So what do you do when they cluster feed until they vomit?

[ThatDamnDog]

she's 4 weeks, bfing going fab, but has this manic session where she gets wide-eyed, pants, grunts and shrieks and sucks fervently then vomits massively and continues fussing until passing out exhausted. Normal, right?

The thing that's weird is that she seems unable to fall asleep at the breast when she gets like this. And if you try settling her otherwise she seems too alert to go with it and doze. Last one had horrendous bawling colic so this is a piece of piss by comparison but would still prefer to see her comfortable, and not spewing on my boob every night.

Sounds a bit like colic?
My DS did exactly this, would feed and feed and then vomit, feed again and settle.
It might also be something comforting to suckle on (however your wee one is just teeny so probably not that!)
Am not really much help am I, sorry!

If it's colic, it's colic lite! It's just an hour or two and started 3 or 4 days ago. Lots of shrieks but no full on crying. Unless that's still up her sleeve, of course!

This sounds like my 17 week old at almost every feed tbh. She has reflux, but I'm not sure that's the whole cause. For her it's got worse as she's got older and I think she enjoys sucking so much that she takes too much milk which she throws back up again.

Perhaps your DD is just after a comfort suck and doesn't really want the milk that goes with it? try a dummy to see if that settles her when she's like this?

The dummy thing has been running through my mind. Tempting - she has a good go at her hands and I suspect she might be a thumbsucker eventually so a dummy might be better ... [grin]@whispers

I'd say try it. It really can't do any harm. The reason they don't recommend dummies for b/f babies is in case people are stupid enough to stick them in their gobs every time they whimper and thereby miss feeding cues.

I was pretty anti-dummies because of the image of 3 year olds running round with them, but I've ended up trying them with both of mine. DS couldn't hold it in (no wonder as turns out he had tongue tie). For DD it was a wonder for a few weeks, but now she's having none of it. We only used the dummy to settle her when we'd exhausted everything else and it often worked. I wish she would still take it tbh. Now I'm the dummy.

Sounds like silent reflux - got heartburn and only feel OK when feeding, then get too full and vomit. Then feeling unwell again. Try a dummy for soothing, and maybe some infant gaviscon from the doc? I know loads of babies who were great on that (mine got constipated).

Sore belly perhaps. They have a tummy pain and decide they are hungry. Or they have a belly full of gas and can't fit the milk in.
Mine does this and I find gentle winding and infacol help. It can be a bit of a struggle with windy cry->wind->hungry cry->feed on cycle for several hours.

Thanks. Wouldn't reflux symptoms manifest all the time, not just the evenings? She certainly doesn't lie on her back happily, and definitely has wet burps etc, but mostly her trouble is trapped wind and bloating. She's a fast feeder and isn't sucky the rest of the day.

I think sore tummy is probably most likely as she's managed some mega farts with a bit of massage. Just odd that it's evenings in particular.

Hi there, this sounds exactly like my 3 week old. She cluster feeds in the evenings and we endure 3 hours or so of really unsettled behaviour, lots of shrieking and constant requests for food. She then mostly pulls off or won't settle on the breast as she's blatantly not really hungry. The health visitor said that their instincts tell them to stock up on food for the night ahead, but their tummies are full, so they cry in frustration. She said there isn't really any solution other than to go with it and feed on demand and try to keep them calm. She also suggested ensuring that your lunch time meal is substantial to ensure that the quality of your evening milk is better, and this they're more likely to be satisfied. This has made the cluster feeding period shorter for me at least. Apparently this behaviour often proceeds a longer sleep, which I am also finding to be true- we got 5 hours between feeds after it last night, bliss!

Good luck with it all, I know how soul destroying it can be!!

If baby is farty, cycling their legs van help, also bringing their knees to their belly then stretching them out. After a while they learn to do it themselves to relieve it.

"She certainly doesn't lie on her back happily, and definitely has wet burps etc, but mostly her trouble is trapped wind and bloating."
Sounds like my refluxy baby but not as bad as she was. Not wanting to lie on her back is a classic sign of acid rising, plus the grunting, squealing. Might just be a mild case.
Try cutting out dairy/soy for a while, tough but could be worth it.
My DD (almost 6m) is also intollerant to wheat/gluten, it makes her very windy, cramping tummy pains and major feed/cry cycles.

Also, forgot to add, try not to swap sides in a feeding marathon if you can help it. I block feed, only use 1 side for a 2hr period then swap, ensures not too much watery foremilk which is more unsettling to delicate tummies than hindmilk.

Comfort sucking, by the sound of it. Ds1 did this, he would suck more and more and more the tireder he was, then he would vomit and go to sleep. I solved it with a dummy.

