Update: School me: nipple confusion

[Deleted]

Is this a real thing? The lactation consultant was like "absolutely no pacifier before 3 weeks!"

And then her pediatrician was like "look, this is a healthy, term baby who knows how to suck to get milk from the ace milk comes from. She's not going to get confused. This is about your survival too. If a pacifier gives you an hour of quiet for a nap, give the kid a pacifier." H promptly popped a pacifier in her mouth and we've had no nipple confusion issues over the last few days.

And now I want to rent a pump and pump milk, so that H can feed her too. But there again, another nipple.

What's reality here?

Update: Cora was absolutely inconsolable tonight. I fed her and went to express some breastmilk onto my nipple. Nothing came out. She'd sucked me dry in 5 minutes. We got out the kitchen scale and weighed her; she was down to 7lbs on the kitchen scale. Yes, it was not scientific but we panicked and gave her a bottle of formula. Omg guys, our poor baby was starving!!!! She's so content now and happy. I feel awful; no wonder the poor baby was screaming!

I'm off to read about supplementing breast milk with formula.

Ps: I have so much love for MMM right now.

[ijack]

it CAN be a reality for some kids. DD1 had a pacifier for weeks before she took a bottle, then took a bottle for 4 months before she ever took the boob, and then went back and forth fine between the two. DD2 had a paci on the second day, introduced the bottle a couple weeks later, and went back and forth between the two perfectly.
There are some kids that have issues I guess, but I haven't personally known any. Rent a pump and pump

[anna7602]

Reality is that you can wait too long to introduce a bottle. We did, and it was miserable. I delayed my return from maternity leave by almost a month while DH and a nanny tried to get DD to take a bottle while I went for long walks outside the home.

I am pretty sure I will introduce a bottle at the first possible moment next time around.

[Brie]

We introduced a paci on day 2 and a bottle at 3 weeks. He has no problem with going between them.

[hilwithonelary]

I don't think pacifiers are a big deal as long as they aren't overused. Baby needs to suck a lot in the early weeks to build your supply.

I think bottles can cause a problem. I don't know that it's a confusion problem as much as a preference problem. The milk comes out a lot faster from the bottle, and some babies realize really quickly that it's easier than the breast. The other problem is that it's really easy to over feed a breastfed baby with a bottle. We had to introduce a bottle early on due to weight loss and low diaper output, but I would have waited if I could have. I feel like DD did develop a little preference for the bottle and acted lazier at the breast.

[froggy76]

DD has never had any issues. She had a pacifier in the hospital before I was even able to get her to nurse and she had her first bottle around 2-3 weeks old. I recently saw a study that showed the anti-pacifier movement in "baby friendly" hospitals has actually caused a decrease in BFing rates.

No new mom can be a human pacifier all the time. You need a break. If you refuse to give a pacifier, you are more likely to break down and shove a bottle in the kid's mouth when you can't take it anymore.

[h]

Personally, I think it is a real thing, but that the risk is often greatly exaggerated by lactation consultants. I also think the risk is greater with a bottle than a paci.

I think waiting a bit on the bottle is probably ideal, but I don't think there is anything magic about three weeks. If nursing is well-established at say, 2 weeks, I think it's unlikely that a bottle of pumped milk will cause nipple confusion. OTOH, I do think there is a real risk of waiting too long to introduce a bottle, as anna7602 said. Our ped was a big proponent of introducing a bottle between 2 and 3 weeks and then giving a bottle at least once every other day or so to ensure that they would continue to take it. We introduced a bottle right around 2.5 weeks with both kids and had no issues.

I can't remember when we first tried a pacifier--maybe around 10 days or so. Neither of my kids ever took to it, prefering to comfort nurse instead. I think this time around I may try to introduce it sooner.

[zeewifeandmama]

Team pedi. It *can* be a real thing for some babies, but some don't care at all. If it works for you just roll with it.

[sometimesrunner]

M never had any problems. I used to joke with H that he was a lover of all nipples.

[redheadk]

Nov 19, 2012 17:11:06 GMT -5 Brie said:

We introduced a paci on day 2 and a bottle at 3 weeks. He has no problem with going between them.

This exactly for us, too. DD loves the boob and didn't really get "into" the pacifier until probably 2 months, though she would occasionally accept it before then.

I agree that it's really an exaggerated issue. My DH was worried about it but it was a nonissue for us.

[kangaroo11]

Nov 19, 2012 17:14:38 GMT -5 froggy76 said:

I recently saw a study that showed the anti-pacifier movement in "baby friendly" hospitals has actually caused a decrease in BFing rates.

Do you have a link for this? My hospital is supposedly anti-pacifier and I'm interested in finding out more, as I have to sign a waiver if I want to use a pacifier while there.

[Deleted]

Anecdotal evidence, obviously, but DS had a bottle every night on dr.s orders. I needed sleep because of my BP. I pumped from day 2 in the hospital and ds always had bottles.

Now, I will add that we did have to use a nipple shield, so perhaps the bottle wasn't so different from that? I know that it was never a problem for us. DS just liked food wherever he could get it.

[fortmyersbride]

Like pp have said, I seem to hear more about it happening with bottles than pacifiers.

That being said, both of my kids got pacis in the hospital and bottles within the first week of life. I was more concerned overall about them refusing bottles, especially DS, since I had to go back to work by 7 wks pp with him. turned out that both kids fought the bottle when I went back to work, despite having had them early on.

