Thanks, Lenore. Whatever will help Henry get latched is the bottle for me. A new friend that was a milk donor is going to send me her Evenflow bottles .. she said they helped her when her daughter went on a brief strike.

In the meantime, I'll start using the Avent.

Mahalo.

Christina,
How is Henry doing? How did you like the Evenflo bottles? Will Henry take the Avent bottles? Levi won't...he won't take the Playtex silicone nipple, either, only the brown one. Talk about picky!

Jill

Hi Jill,

Haven't received the Evenflo bottles yet, and he still takes the Avent bottle ... he's a very flexible baby except when it comes to nursing! I notice the brown Playtex nipples are softer than the silicone ... more pliable I guess is the key description. Henry likes both the brown and the clear silicone Playtex Premier nipples

Anyway, the new IBLC gave me some homework and I admit I have not been a good student .. inlaws just arrived today to visit and I have a nasty cold and have just felt a bit defeated lately. I've got to get my ch`i back in order here. I'm still not giving up ... but since you asked a status .. that's what it is today! I guess every day is not rosy in the nursing department here. Other than nursing woes, Henry is doing great. He is such a happy baby .. I am very blessed. He is 22 pounds by the way ... 7 months old!

Thanks for asking, Jill.

Aloha,

Hi Christina,

We're in the same boat. Ethan went on a nursing strike this week. He's teething and even had trouble taking a bottle. Now if I wasn't an LC I would have thought that perhaps he was weaning himself but we know that's not the case. So got my pump out and rescued my milk supply which was rapidly going south. And today he latched again. He only took one side and konked out but it's a start.

My point is not to give up. Try again when you're feeling better and when Henry is sleepy. It's easier to get a sleepy baby back to the breast.

Fondly,

Whew! Glad to hear Ethan is back on and you rescued your supply. My supply is shaky right now too .. I found the decongestant affected it and I should have known better!

Got the Evenflo bottles today and tried one tonight and Henry refused it ... I take that as a good sign as perhaps that means it is more like the breast. Anyway, will try some more in the morning and all day tomorrow and so on. Anyway, off to bed to get some rest and get on the mend.

Thanks for the encouranging words, Lenore.

Well, I've not been on the boards in a while .. thought you all would like to know that I have pretty much accepted that Henry did wean himself quite early ... about 6 months old. He is nine months tomorrow .. hard to believe. I tried the Adiri nurser too. I am still pumping and plan to until he is 12 months old.

Many thanks for your support and suggestions. It really means a lot to know that so many people care.

Aloha,
Christina

Hi Christina,

You can still continue to offer your breast. Henry may surprise you and take it. Ethan's nursing stike lasted a little over a week. Now, every time he sees me he makes a beeline for me and tries to lift my shirt!!

I really thought it was over when Ethan went on strike but it turned out that he was only teething. He's since had another episode like that one that only lasted a couple of days.

He's starting to truly wean now and so he only nurses three times a day and is moving onto a cup. He's almost 14 months old. This is a fairly normal pattern of behaviour for a baby this age. I'm taking it very slow because this is my last baby (I'm 45 and so the shop is closed) and I really want to relish my time with him as a breastfeeding mother-baby duo.

If it's any consolation, I had a heck of a time with Adam in the beginning. And he went through several breast refusals. In the end we made it to 8 months and then I had to stop so that I could jump back on the infertility treadmill.

I had a bit of a hard time in the beginning with Ethan because of his oral anatomy. Breastfeeding really hurt for the first month until his mouth grew a little larger and I became more capable....see even lactation consultants can have a hard time when it's their own baby. I'm very happy that I stuck it out and made it to this point but it was rough, especially when he was not sleeping through the night....he didn't sleep through the night until he was a year old!!! And now Adam is waking up at 3 am to crawl into bed with me because he's at the age when they get night terrors.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you so that you would know that you're not alone honey.

Fondly,

Hi Lenore (and the whole board!),

Thanks so much for your encouragement. I love hearing yours and everyone's stories. Actually, I do still hope he'll change his mind and still do offer the breast once in a while. As a matter of fact, he is teething right now ... the top left tooth just cut through today.

Yet another lactation consultant told me she thinks I'm nuts for still trying and that I should give up pumping too (given that I have donated milk). I told her even though I'm only producing 2-3 ounces per day ... it's fresh .. and that is so much better for him than frozen. She responded by saying that she thought it was more important that I just focus on him and enjoy him. I then responded by saying that I am more than enjoying him and pumping is only about a half hour out of my day and that it is well worth it to me. Then I went on to tell her there is a benefit to me to pump until 12 months as my father had breast cancer and lactating until 12 months+ significantly reduces ones risk of premenopausal breast cancer. That kept her quiet.

Oi! I know she meant well, but if I didn't have you all, I would sure feel lonely out there!

Mahalo and Happy Holidays!