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Breastfeeding.co.uk
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Refusing your breast
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Sometimes your baby may refuse your breast, here
are some ideas why
- maybe her nose is blocked, with a cold, or just
squashed underneath you. Try moving her.Your doctor can prescribe some nose
drops for a stuffy nose.
- If there has been a delay in breastfeeding after
birth, your baby may not want to try the breast, this just means you have to
persevere longer. If your baby is premature, as the nurses if you can give her
expressed breast milk, until you can feed yourself.
- she could be upset, if your baby has just been
woken up, changed and stuck on the breast then she may be to upset. So just rock
her in your arms and sing or talk to her till she relaxes.
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Sucky Babies |
Some babies like to suck on their mothers breast
all day, similar to a dummy I suppose, they like the closeness to their mother
and smell etc. You will come to learn when they are hungry or if they just want
to suck. As long as you do not mind and your nipples are not getting sore, then
there is no problem
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Overfeeding |
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You cannot overfeed a breast-fed baby. Your baby only
takes what she needs and unless you are feeding her something else, (like badly
made up bottles) then her weight will be correct.
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Underfeeding |
Although it is unlikely, it is possible to
underfeed a breast-fed baby. The first signs of this will probably be your baby
wanting to continue sucking even though she's finished both sides of your breast.
The difficulty for you is that you are not sure whether she is hungry, thirsty
or just wants to play at sucking.
so after a feed you could offer some cool
boiled water in a sterilized bottle. If she still seems fretful or cry's a lot,
you could go to the clinic and get your baby weighed.
If your baby has not
gained enough weight, then you know that you have not been producing enough
milk, which can happen if you are run down, tired or just doing too much.
It is
possible to make up your milk supply, which is just by carrying on feeding, if
your baby needs more milk then you could make up a bottle of formula, until you
have enough milk yourself. (ask your health professional)
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