[pugz]

I think it is way overblown. We waited to introduce the pacifier for like 2 weeks but next time won't do so. Since we were supplementing from day one I don't think it would have made things any more difficult. We started with cup feeding, then switched to a bottle at 1 week when the LC said it would work better. And it definitely did, cup feeding is so messy! We got a boob-like bottle (tommee tippees) and a slow flow nipple. Fed her sitting up instead of reclined and made her work for it (i.e. didn't just shove the nipple in her mouth, she had to latch on to it). We were able to breastfeed & bottle feed together for about 13 weeks. She hit a growth spurt though and then stopped taking the breast since the bottle was so much faster, but she was hardly getting any milk from me anyway. I'm surprised she went that long really!

for a baby that is getting a full meal from the boob? I think they will stick with the boob and a bottle every day or so is no big deal. As for pumping, just be careful to not create an oversupply.

[karinothing]

I agree it is overblown. As long as you make sure to feed the baby when she is hungry I think things will be fine.

As far as a bottle, I personally would wait until your supply is regulated around 6 weeks before starting to pump. You don't want to cause yourself to have an oversupply if you don't have to.

[Deleted]

I think it is overblown but I was still paranoid about it and didn't introduce a paci until 2 weeks.

Pumping is different IMO bc like Kari said it can mess with your supply. I might wait to pump if BFing is going well overall.

[Deleted]

We did the paci at about 2 weeks but waited on bottles until 6.

I wouldn't pump until you're at least through the 3 week growth spurt. Baby at the breast as much as possible establishes a good supply.

[Deleted]

What would I do without you guys?!

I'm not going to feel guilty about the pacifier. I think we'll try to hold out on the bottle for a bit, as the oversupply from pumping issue could be just as problematic. But damn, when she's inconsolable at 1:45, a bottle seems like an easy out. I should remind mysel that its not that she's hungry, she wants comfort and close proximity to my body and the boob are the only comfort measures she knows.

I didn't get a good nap today. She's already fussy and we have newborn/ family photos tomorrow. And then my in-laws arrive in the afternoon to be here through Friday. They insist on trying one night at our house before renting a hotel room. :-\ god help us.

[Deleted]

My DD was a week late and but a poor suck, so the nurses actually encouraged pacifier use to help. DD wouldn't use it until about 3 weeks old and then my life improved for the better.

[dr.girlfriend]

They wouldn't take him to the nursery after my c-section without a paci, so we introduced it right away. He refused a bottle for a long time, but as soon as he was hungry enough he drank it fine.

[loskadoodle]

Ds got a pacifier in the hospital, a bottle in the first week and is still bfing at 5 months. I'm sure it does happen though.

[Xyz]

I think it's overblown...

I didn't give pacifiers or bottles for 4-5 weeks. And the kid then NEVER EVER took a single bottle and tossed pacis with extreme prejudice. It was hell.

Give the psuedo-nips. Save your sanity. Use moderation.

[cjeanette]

We did paci and bottles from day 1 along with nursing. Never had an issue. The benefit to this was that H could feed her at night from day 1.

[niki]

Nov 19, 2012 18:03:44 GMT -5 kangaroo11 said:

Nov 19, 2012 17:14:38 GMT -5 froggy76 said:

I recently saw a study that showed the anti-pacifier movement in "baby friendly" hospitals has actually caused a decrease in BFing rates.

Do you have a link for this? My hospital is supposedly anti-pacifier and I'm interested in finding out more, as I have to sign a waiver if I want to use a pacifier while there.

Link to article about study: moms.today.com/_news/2012/04/30/11434749-no-more-nipple-confusion-study-says-pacifiers-may-help-breast-feeding?lite

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2012 22:06:34 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

We did paci and bottles from day 1 along with nursing. Never had an issue. The benefit to this was that H could feed her at night from day 1.

This is what I will do next time. We introduced a bottle at 2.5 weeks or so with DD and it was already too late--she hated it. Never took a bottle, never took a paci. It was miserable and I still have a lot of anger about all the people who warned me against DD preferring the bottle if she got one too early but never warning me that the opposite could happen, too.

[dumbledore826]

Introduce them!

My LO, who was set-up to have tons if issues, had NO problems. He went seemlessly between boob, boob w/nipple sheild, boob w/supplementor, and bottle. This was after being on bowel rest (no food intake) from days 3-6 and half of day 7 and NOT being given anything to suck on during this time to maintain the instinct. Obviously, every kid is different, but I have never actually met somebody who's kid refused to nurse bc of a bottle or pacifier.

[Deleted]

DD never took a pacifier. She went back and forth from bottle to breast with no issues...until now so I wouldn't call it nipple confusion. She's 8 months this week and hasn't breastfed for over a week.

[pugz]

get to an LC for a weighed feeding stat! It could be a latch issue. They can teach you about doing compressions to get more milk to the baby too.

obviously nothing wrong with supplementing, but formula ain't cheap, lol. I'd see if an LC can help you figure out what might be going on.

[Deleted]

I second the weighed feeding. Breast feeding after a reduction is pretty touchy as far as supply goes. I'd probably rent the pump right now too. I don't think your chance of oversupply is high w the past surgery.

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2012 23:11:07 GMT -5 pugz said:

get to an LC for a weighed feeding stat! It could be a latch issue. They can teach you about doing compressions to get more milk to the baby too.

obviously nothing wrong with supplementing, but formula ain't cheap, lol. I'd see if an LC can help you figure out what might be going on.

We did a weighed feeding with a LC on Friday about mid day. Cora got 2oz over a 40 minute feeding with me manually massaging my breasts the whole time. I've continued to massage my breasts while feeding her. I think she just drains me by the evening. I will make an appointment with an LC for Wednesday; I do think we have a latch problem on the boob.

Our short term plan is to start every feeding with the boob and follow up with the bottle once she gives up the boob. We'll follow up with a LC this week and maybe rent a pump to stimulate production.

At least, that's how things look tonight!