7 wk old is gagging & gulping mouthfulls of air when bf

[GeoBraMum]

Hello, my 7 wk old DD is gagging & then gulping mouthfulls of air when feeding resulting in LOTS of wind. Its making night-time sleeping very difficult as its a vicious cycle of feeding (gag-gulp), nodding off, wriggling & crying, winding, feeding (gag-gulp)...
We've had some bf problems...just over a wk ago she had a tongue tie snipped which I thought would solve things but no!

Also, any advice on getting DD to take a bottle would be much appreciated...I would love to pass one of the night feeds over to DP so I can get some sleep! At best of times she'll play with a bottle in her mouth but wont drink.

No advice on the gagging or gulping, but some babies won't ever take a bottle (just to warn you) - try different brands, but it may be she won't accept a bottle until she's much older, or not at all.

Hi there! I had a similar problem.... DS has tongue tie snipped at 9 weeks and struggled with wind before and for a few days after. I was told this was because his latch wasn't deep enough and so persevered getting him to 'relearn' his latch. I used the sandwich technique and the occasional gentle massage of boob further into his mouth. Seemed to solve our problems and super burps and hiccoughs are now (hopefully!) a thing of the past. It also sounds as I'd it could be a really fast let down but I cant help you on this as I seem to have the opposite problem..... Sigh . Hope this helps xxx

I've had success with Nuby bottles. They are squeezy so you can squeeze a little drop of milk into baby's mouth to give them the idea.

Might be worth you trying?

There's plenty of actual experts on here (who will hopefully be along soon), but gagging and gulping can be lots of things. It could be a fast let down and high supply - which is one I know a bit about as my older daughter had a few issues with this until she was a bit bigger. They break the seal because it's coming too fast, then take in the air. Do you know whether you may have fast let down?

It could also be a latching issue as a result of the tongue tie. Do you have support from someone in real life who could take a look?

No advice on taking a bottle I'm afraid. One of mine does, her older sister refused point blank.

Thanks for all the advice re bottles...at least if I know she may never take one I can psychologically prepare for that!
NewYearsRevolution...I'm not sure if I have a fast let down, seems possible though because when she does gag & gulp wind she often breaks away & has milk pouring down her chin. I'm going to go back to a breast feeding clinic on Tuesday to discuss things. This whole latching business never seems to end! I suppose the bf clinic can advise if it is fast let down. Dont know what to think if it is latch though, I feel I'm constantly trying my best to get that right.
Thanks again

If it's fast let down/high supply, there are some easy things you can do to help. The clinic is a good plan, but do you want a few ideas whilst you wait until Tuesday?

You could try nursing 'uphill'. So sit up, leaning back (perhaps onto a pile of pillows) and feed. Your boobs will be pointing slightly upwards. That slows the flow somewhat. You could also try expressing off a tiny bit before you feed. Or putting DD on for a feed, waiting for a let down and then taking DD off and allowing some to flow into a muslin before putting her back on. I am not a trained breastfeeding anything, but all of those should be relatively harmless to try at the start of a feed. If they don't do anything, just don't bother again. If they stop the gulping that could be useful information for the counsellor at the clinic.

Thats great, thanks for that. Was hoping not to have to be expressing before each feed...the up-hill and allowing some to flow into muslin ideas seem nice easier solutions. Will give them a go

I thought fast letdown/over supply too. I'm pretty sure I'm dealing with this too and your 'symptoms' so to speak, sound familiar. Mines not under control, but we are slowly managing better with it- ds is 6 wks.. I would second up Hill feeding, I also find my ds struggles less when he's tummy down on my chest and I'm slightly reclined.....but we have skin to skin too so not an 'every feed' option. I would also recommend expressing some before a feed. Even if it's just by hand. It really gets rid of that initial powerful flow, which my ds something's struggles to keep up with. I find it's most neccessary to do this when my breast is full. I expressed by pump before a feed last night for the first as ds has a cold which combined with my fast letdown is causing him to be sick and it worked really well. My breast was quite full and I know he would have really struggled and instead he had a peaceful feed. I've also read alot about block feeding and somone on here also gave me a link but I've only got one hand right now (ds in the other) so can't dig out link. Just google fast letdown and Kelly'smom, and there is lots of advice on this there- basically not alternating breast at every feed and sticking to one breast for a block of time. Don't know why I've not tried this yet....I think I'm just waiting for ds to get over his cold and get back into a pattern. Good luck! Xx