Reflux....always worth exploring. Alternatively she may be boosting your supply ready for a big growth spurt.

Hi, I was just going to start a topic as i have exactly the same "problem" with my six weeks old - it's mainly a laundry problem :) than anything else, although the three-four hour evening period can be tiring. I usually end up dancing in the living room when all i want to do is sit down and relax once the toddler is in bed!
strategies i'm using:
blockfeeding ( to manage oversupply)
letting milk drip into cloth (when let-down as she struggles with strong milk flow)
frequent burping
massage ( see porcelain's tip)
limiting intake - dancing with her upright ( happier that way, it seems she's not necessarily hungry)
going to bed early and bf lying down with dimmed lights - on top of a thick folded towel to catch excess milk and spit ups

• i notice that during the day it's "easier" as i'm on the go and carry her a lot, perhaps she wants more attention in the evening rather than watching me watching the telly or reading!

good luck!

Thanks for all the tips. As I say, her older brother was much worse so I've got a reasonable repertoire of tricks to try. He never threw up much of my lovely milk though :). I've been block feeding for 10 days now - since before this evening shenanigans started - and I take her off at letdown if my breast is full. She kicks off around my bedtime (9 or 10pm) and it went on for about 3 hours last night. Not much crying, just mad sucking and inability to sleep without a boob. Picked up dummies today so we'll try them if necessary tonight. Not optimistic about this evening because she's been unsettled and reluctant to nap today, despite a long car trip. Wish me luck! X

Oh my goodness, forgive the very un-MN kiss ... That's what happens when you text at the same time!

Hope you have a better night. My DS was the same and tbh still is now at 3 months but to a lesser extent. I can't work it out but think reflux and/or wind is the problem but not sure why worse at night. Though at night they cluster feed anyway so it is maybe just more noticable then.

I just keep telling myself that in the scheme of things this is a very small part of our lives. It's hard when it's happening though so you have my sympathy. It's the mewling and flailing that got me.

comfort sucking i imagine. my ds did this a couple of times. just wanted the comfort and the cuddles but drank a load of milk on an already full tummy and just threw it up almost immediately he sat up. it was quite dramatic, but he seemed fine with it and carried on as normal afterwards.

my ds has done this from being born she is 9 weeks now and bottle fed and during the day will drink 8oz every 4 hours but once it hits 4pm she wants feeding every 2hrs and wiil drink 6 or 7ozs every time untill she falls aslleep about 10pm and then wiil sleep all nite which is great spoke 2 the hv and she said that she must need it she has a dummy but wont suck on it between 4 and 10 its a nitemare as also hav 2 other children 2 see 2 x

Hi, my little one did this to me from week 2 or so. I did the following combination so not sure if one or all helped.
I tilted the cot at the head end to ensure if reflux was part of the problem that it would help relieve it, I was told that reflux is common and as the babys digestive system matures the reflux should correct itself.
I did reflexology on him and tummy massage.
I expressed some milk from the second breast before letting him feed on that to ensure he did not get too much fore milk as this can be too sugary and can fill them up too much without fulfilling their appetite and then they feed again too soon and then they vomit as they have taken excess to requirements.

I hope this helps you

foremilk too sugary?? did you mean watery perhaps? - otherwise I agree with what you said on reflux, reflexology etc... (although expressing might not always be the best method long term for baby to get to hindmilk).
Nice to see that so many mums have had similar experiences - we're all within the boundaries of normal...

Hope things are improving for you - my dd was great -comparatively!- last night so thanks everybody for tips!

She laughed at me when I tried her with a dummy - I swear it! She was getting sucky and drowsy so I tried to sneak it in and she did the wrinkled-nose, open-mouthed snatching thing she does, thinking it might be a boob, and then just frowned quizzically and squinted up at me in disbelief before refusing it! Tried a few times but she wasn't happy.

Having said that, she settled after 2 hours last night, so awake from 10-12. I wouldn't mind but she sleeps from 7 til 10ish in the evening after a tea-time cluster feed - I'd rather she ran the sleeps together and I could do all the cluster feeding at once in the evening thereby getting more nighttime sleep myself! Might try an early bed with her tonight, see if I can avoid the second spell of cluster feeding by having her close to me in the dark when she wakes, save overstimulation. Doubt it'll make any difference at all because as someone once said, tiny "babies are like the weather", but I'll give it a whirl.

Thanks for all the advice and glad to hear you're getting some decent kip miri :)

Try your little finger rather than a dummy? DS spits out the dummy nearly every time, but will quite happily suck on a finger to calm him down. Not ideal long term as you're kind of tied to him, but it helps for short periods of fussing.