9 week baby crying at breast - help please

[greenbeanie]

This is my 3rd dc, have breastfed other 2 for over a year but I am struggling this time. My dd has been feeding really well until last friday. Since then when I put her to the breast when she is showing signs of hunger she either screams straight away or latches on and then comes off screaming. She is obviously still hungry as she then frantically sucks her thumb. Her nappies are also much less wet than they were.

Neither my dd or I have signs of thrush as I thought that might be the cause. There doesn't seem to be a particular time of day that this happens. Sometimes she will feed for a while before coming off and crying and sometimes it is straight away. I did wonder if the milk was flowing too fast for her but the fact that she will sometimes feed ok and then start crying suggests it isn't. Any help or advice would be great.

At the risk of sounding like I'm teaching you to suck eggs, could it be wind? I'm sure you'll have tried this already but it was the first thing that sprang to mind.

Sounds a bit like over-supply - easily fixed if it is. Google block nursing or search archives here - hope it helps.

Other signs (you have already checked one box - not a first baby, though this can happen to first babies as well):

• stellar weight gain especially in first six weeks
• hair trigger let down - baby gets spurted with milk when she pulls off

This usually starts sooner than 9 weeks, though.

Other possibilities: ear infection (would fit, because the symptoms have come on rather suddenly).

just went through this with my dd, lasted from about 11 weeks to 15 weeks. think it was oversupply although I did not have typical symptoms (milk did not keep goung when baby came off, no leaking) she fed better when sleepy or dream feeding. during the day I used biological nurturing (google it) to feed her which meant her head was higher than the nipple, or at the same level. she still pulled off sometimes but did not cry. seems to be ok now even in different positions.

I think you're right oversupply is probably the answer. She was a big baby (11lb11oz) and has continued to gain reasonably well.

I have looked up block nursing but still unsure what to do as it looks like that is pretty much what I do anyway!! She is generally only interested in feeding from one side each feed and tends to go 4hrly between feeds naturally, in fact she has even been sleeping through the night for the past 2 weeks.

Today dd fed well when she woke up this morning, latched on for no more than 1 minute around 11am before screaming. Had a sleep for a couple of hours and woke clearly very hungry. I tried to feed her and she screamed, and I mean screamed for 25 minutes before latching on and fed really well for about 10 minutes before I had to take her off for the school run!! Have tried to feed her again now as seems very hungry and she is refusing to latch on just crying. What can I do?

look up biological nurturing or nursing. its when you put the baby tummy to tummy, you lean back a bit and latch her on. hard to describe but you'll see what I mean if you look it up. its a great position for oversupply. I can never get mine latched on like that so had to latch her in cradle hold and then flip her.

block feeding is meant to fix the problem but does not help your dd deal with the amount is milk coming at her, the biological positions will.

Thanks Chilichill, I shall give it a go, although at present getting her to latch on at all would be a bonus!

mine was the same, took a week for her to get used to it and realize that she was ok in the position. good luck, and try feeding her when she is sleepy or even sleeping, mine will take any position for a dream feed.