Colostrum Powder

Breast milk is making baby sick. Baby will not sleep.?

I have a one week old son, first time mother. I was not producing enough colostrum at first to feed him so i had to supplement w/ Similac Advance. For about 4 days I had been feeding him that. Now, he refuses to take my breast. Well I pumped a bottle and he took it all but spit it back up not projectile but it was very thick. Also, the milk was very yellow. He kept trying to feed even after I had given him ab 3 oz. but kept spitting it up. He kept me up from 12 til 5 in the morning. Finally, i fed him the formula and he went to sleep. Is he not getting enough? Any idea why he would be doing this? Should i continue to try or keep to the formula. I dont want to continue if its just going to keep making him sick so he cant sleep even though i know how good breast milk is. Any opinions, facts, experinces would be great. also. he has bad jaundice. i currently have him under a bili light to try and get rid of it. He urinates a lot but does not have many stools and when he does they are still tarry and thick black and its not much. Any ideas?

Public Comments

1. Get rid of the formula and contact a lactation consultant for assistance on helping you and your baby breast feed successfully. Breast is best.
2. how about expressing?? he might just like the bottle
3. If you have a 7 day old infant that is still having meconium (thick tarry stools) then you have problem, end of story. Particularly a jaundiced baby. Is your son still jaundiced?
4. Any sudden food change can bother baby's tummy. Try mixing the breast milk half and half with the similac (2oz each) or 1 oz breast milk and 3 oz similac and increase gradually.
5. I agree with mystic_eye. You need professional help for your baby, ideally a physician and a certified lactation consultant working together. Some reading: http://www.kellymom.com/newman/04enough_milk.html
6. I agree with WI MOM, go see a lactation consultant. They are wonderful and will help figure out a plan that works for you and your baby.
7. You need to contact your pediatricain asap. The fact that he his having those types of stools means he has not ate enough to get rid of that stool. This should have disapeared about 2 days after birth at the most. I don't think you should give up on the breast feeding yet, but it is possible that some babies just can't take it. I would first try to pump some milk and give it to him in a bottle, this way you can tell how much he's ate also he may be used to the nipple now (from the bottle). If that doesn't work and he's not eating well, you can't let him starve, give him the formula until you can see your doc and/or a lactation specialist. It may something your eating too. This is going to be a trial and error thing but for now it would be best to pump your milk so you can keep track of what he's eating. After all, breast is NOT best, it's the breastmilk that is best.
8. First, I am sorry to hear you are having so many challenges so early. My daughter thought that perhaps I might be able to help - I will do my best. I am a breastfeeding advocate so may have some information that you might find helpful. First please understand that our bodies are only designed to produce 2 ounces of colostrum in a 24 hour period and this is all your baby needs in the first 3 to 5 days. Nature designed it this way. I would like to urge you to contact your local La Leche League for more help with this issue as it sounds as though you would really like to give your little one the best you have to offer. You can find a leader near you by visiting www.llli.org and click on the locate a leader link. Your babys digestive system and immune system is very immature right now and he needs the milk that is being produced by your body in order to strengthen both these systems. The biggest reason that babies will spit up when getting a bottle is because they are getting too much too fast which includes lots of air through the bottle. This is something that does not occur as much when at the breast. When giving a baby a bottle they must be burped once every ounce. Also, babies learn quickly that getting milk from the bottle does not take quite so much work so they very often will prefer the bottle however his little jaw needs the exercise that can only be provided when suckling at the breast. Getting in contact with your local LLL Leader will help you get him back to the breast. Also talking with a LLL Leader will teach many things you have not learned yet about breastfeeding. We could be here clear into the next century if I tried to teach it all to you right here and now. Just trust an old breastfeeding pro - I have nursed 7 of my own with one more on the way -- breastfeeding is well worth it all. Your son will be healthier and smarter and you will be reducing your risk of every female cancer not to mention a few other stress disorders and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
