DD (16wks) fussing and not latching properly - any advice?

[gwenniebee]

The title says it all really - my dd took forever to feed in a way that didn't cause me pain (although she was getting plenty milk and not bothered!). She had a tongue-tie snipped when she was six weeks. She also has reflux which I'm medicating with gaviscon through a syringe after feeds.

Having been feeding without any discomfort for me for about five weeks, the last few days she has started really fussing when feeding, and slipping back to the end of my nipple no matter how well she has latched to begin with, which is causing pain again.

Today she has fed eight times, which is three more than usual, because she's fussing each time and only feeding for a short period. I am worried I don't have enough for her suddenly for some reason and she is getting frustrated. Other than coming off and on constantly, she is not upset when feeding though.

Anyone any ideas?

[peeohayess]

Is she arching her back when feeding? Or is she just really easily distracted? If it's the former that could be to do with the reflux. The latter... Maybe try feeding in a dark quiet room for a bit just to remind her that she can feed sensibly! DS played a similar game and it gets very frustrating, doesn't it? Sorry not to be more helpful. Hope someone else will be along shortly to add some slightly wiser words!

[mawbroon]

Sounds like the tongue is still restricted. Was it a posterior tie?

Sometimes posterior ties can heal back together if there is no aftercare done. It is neccessary to stretch the site several times a day to prevent this, but very few of the people doing frenotomies are recommending this.

Or perhaps the tie wasn't revised properly. Again with posterior ties, the cut sometimes needs to be quite deep to fully release the back of the tongue.

Another possibility is that there was an anterior tie and a posterior one, and only the anterior tie has been revised.

I would suggest that you contact Milk Matters and also have a look at the tongue tie support group on Facebook.

[gwenniebee]

Thanks both.

mawbroon I don't know whether it was posterior or anterior... presumably I should have been told? All I know is that it was quite tight, apparently.

peeohayess I might try that too! She is not arching when feeding, it's more afterwards, and tbh she does just appear distracted, not discomforted. Maybe she's just being a monkey. Grr....

[alittlebitwibbly]

I could have written your post myself, my dd had her tongue tie cut at 7 weeks and has been feeding perfectly since until last Wednesday when she turned 16 weeks and now seems to just snack for a couple of mins before pulling off but then she's hungry again an hour later. It's like having a newborn all over again! Sorry to not have a solution but hopefully you'll get some comfort in knowing you're not the only one experiencing this, I'm hoping it's just a growth spurt....

[thezoobmeister]

At this age fussing might be nothing to do with feeding and everything to do with development and distractibility ... if that's the case it will probably stop by itself when she's over this latest fussy phase.

Another possibility is oversupply , which can apparently appear when baby is a bit older, and can cause fussiness, baby unlatching, slipping off etc. Oh and oversupply is also a common cause of reflux ...

[gwenniebee]

I think I did have probs with oversupply... which I hoped we'd solved.. and I feel bizarrely "empty" at the moment...

I think she's teething, too, which might not be helping?