fussy feeder

[Misty9]

Dd is 5 wks old and we already know she has posterior tongue tie which we're waiting to get an appt for cutting. She also possibly has thrush, no one seems able to tell us for sure.

In the last few days she's been very fussy with feeding during the day, latching on and feeding for 5min then pulling off and refusing to latch the same side again. Then when offered the other side she'll pull off at letdown, sometimes choking and spluttering. Meanwhile I get covered in milk and she invariably chucks half of it back up.

Not sure why I'm posting, more to get it off my chest i think (no pun intended!). I'm just finding it very draining and have little patience left for my already very challenging toddler :(

Anyone else similarly frustrated and exhausted by breastfeeding at the moment?!

[blueberrypudding]

Hi Misty - I'm in a similar boat with my 8 week old. She's putting on weight very quickly (between 75th and 91st centile at 8 week check) but each feed feels like a challenge!

DD has an appointment for her tongue tie to be cut in a month and we're hoping that this will sort things out somewhat, though I'm fully expecting it to continue to be frustrating for a while.

Was nearly on the verge of giving up and might have if not for her suddenly deciding (after taking the bottle easily in the past with EBM) that she hates bottles and doesn't know how to use them.

Completely empathise and understand your need for posting.

[NorahBone]

Not at the moment, but those early weeks were a bit hellish when the let down was still painful and I really didn't want to go through it several times each feed. I think with us the fussiness was due to a variety of reasons - reflux, fast let down, when he was feeding to get his bowels moving (thanks son), growth spurts...
So much better now he's older, although now he's distracted by everything so I still sometimes get covered in milk.
Hope the tongue tie treatment helps

[Misty9]

Thanks both. She's finally having a good feed for the first time today - the difference seemingly being that I caught the worst of letdown in a muslin so she didn't choke, pull off and refuse that side again. My nips are feeling a bit on fire though so it might be bloody thrush :(

We had so many problems with ds and breastfeeding (tt, thrush, small mouth etc) and I'm so disappointed it's turning out the same with dd. Close to chucking in the towel tbh; I can't be doing with the endless cycle of dozing, nibble feeds, crying, puking when I've got toddler ds to run after :(

[PollyP0429]

Misty I can totally sympathise. Going through the 4 month hell period. Crappy sleep and worse feeding. Its never really been easy to feed my LO, hard start, ok middle and terrible right now. Possible tongue tie as well.

Do you have a sling at all? I'm practicing feeding in a sling atm and finding I can actually move around! It helps big time

[Misty9]

Thanks polly I'm not looking forward to the 4 month sleep regression! Yes, I've got a close caboo sling but I've also got a buggered back so can't wear her for any length of time :(

I've tried a couple of adjustments to positioning and latch and that's definitely helped - but she's only feeding for a few minutes before coming off, only to root again a few minutes later. So frustrating! She's asleep on daddy currently and I know I ought to go to bed.

[PollyP0429]

Yeah I know the feeling, knowing you should sleep but wanting to feel like you again for just a few hours, hard choice.

Can you express much?

[mawbroon]

There are a couple of tongue tie support groups on Facebook which you could ask to join.

Have a google of the Flipple, it can be helpful with tied babies in the meantime until you have your appointment.

Just be aware that revision is not a magic bullet.