9. ok, no need to panic and set off lactation consultant alarms and scare the new mom of a 1 week old! think people! obviously there is a feeding problem. he likes the Similac and the breast milk upset his little tummy. any type of change like that can make them gassy and pukish. I have four kids. two were breastfed successfully, and two just could not tolerate it for some reason. You could try to do a half and half mix to slowly wean him over to breastmilk. to get your supply up I do suggest renting a double breast pump because now is the time to make that supply start going! you can always freeze it as you slowly do the transfer. you may also want to wait and take it slow since he is under the bili light. get that issue resolved. i know they told me when my kids had jaundice that formula was best to feed them because it made things move thru them faster and got them cleaned out of the bad stuff. with my 4th child i never put him to my breast, i strictly pumped and gave him a bottle so it may be that your son does it that way since he likes the bottle more. dont take it personally, i am sure your boobs are great. ha ha. work on one issue with him at a time and call the doctor on Monday. do NOT let them pass you off as a hysterical first time mom either! good luck and hang in there! get off the computer and go get some sleep :)
10. I would like to add my two cents. My daughter had severe jaundice and had to hospitalized so I am somewhat familiar with this topic. Ok first of all, your breast probably had all the colostrum that your baby needed, even though it seems like you didn't make enough. I had the same problem with my first born and I ended up giving him formula too until my milk came in and then when I tried to put him on the breast he rejected it. The nurse told me that babies are very lazy and want to be fed the easiest way. Bottle feeding doesn't take as much effort as nursing on the baby's part so most babies prefer this method. That is why lactation consultants recommend not giving a bottle for the first 6 weeks. However, I did the same thing you did and my son nursed successfully. Second, the bottle that you pumped was colostrum with milk. The early milk that you make is yellow and thick and it is loaded with healthy fat and nutrients for your baby. Don't be scared that there is something wrong with your milk because there is not. Your milk will not make him sick unless you have taken certain medications. It is very possible that the jaundice is making him spit up so much. My daughter had jaundice and was on the lights and she spit up all the time. When we had to rush her to the hospital for not breathing, her doctor told me that jaundiced babies struggle with feeding because their systems are in overload. This is a serious issue. Make sure you talk to the ped. Your pediatrician will probably recommend continuing with the formula until the jaundice is over. This is fine, but continue to pump. You can always start nursing him when he is healthy again. But you have to keep pumping in order to keep making milk. Just store what you have, and then you can give him breast milk when he is ready. He will love your milk because it is sweet. As for the pooping, that is something you really need to talk to the ped about! The only way to get the billi out is through the stool, so if its not coming out then they should check his levels to make sure they are not too high. My daughters were dangerously high by the time she got to the hospital because she was not eating enough. I don't mean to scare you, I just hope the doctor is monitoring you guys close. Good luck!
11. I would keep your son on formula for now and call a paediatrician and see if they can run some tests...My first daughter was so sick in the first 2 week she also had jaundice and the would throw up every-time I would feed her even when she was on the nipple she would throw up and would have to stop and clean her up...her spew was yellow-green, she was so sick one night I rushed her to the hospital and I stayed in over night and I had two lots of paediatricians come in and talk to me and done tests on her and in the end they said to bottle feed her cause she couldn't drink my milk as it was making her sick...she also had bad reflux so I would say if you cant feed him breast milk then bottle feed him, he is your child and if bottle is making him happy and healthy then I wouldn't worry much... Talk to a paediatrician and see what they say... Don't let people make you feel bad cause you fed your son a little formula and not breast... Remember at the end of the day you son is your son not anyone Else's and people can give you advice but it's whether you choose to take it on board or not and use it!!! Good luck new mummy Edit: Babies that are breast fed are not always smarter, Congrats to you ONLYHOPE for feeding 7 of your own but if this ladie cant feed her child then why should someone like you force it on her.....My daughtercould not drink my milk at all as much as I wanted to feed her, breast fed my other child and will my next but as I said If she cant let her be... You are just as bad as bible basher..
12. try changing your diet he may be allergic to what is in YOUR diet. As for the color yellow is a common color for breastmilk I have even seen some blue. As for throwing it up if he does puke and it is thick it is fine. That means he is digesting part of it and it allways looks like they throw up more than they actually do. So try starting him with breastmilk during the day and give formula at night if he sleeps better that way. As long as you are trying then you are doing good. And I didn't exclusivly breastfeed either so as long as he is getting some of it it is fine and don't stress he can feel it and willl be more upset