Baby teething advice

caevans

Hi everyone
My 4 month old has been teething for a few weeks now, but is now obviously in pain with it. I have been breastfeeding her since birth with the exception of 1 bottle before bedtime. I am finding that she feeds for a few minutes (thinner milk?) then pulls her head off shrieking. This continues till I swap boobs and then the same thing happens. I give her calpol at night and first thing in the morning, but not keen to give too much of this. I have also been rubbing teething gel and some homeopathic powders - but they don't seem to be making much difference.
However, when I give her a bottle she is able to get through fairly much the whole bottle without any problems.
So, my dilemma is: do I persevere with breastfeeding, though this is obviously more painful for baby (not to mention frustrating for both of us!) or do I substitute breast for bottle, but maybe continue to let her feed for a few minutes from me first? Or any other suggestions?
Any advice gratefully appreciated (though not from people that damn mothers who give bottles to hell!!!!!!!!)
thanks
C
p.s. figure this is money saving as if I do have to give bottles = paying for milk!

Millie's_Mum

I don't know the answer I'm afraid but just wanted to say that I find my baby does not breastfeed as much or as easily when her teeth are really bothering her but usually feeds normally a couple of days later when the worst of the pain has subsided a bit, can you persevere and see if it improves after a few days?

raffe

What type to teat are you using on the bottles, could be the bottles are faster than you are, she is getting satisfied quicker with a bottle, or have a wee look and see if she has thrush, sometime that makes feeding not so comfortable for her.

emlou2009

i think you should do whatever is best for you! if it is upsetting you to hear your LO cry and stressing both of you out then IMO it would be better for both of you if you switched over, but thats just my opinion. i only managed to BF for 3 weeks, then my LO started fussing and crying at each feed, so i started formula feeding him instead. within a day he was a different baby and both of us were much less miserable
4 months is a long time to manage to carry on BFing so you've already done really well!

caevans

Thank you!
Milliesmum -thats really good to know that this might pass. It has been like this for about 5 days or so I think. It is awful when it is clear she is in real pain, but would like to, if possible, persevere. But not if she is not feeding properly. She is a good weight, but she is a long skinny baby!! Want to get her like a little buddha!!
Raffe- We use tommee tippee and it is the first level teats - so I don't know if that means it will be faster flowing?
Thanks Emlou2009 - I am pleased to have got this far with breastfeeding as it didn't feel particularly natural at the start. I agree that it is so important for both Mum and baby to be happy
C

feelinggood_2

My LO had a major growth spurt around that time, and wanted to feed a lot.

Is your LO having plenty of wet and dirty nappies? Gaining weight well? Meeting milestones?

You could try a nursing holiday - both you and LO spend the day in bed. Loads of feeding and lots of skin-to-skin.

Or, you could try expressing between feeds to boost your supply?

Cluster feeding and fussy evenings are quite common. I find that it is best to get all the chores done earlier in the day, then have a nice evening on the sofa, feeding and letting LO cuddle often.

If you are using anything other than a newborn teat, bottle preference might be an issue?

It is a tough choice, but if you want to breastfeed exclusively, it is possible and there is lots of help out there.

Is she more co-operative when feeding lying down, or in a dark, quiet room? Are you winding her plenty? I find that as my LO is teething now, he is chewing everything, and swallowing more air, and has started needing winding more, like when he was smaller!

caevans

Hi
thanks Feelingood, but the issue is not with my milk supply or her being particularly fussy. From the noises she is making, I really believe she is in pain. Having looked at teething in a book, its says that when they are feeding their teeth can tingle and be uncomfortable. I would think this is what the problem is as she has never had a problem with feeding. She is a greedy little baby!!

feelinggood_2

And she is fine with a bottle? Has she always taken an evening bottle, or did she used to have an evening breastfeed? What sorts of noises and movements does she make?

Teenie_D

Hi

I really beat myself up when I eventually gave my LO a bottle before bed time as I felt I was letting her down by not exclusively breastfeeding, but at that last nightime feed before bed, it really didn't seem like she was getting a lot of milk and I would be upset and obviously she would be too. (I kept getting told that this would have not been the case as milk is produced on demand-by a breast feeding councellor who hadn't even had any children!!) so whatever you decide make sure it is the right decission for you and your little one.

I remember when I was pregnant and had decided to breast feed, my sister who also breast fed her 2 said go for it but dont be a slave to breast feeding-excellent advice (I did breast feed for nearly 8 months thought)!

I dont know how long you have been using the homeopathic powders for but persevere as they take a wee while to work but they really do work, I gave up using them as I didn't think they were working then went back to them and I would definately use them again.

Personally I found the gels didn't work that well as the gel kept sliding of my finger, but you get a liquid called ambesol and it is really good as well.

Good luck it is so confusing at times about what is right or wrong to do just go with your instinct. My wee one is 2 now and I can honestly say no matter how hard it was at the time, I trully don't believe I would change anything I done.

Hope this helps and good luck xx

sandiep

Can you express? Bit of the best of both worlds?

caevans

hi
She always got a bottle as a 'dreamfeed' which worked really well as well as the occasional bottle when out and about. She takes the bottle without any problems at all. Certainly no shrieking in pain. Am going to stick her on the boob tonight as usual and top up with bottle if she takes herself off in pain.
Thanks will maybe keep up with the powders then. She has been on them for about a week now