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When my guy refused to latch and was tantrumy I would dip my finger in a gla__s of water - he'd suckle that for a moment - then I'd put a drop of water on my nipple and he'd often fall for it. The nurses in L&D use a similar system but use the 'glucose water' that they often give newborns to raise their blood sugar. It IS frustrating... but the one thing we can do to calm a tantrum is not let it get to us. Put her down and take a second to recenter yourself if you feel that emotion building up... and good luck!

Thank you so much for responding Jeanie, it is getting quite frustrating. I will give your suggestion a try at her next feeding.

Ashley, Were you able to get some resolution? I'm in the exact same situation with a newborn, and now finger feeding him, since he refuses to latch on with vigorous crying. Hope you found something that works, if so, do you mind sharing?

I just had a baby boy 32 1/2 hours ago. He wouldn't latch and would do the same, cry and freak out. The nurses at the hospital told me to go out and buy a thing called a nipple shield, just so that there was more to go into his mouth. It worked, it still took time, but nothing like before. I have had no problems since. Hope this helped you both out.

And I forgot Jeanie is right, when it gets frustrating put her/him down and take a second to recenter yourself if you feel that emotion building up because the baby feels it and it maked them get even more grumpy.

Hi there... well I went to her pediatrician and she told me to pump to see how much milk I had. So, I rented the pump and it turned out I barely had any milk which is why she would still be hungry afterwards. Anyhow, I had to start bottlefeeding. This was really frustrating because I really wanted to b___stfeed. I tried pumping for a few days to try and get my milk supply going but it just didn't work.

My daughter didn't latch for 7 weeks! Try a nipple shield. You can get one at a medical specialty supply store or through the lactation consultant at your hospital. Pls e mail me if you need support - I know how hard this is. karlynn17@hotmail.com

Well I was wrong. It didn't work and now he wont latch again at all, he just freaks. I am at the point now where I don't know what to do. He will only eat with the b___st shield on, and that makes me VERY sore and I have started to bleed. Now needing advice as well please. I want to be able to b___st and bottle feed, but right now just want to know how to b___st feed. I think the problem may be that in the hospital someone gave him a bottle. Could this be why?

LITA: Contact your local La Leche League leader. Google it and then look for your area. Call the leader listed. Tell her your problem. You need more help than you are going to receive on this board.

Ashley, there are things you can do to increase your supply. What kind of pump are you using? Get a hospital grade one if you don't have one. Pump every 2-3 hours. Try taking herbs like fenugreek. Here's a great site: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/index.html You will probably need to see a GOOD lactation consultant. My DD has similar issues (will latch but not suckle much) and it's hard. I ordered a http://www.lact-aid.com/ to see if that will help.

Just a note that we're still at it. We supplemented with finger feeding/syringe for some weeks until he was old enough to take a bottle, and was taking the b___st (with nipple shield) well. Now, he is only taking 1-2 4 oz bottles daily. We are tapering the amount of supplement, and my milk seems to be satisfying him better though I'm still feeding him on demand to get supply well-established. Also, occasionally he is taking the b___st without the shield. Figure I'll address that after we have him totally off supplementing. He is six weeks old now.

Good job, Carol! Congratulations!

Just to update on our non-latching since birth situation. Turns out I may have had thrush all along--this can cause the not latching and the crying fits at the b___st. My son always liked the b___st (will suckle, and sleeps with me and uses b___sts as his pillow if nothing else!), but wouldn't stay latched on. We used a shield from week 3 til week 9. Then, he started feeding without. Within 24 hours, I had excruciating pain due to thrush. Through gritted teeth and tears I made it for two days, then saw the dr. That was almost three weeks ago, and we are slowing getting rid of the thrush and pain diminishes daily. However, the one positive is that he is still feeding without the shield and prefers b___st now to the bottle (he is still taking 8-12 oz. by bottle daily, but is gaining well, so my supply must be increasing since supplement is not increasing).

I also use a nipple shield. At about two months I tried without the shield and I got so sore and started to bleed again. I now use the shield again and my milk supply is fine. He latches on fine without the shield now but I don't like being sore and bleeding.