I have to stop bf for 1 week

DS is 6 1/2 weeks & I have been ebf since he was born. He's a little jaundice & it hasn't gone away so the ped wants me to only give him formula for 1 week to see if it makes a difference. Apparently, there's a compound in bm that makes it hard for the body to break down bilirubin.

Anyway, evrything I've read said that jaundice is normal & can take up to 12 weeks to fully go away. If anything, I thought I would have to stop bf for only 48 hrs, not 1 whole week. I tried to give ds rtf formula yesterday & he really didn't like it. Plus, I've only used my pump one time & I didn't like it.

Basically, I'm not asking for advice--just complaining. The only good thing is that DH can feed him & I can go shopping & get my nails done (like a real person again)

ETA: Has anyone stopped bf for whatever reason & then started again with no problems?

Message edited 10/22/2007 4:35:31 PM.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

You'll need to pump and store your milk as often as he was nursing to keep your supply up.
If you're not comfortable with your ped's suggestion what about a second opinion?
Good Luck!

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

My daughter had jaundice & I stopped nursing for only about 12 hours. Did he say why it's necessary to stop for a week? If you have a baby that young on a bottle only for a week, it may be difficult getting him back to nursing.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

I had to stop bfing for a week when DS was 3 weeks old because I had to take an antibiotic for a UTI. I had to pump for the week to keep up my supply (I pumped at the same frequency at which DS ate). We had no problems with him latching back on. Please feel free to FM me with any questions. I was a mess worrying that stopping for the week would mess up bfing forever. If your DC is already 6.5 weeks, you should be fine

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

if my doc says i can't travel with him, i may have to leave jonah for 48 hours when he's 6 weeks old to be in a wedding. i'm also worried that we will have trouble going back to breastfeeding, but more often than not i've heard that it's not a problem at all. in fact, my lactational consultant told me last week that she has never actually seen nipple confusion, and said we could give him a pacifier. we've been using one with no problem at all, and jonah is only 10 days old.

on another note - if the jaundice resolves before the one week point can you go back to breastfeeding earlier?

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

Honestly, I really don't like your dr's advise to stop BFing for a week. Personally I would do some research and get a second (medical) opinion before I stopped BFing for a week. I'm not saying he's wrong- I'm not a dr and I have no medical training so he could be 100% correct.

Here's a search link I pulled from kellymom.com

This website has been an excellent resource for me.

Edited: The search link wouldn't post. Here's one of their articles
If you enter the word "jaundice" in their search section, you'll get a lot more articles.

Message edited 10/22/2007 8:17:47 PM.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

I am in the exact same boat. Going to ped tomorrow to discuss what to do since he is still jaundice at almost 7 weeks. I am hoping i wont have to formula feed, becuase the 2 times he got formula he spit it all up.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

I agree with Cynthia, your Ped's advice sounds way off to me. Is he familiar with breastfed babies? DS developed jaundice when he was a couple of days old -- it was breastmilk jaundice (it develops a few days after birth and can take a few weeks to clear up). We monitored him and it never got to the point that he needed any treatment or formula. It cleared up on its own.

If you're happy with ped's advice, I don't want to tell you he's wrong, but if you really want to breastfeed I would seek out advice from another ped.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

My DD was jaundice and the doc made me BF her practically around the clock. Strange! I would think doing both (BM and formula) might be beneficial but to stop BF for a week----just doesn't sit right with me. As PP recommended, I'd do more research or seek a second opinion.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

I had to have surgery and had to stop for a few days. I pumped to build up my supply but we supplemented with formula. Then while I was on my meds, I had to pump and dump for 2-3 days. We got right back into the swing of things no problem. GOOD LUCK

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

The book, The Nursing Mother's Companoin, states that frequent nursing will help get rid of jaubdice unless it is actually breastmilk jaundice.
In which case it suggests stopping nursing 12 - 24 hrs. A week sounds really extreme.

Good luck!

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

Thanks for all your responses. I really appreciate it.

This dr was my second opinion. My reg ped sent me to him because he specializes in ped gastroenterology. I asked if we could do a follow-up blood test in a few days to gage the progress but he was adamant about waiting the full week.

I think they are a little more concerned than usual because his billirubin actually increased, which is rare. So far, all the tests came back neg so it's most likely breastmilk jaundice but they want to be sure. I'm just disappointed because bf has been going so much better than I expected but I guess a week is not so bad.

I sterlized all my bottles & my pump tonight so I think I'll start with the formula tomorrow morning. I might still bf at least once for the day but we'll see how it goes.

Thanks again.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

I know that BF is important, but if it means your son's health then I think it's worth it to see if it makes a difference. You can always pump for the week to keep up your supply.

My son also had elevated bilirubin numbers and it took 14 weeks for the numbers to start going down. They initially also requested that I stop BF bc they had to rule out a metabolic issue (don't remember the name). The jaundice ended up resolving itsself and we never got a official diagnosis.

Good luck!

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

MY SIL had to stop for a week for the same reason. She had to pump though to keep her supply up.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

Just wanted to say good luck.

Re: I have to stop bf for 1 week

Just make sure you pump on the schedule that you would normally feed. You don't want your body to slow down on the milk production!