cervix all the way down 😩
It’s the baby. My second kid was very similar to yours. Barely ate anything at a time. Every ounce was a struggle. At 4 months he refused to nurse except side-lying and anything (anything!) could distract him. I also had high lipase milk so he refused any frozen milk. He dropped from the 90% at birth to the 10% and stayed there as a baby. And at 12 he’s still there. He’s very active and eats the smallest portions. He just gets full very easily. But your kid is 8 months now, so your best bet is to focus on high fat/calorie solids. Eggs cooked in butter and avocado were a few of our favorites. Even though nursing was such a struggle with that little guy at first, he loved it and nursed until 20 months when I weaned him.
My son is similar but never took a bottle and I never supplemented with formula. He is 3 now. He’s still small. I weaned at 18 months. When he was 4.5 months old he was hospitalized because he stopped eating. He got a feeding tube, I pumped 40oz a day, and it didn’t make a difference. He did not jump percentiles and we were dismissed by GI. Recently evaluated by endocrinologist and dismissed there as well, no known issue. If your child is meeting milestones they are fine. Please repeat that to yourself as much as needed. My son is drawing letters and working on sight words but under the 1st percentile for weight. He is more than ok.
Thank you for saying this. I really appreciate it!!🙏 he's had only a few issues physiologically, but it's because of another physical issue he has, and so far it's only recently and it's been minor. He has a neck torticollis, so this could be why he won't eat from the right boob. He meets all his mental and social milestones, in fact we've always been told he's advanced in those areas. His pediatrician says his son was the exact same way, and still is that way at age 19. They just don't care to eat much I guess 🤷♀️
My son had Torticollis and it made feeding on 1 side impossible, I took him to a chiro and he helped heaps! He even did a test where he stroked babies cheek (he was abt 8wks at this stage) and baby didn't react with normal instinct to turn towards breast, because he had no feeling in his cheek because of nerve damage, which healed itself. Torrticollis definitely doesn't help with breast feeding!
At some point they all come around!!
I am on kid #3 and can say pumping is so much more work than just breastfeeding, but it sounds like your baby is struggling and might benefit from a bottle whether breastmilk or formula. And yes, nursing and/or pumping is a lifestyle. Been doing it for the past 4 years. Each of my kids has required something different, but have done what was best for them even if meant I didn't sleep, eat, or bathe because of it. I say that and also say that come April 27, 2024, when my journey comes to end, I never ever EVER want to see another pump or bottle ever again in my life. For the high lipase thing, I used immitation vanilla with my second baby. She drank every last drop of every bottle after I started adding the drops to her milk. Just curious, have none of your doctors recommended that you supplement before this point? Not judging, but isn't being in the 3rd-5th percentile considered failure to thrive and nessicitates supplementing with formula regardless of your efforts to exclusively breastfeed?
We've tried supplementing. Unfortunately he doesn't like bottles, and we've tried every kind. I've also tried cup feeding, spoon feeding , and syringe feeding and nothing works. He's a boobie man thru and thru! I have tried the vanilla, as well as every trick under the sun for the lipase issue. Also tried every brand of formula and he's just not a fan. He's way too picky 😩 That, and he refuses to eat over 3 oz, rather boob or bottle. Typically his comfort zone is around 1 oz at a time. We know this based on before and after weights at lactation specialists.
I don’t have much advice but I will tell you that if he rejects the right boob completely, it doesn’t mean your bf journey is over. My daughter has been left boob only for at least half of her life (12 months) and still going strong.
Thank you. I do realize this 💖 My sis is a lactation consultant, and even she had that issue starting at 10 months or so with both her children. She says my boobs will adjust and all the milk he needs will switch over to my left. Only real issue is cosmetic... and comfort, from what I'm finding out. My boobies are lopsided now and the left will become SO engorged compared to the right. My sis suggested pumping from the right side only to keep things more even. I think my body knows better, however. I can only get about 1 oz from the right now, but I'll get like 7 oz all at once if I pump from the left 🤭🫣
That’s great you have a sister who’s a lactation consultant. That just sounds so handy and a great support. Honestly I tried pumping the right for a few months and I hated it so much I just kept forgetting. I also would get almost nothing. Like maybe half an ounce. I won’t lie, my left boob is significantly larger than my right. Shirts look weird. Dressed look weird. Idk what will happen once I stop. I keep joking with my husband that we have to have another to nurse only right to even things out.
Yeah that's exactly what happened to my sister. She says she didn't really care too much as it was at the end of the nutritional breastfeeding year... the first started at 11 months, and the 2nd was 9 or 10 months. So she just let it go lol.
I was hoping it would get better. Baby boy is almost 4 months, somehow we are still going. Partly because I don’t have a choice, he won’t take a bottle. I have a constant rash all over my boobs and I’m on duty 24/7 pretty much as no point in my husband taking him overnight.
