Is It Safe To Go Cold Turkey When Switching From...
I currently exclusively breastfeeding, but go back to work monday. My baby is 3 months old and won’t take the bottle. He did a few times in the past, but won’t really now. We have tried different bottles, nipples, everything. If he dosn’t take it soon we are gonna have to go cold turkey. Is this safe. Has this happend to anyone else. I know he won’t starve, but I am really nervous.
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3 Responses to “Is It Safe To Go Cold Turkey When Switching From Breast To Bottle?”
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June 26th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
He won’t starve if you only nurse him when you are together either. You wouldn’t wake a 3 month old that choose to sleep 8-12 hours without nursing -so respect the baby if they choose to only nurse when mom is around.
But no its not safe for mom to stop cold turkey you can get plugged ducts, mastitis, and breast abscess. Not to mention depression from the rapid hormone changes.http://www.kellymom.com/newman/17feed_ba…
1. Babies must learn to take a bottle so that they can be fed when the mother is not there.
Not true. Some exclusively breastfed babies will not take a bottle by 2 or 3 months of age. Most, who have not taken a bottle, and even some who did accept a bottle in the first weeks of life will not take one by the time they are 4 or 5 months of age. This is no tragedy, and there is no reason to give a bottle early so that the baby knows how. If your baby is refusing to take a bottle, do not try to force him; you and he may become very frustrated and there is just no need to go through all this. If the baby is at least 6 months of age when you start back at outside work, the baby quite simply does not need to take a bottle. If he is even 4 months, he does not need to take a bottle. He can be fed liquids or solids off a spoon just as any other 6 month old and by 6 months of age he can be taking enough so that he will not be hungry during the day. Furthermore, he can start learning to drink from a cup even by 5 or 6 months of age. The cup can be an open cup and does not need to have a spout. Start with water as your baby may spill a fair amount at first. If, however, he has not got the hang of the cup by the time you must leave him, do not worry, he can take fluids off a spoon, or the solid foods can be mixed with more liquid (expressed milk, juice, water). Obviously, if the baby is to be taking a fair amount of a variety of foods by 6 months of age, he may need to be started on solids by 5 months of age. However, some babies prefer to wait for the mother in order to drink something. This is fine; many babies sleep 12 hours at night without drinking or eating at all.http://www.workandpump.com/reversecyclin…
Reverse Cycling
Reverse Cycling basically means that your baby has nights and days mixed up, and eats more at night and sleeps more during the day. This sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it? A baby up all night? You’ve got a job to go to, how are you supposed to sleep?
Well, it’s not really all that bad. In fact, some moms actively encourage their babies to reverse cycle. Why?? Well, the more your baby eats when you’re together, the less he’ll need when you’re apart. Bottom line – less bottles, less pumping. For moms who work in places where it’s really hard to pump, this can be a godsend.
The keys to making reverse cycling work for you are 1) Making sure your baby gets enough to eat, and 2) Getting enough sleep. Both of these can be solved with the same strategy: Having your baby sleep close to you.
If your baby is close to you at night, a few neat things happen.
Your baby eats more: If your baby is close to you at night, you’ll probably find he eats more during the night. The reason for this is that when your baby wakes up, you’re more likely to wake up with him and feed him. He also may wake up more often with you close by. Babies who sleep alone sleep more deeply (a risk factor for SIDS) and tend to eat less at night (needing more bottles during the day).
You get better rest: Wait a minute, I just said your baby would wake up more, that you would wake up more – how does this make for better rest?
The secret is that you and your baby get into similar sleep cycles. When your baby is in a separate room, he wakes up on his sleep cycles, you’re on yours, and there’s no coordination – so he might be waking up when you’re in your deepest sleep (when it’s a lot harder to wake up and harder to fall back asleep). http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/alter…
Alternative Feeding Methods
There are a number of options for feeding baby when you are unable to directly breastfeed – a bottle is only one of them. If your baby is older than 4-6 months old, consider going straight to a cup. If your baby is less than 3-4 weeks old, it is best to avoid the use of a bottle for a couple of reasons:
* regular use of a bottle instead of breastfeeding can interfere with mom’s efforts to establish a good milk supply
* bottle use also increases baby’s risk of nipple confusion or flow preference
Following are some resources for alternative feeding methods.
Bottle | Cup, Dropper, Spoon | Finger Feeding | At Breast | Back to Breast | Older Babieshttp://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/how_w…
Sudden Weaning
Stopping breastfeeding abruptly, or “cold turkey,” can be very distressing for both mother and baby and can cause plugged ducts, breast infection, or even a breast abscess. Hormone levels are also more likely to take a drastic plunge, causing mood swings, depression, etc. It’s very rare that sudden weaning is truly necessary. If someone suggests to you that this is required, get a second opinion. It would also be helpful to talk to a lactation consultant and/or a La Leche League Leader, who will be able to suggest alternatives and, if necessary, help you to wean with as little distress to mom and baby as possible.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
You don’t mention how long you will be away from your baby, but don’t quit cold turkey – breast feed before you leave for work, pump a couple of times while you are at work, breast feed as soon as you get home and again as often as you can before you go to bed.
The following day, leave the sitter the two or three bottles you pumped the day before, and do the same again (pump two bottles while you are at work). This way you will maintain your milk supply, your little one is getting the wonderful breast milk, and on the days that you don’t work, you can breast feed exclusively.
By the way, once you are not there, chances are that he will drink from a bottle, he won’t take a bottle of formula from you because he knows you have the real thing!
Good Luck!
June 26th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Assuming that you are gone less than… 10 or so hours during the day and you are willing to allow him to nurse as often as he wants while you’re at home (even at night), he should be fine. Many 3 month olds will sleep through the night for 12 hours with out a feed and be okay, as long as they are getting plenty to eat during the day. You could reverse that and allow him unlimited nursing while you’re home and shouldn’t have any major problems.