8.5 months old and sudden flow preference

[motheram]

I went back to work part time when DS was 4 months old and full time when he was 6 months old. He had, up until the last 2 weeks, switched between bottle and breast without difficulty. Now I am having all sorts of issues. It's become apparent that he has a pretty severe flow preference. He gets very angry at the breast and will only eat enough to take the edge off. This results in me having to feed him every hour. Annoying, but fine during the day. It's near impossible to deal with at night. At night he's so tired and will scream all night resulting in almost no sleep for my husband and I. Before I get any lectures about the sacrifice of sleep and parenting-I get it. This isn't my first rodeo. I'm also not talking about night wakings and a few missed hours; I'm talking about close to absolutely no sleep.

My husband and daycare provider both give bottles in the appropriate way. It is still faster than the breast. I know it's a flow issue and not a nipple preference issue, because DS has zero problem when my supply is highest and the milk flows fast.

Ditching the bottles is not an option unless there is an alternative that's not me. I HAVE to work. He DOES NOT get bottles when I'm around-ever. Formula is not an option for me. This is not a post where I'm asking someone to tell me it's ok to stop.

I don't know what to do. I'm at a complete loss. I'm confident there is a solution that I just am not aware of. Does anybody have ideas?

[motheram]

Anybody?

[CountryGirl0809]

Growth spurt maybe?

[aehanrahan]

Have you tried massage and compressions? That can help get the milk flowing a bit more for him.

[motheram]

Yes, it'll work for a second. I'm wondering if maybe there's a better alternative to bottles? Would a sippy cup be better or would that make the flow even faster?

[aehanrahan]

A sippy could work.  The caregiver can control the flow by tipping it a bit at a time.

[lifetimelove]

Keep in mind that some of this is normal for eight months old anywas. All of mine got like this around this time, and they didn't ever have bottles (except my boys got a couple ounces a couple times when they were about a couple weeks old). The up all night, impatient breastfeeding, all that. I think yours is compounded by the flow preference (he KNOWS he can get milk faster from a different source, whereas a non bottlefed baby does not). I would have them work with the sippy, maybe just letting him drink it by himself.

And keep in mind that a lot of this IS a phase and will get better. It doesn't sound like being stubborn will be a problem for you, just maintaining sanity. Maybe let DH take some of the nighttime wakings?