Breastfeeding Question

[MomOfTwo0713]

Ok so my daughter is 3 weeks old and is not wanting to nurse much anymore. She has been a liitle sick with a cold for a few days and just would not nurse most the time. She seems to want a bottle more except at nights and morning. Its not that I mind giving some formula but I do not want my milk to dry up if she is only nursing at night through morning. Do you think I will continue to produce milk or will it dry up?

[SewingMamaLele]

If you continue to give a bottle of formula, she may come to reject you completely, or you may just end up giving so much formula that she doesn't nurse anymore.

Why are you giving her a bottle?   Remember that every oz of formula you give is one less that you will make, and she's still very prone to nipple preference (which is what you are seeing, actually).  

I would drop the bottles, pronto, and just nurse.

[maggiemom2000]

If you continue to give bottles your milk suuply will continue to decrease until you are exclusivley bottle feeding. Baby will likely start refusing the breast more and more.

The best thing to do is to drop all bottles (unless you and baby are separated, of course). If you are there, then nurse!

Hide the bottles and get in bed with baby for the next 24-48 hours.

[MusherMaggie]

Drop the bottles or you will indeed dry up. Drop some breastmilk in her nose, suction it out, sit in a steamy bathroom with her. A bottle is much easier to get milk from, and she has developed a preference for the bottle. It is very easy to overfeed with a bottle which also means she will nurse less--formula is harder to digest and takes much longer. Take her to bed with you for a 48 hour nursing holiday. Put her to breast every time she moves. Diaper count indicates how much she is getting. She should go through 6-8 every 24 hours.

[gdiamante]

She's not wanting to nurse because you're giving the bottles. It's a nasty vicious circle that CAN be broken... but you've gotta break the bottles. Or at least bury them away. 

[KylersMom8-16-7]

Unfortunately giving bottles is the problem. Drop ALL bottles and nurse.

[MomOfTwo0713]

Thank you all. When she was born, I didn't produce enough so the doctors had me supplement, and then when she started getting sick and didn't want to eat, I was worried she wasn't eating enough. Today though, I will stop bottles. I like nursing her much more than bottle feeding. Thats our special time that only I get. NO more bottles. Thanks again!