fussing before feeding

[topsy1]

my 1 week old ds2 is fussing and crying before latching on to feed. sometimes he can do this for up to 10 mins, latching on and off, crying sucking his hands before settling down. am i doing something wrong? why might he be doing this. i don't remeber my ds1 doing it...

[bontinini]

This happened to me, and its worth getting their mouth checked as my son had thrush in his mouth, which is quite common in early days, and can make their mouth very sore, and make them reluctant to latch on. Although other times it also happened, and it can be wind, making them fuss and fidgit, it all takes time regardless, for them to settle into it, and it was one of the best things I ever did for my child...I persevered through cut nipples, agony! But the pleasure in looking back, knowing you did the best for your baby, is great..and all those brain enhancing vitamins, will affect them in a marked way,and their benefit last forever....Good luck...

[bababoo]

First of all congratulations!

My DS also did this, it turned out he had thrush, and clearing that up helped, but it was mainly that the let down was too strong for him at that age (they are tiny) and it can feel like they're drowning, they just panic and pull off until the flow gets less, which might be why it takes so long to get him feeding constantly. You could try expressing by hand just a tiny bit prior to the feed, and once the let down has tailed off on its own then put baby back on, because it will come out slightly less fast. I can remember that i had to have a towel stuffed down the other side of my bra when feeding and that sometimes wasn't enough to stem the flow! Apparently you can produce an ounce a minute in full let down so i can see why that would intimidate a little baby! Just take it one feed at a time and try not to worry about anything else too much, you will get through it and it will be worth it! HTH