BIG breastfeeding issues

Ok, so River has not been breastfeeding. We put him on a bottle when he was in the Special Care Nursery because we wanted to make eating as easy as possible for him. We felt so bad for him with all the wires and stuff. I really want to nurse but he does this wierd thing. It is like he is fighting me. He gets on, cries and starts pushing his body away from me. He wants to nurse so badly,he roots all the time and pushes himself down. I don't know what to do. He FREAKS out if I swaddle him. I am worried about how this is affecting him, I don't know how to stop him from fighting me. He gets on sometimes but not very often...

Any ideas why he fights against me?

just dont give up..... he will eventually give in to you and stop fighting

Does he latch on? He may be frustrated if you have a slow let down. My son got frustrated when BF at first, because he used to having instant milk with the bottle.

Also, this won't help, but if you're stressed, he may refuse to latch on. Go skin to skin, if you can, take your time, don't force him on, let him "play" if he wants.

Dr. Jack Newman also talks about "suck training" (finger feeding with a skinny tube taped to your finger). I don't know if it's on his website or not, but you can check. You can also email him and he will reply. He is a breastfeeding expert.

Quoting Angela with 5 kids:“ Dr. Jack Newman also talks about "suck training" (finger feeding with a skinny tube taped to your finger). ... [snip!] ... know if it's on his website or not, but you can check. You can also email him and he will reply. He is a breastfeeding expert.”

That is called a Supplemental Nursing System and we have tried that. The issue really is him fighting me becasue he can do the rest of it.

Have you tried assisting him to latch on... My son used to do this as well... and I would actually put it in his mouth and hold it there for him until he latched properly and starting eating

Quoting Hialeah &hearts Colton:“ Have you tried assisting him to latch on... My son used to do this as well... and I would actually put it in his mouth and hold it there for him until he latched properly and starting eating”

On occasion that works...but it doesn't help because he will latch and then start pushing himself away from my body.

Tried different positions??

Quoting Hialeah &hearts Colton:“ Tried different positions??”

yes (football, cradle, cross cradle, side lay) I have put him on my stomach and let him root around...

If he has been used to instant gratification from a bottle then he could just be frustrated. Also sometimes if they are toooo hungry then they can also get frustrated and pull off because you haven't let down fast enough. Try feeding a bit from a bottle and then see if he will latch and nurse... Maybe once the initial hunger is gone he will latch and stay latched.

Quoting Amy(River'sMommy):“ That is called a Supplemental Nursing System and we have tried that. The issue really is him fighting me becasue he can do the rest of it.”

SNS is different. I'm talking about finger feeding.

I know I'm pretty late but my daughter used to do this. The problem? I was holding the back of her head as I was trying to get her to latch on and she HATED it. Still to this day if I hold the back of her head while shes nursing she will start fighting me.

thanks and I think that was the problem! That and getting used to having to suck a few times. I hoold his neck now and he is a nurser now as well!!