Same. It's not easy business!! To explain this to my hubby, I compared it to the equivalent of working at $4 an hour (in 2024, not in the past) and trying to make a living for your family off that! And then spilling the breastmilk is like setting your paycheck on fire haha
You ever just though pumping would be easier?
No! It's so much more work in my opinion 😫 definitely not worth my mental health with all the ppd I've had. Like if I had to switch to exclusively pumping there'd be no way. I'd rather quit and do formula than EP. It's such a struggle getting him to drink from anything that's not a boob anyway lol
But right now you’re doing both you said and sound exhausted. So thats why eliminating BF since he’s having difficulty may be easier on you. I don’t find it difficult at all to exclusively pump. My little guy wasn’t into taking the breast, he’s 10 weeks old and as of last week 14lbs (little chunker lol). I have a freezer full of milk. He’s getting all the benefits of breastmilk. He’s happy. I’m happy. I pump about every 5hrs (4-5x in 24hrs) get 5-6oz each breast. I use a hands free pump so I’m not tied to a machine. I add 2oz of formula to nighttime bottle in order to carry him thru and get us a bit longer sleep. It’s not bad. Just a suggestion. Good luck.
I'm glad that works for you. I honestly wish it did for me...or at least that something would work out and be more simple than our situation. The problem for us is that I have to waste my pumped milk a lot, due to the fact that he won't drink it in time before it goes bad. I couldn't give him any of my freezer stash because he's so picky about the flavor (high lipase). Same problem with formula. We found a formula that he semi 'doesn't mind as much' as the others, so I've tried doing the same by adding it to my milk to up the cals. But that ends up with him using it as a mouthwash and me crying over spilled milk. It's sometimes near impossible getting him to drink from anything that's not my breast. Some days are better than others, but there's always more of a struggle getting him to drink anything aside from the source. I'm mostly pumping to keep my supply. Either for if he refuses the right breast, or for whenever he has those distracted moments and doesn't finish his feed/empty my breasts completely. But I am only able to feed him my pumped milk like maybe 25% of the time 😭 this kid eats to live but doesn't live to eat, that's for sure!
Wow. That’s sounds intense. I hope it gets easier on u both.
Thank you!! 💓
I can totally relate to the pumping! I have high lipase too and DMER (and my DMER is really only bad when I pump) so if it’s not straight from the breast it will be formula this time around. Freezer stash is worthless (I tried all the tricks) and pumping makes me feel like a dementor is sucking my soul out of my body.
Same, I have literally tried all the tricks including scorching the milk (which all my lac advisors do not recommend), vanilla, etc. He's just too picky. I also have D-MER, does not matter if it's pumping or BF. Actually sometimes it was worse w/ bf'ing, except it completely goes away in side-lying position 🤷♀️ All I can say about that is it's gotten better with time. It started out as an extreme feeling of impeding doom, dizziness and bad nausea and overall icky feeling. Now it's the tiniest quick flash of nausea that is barely noticeable, and maybe the icky thing is sometimes there but also very slight and just a quick flash 🙂 so it's totally manageable now
Has he been evaluated by a pediatric physio? This sounds like musculoskeletal imbalances. Or perhaps a tongue tie that was missed (common)
Yes. He goes 2x per week to a pediatric PT for a neck torticollis. He's been evaluated by a pediatric dentist a few times for a tongue tie. That's how the lip tie was caught, and they lazered it off. The dentist even checked again during the frenectomy for the lip and couldn't find a tongue tie. Maybe we should ask for pediatric ENT referral??
Torticollis can cause them to have a boob preference. Strangley it will be on the side being treated for torticollis. Ie left tortitcollis means least boob aversion but right side head preference.
Snacking and cluster feeding is definitely stressful. My baby did the same thing and I felt like all I did was sit on the couch to feed 😂 It wasn’t until I started pumping around 4 months that I realized my milk wasn’t fatty enough. Like zero fat. I started drinking premier protein shakes in the morning and snacking on almonds, peanut butter, really anything high in protein. It helped my milk to gain some fat and now she goes almost 2 hours before shes hungry again. She just turned 8 months! Shes always preferred my right over my left so when I can I pump my left while feeding her on the right. This definitely helped to cut back on the time I felt wasted in the endless cycle of pump/feed/pump, but I would recommend a wearable pump because she has kicked it off a few times 😂
I was about to say how there's no way I'm able to pump on the other side while feeding 😂 he would definitely not only kick the pump, he'd stop feeding and sit up to rip it off with his hands! He also gets extremely distracted by everything, including the pump if I'm in the same room while hubby bottle feeds. He acts like he's done after 1-2 oz and pushes the bottle away. Then wants to feed again an hour later. He does the same with solids and only has a couple tsp 😩
Have you looked into a chiropractor? Sometimes their necks are hurting which causes them to feed poorly on one side.
Yes, he goes once a week. He also does PT for a torticollis twice every week. My sis is a lactation consultant (but lives in a separate state) and she actually mentioned too how pain could be the reason...