WTF I don't think it's cluster feeding

[Iggly]

I'm sure there's a rational explanation but after endless nights of this I can't think straight.

DD is 5 weeks and has fussy evenings. I thought cluster feeding but she's screaming now and won't stop. I offer boob and she has a few sucks then pulled off and goes mad. Nothing calms her down more than a few minutes then she kicks off again. I can't take much more of it as haven't a clue what to do. I can't just park on the sofa and feed feed feed as she doesn't want to. It's just suck suck suck, scream, scream ad Infinitum.

Can anyone relate to this? She's screaming and I've had to put her down and walk away as I'm going mental.

I'm not convinced she even wants boob - she's calmed down for five minutes and is having a go but not frantically.

God this is confusing. I just want my evenings back!

My DD was like this. What fixed it in the end was an early evening FF. I suspect that I'd been so busy through the day that my supply was a bit run down by then. I'm not suggesting you rush to FF but perhaps you need to concentrate on resting, eating and drinking more through the day so that your supply is still good in the evening. Alternatively it could be that she is tired rather than hungry. Will she sleep if you walk her in her pram or something?

It will get easier I promise.

Our ds, now 6 months, was like this, i think he might have been in pain due to wind. Also after 5 pm really struggled because he was tired, an earlier bed time helped. He's still in bed by 6pm now. Gripe water eased his gas pain i think.

My DD is only 12 days old so I am no expert but she did this a little bit in the few days after I had her and the MW suggested hand expressing a little on my nipple and then offering that as she said DD might be getting frustrated that milk wasn't coming fast enough. It worked for me although should add DD wasn't screaming, just getting frustrated.

It's odd - I do think she'll need an early bedtime like her older brother. I take her up at 6pm bit still the same. Even if she has a Nao and wakes at 6pm, she still gets fussy and cries as if she wants to go back to sleep (same cry as in the day) but it takes hours.
When she feeds, she ends up getting wind as she isn't doing it properly making it worse.
I do rest in the day but hard with a 2 year old and won't risk formula as DS was intolerant. Haven't tried s bottle yet anyway - should do!

Have you got a sling (wrap/ring type not baby bjorn type)?

Sometimes tiny babies can get so overwhelmed by their new needs that they just can't settle. Slings can mimic the womb environment and calm baby down so that they can feed/sleep/be as they need to. Plus it means you aren't stuck on the sofa, you can go for a walk, go to the shops, you can even get special slings you can have a shower in!

If you have had enough, Dad can take his turn slinging baby, some babies really like men's low voices, especially when baby is carried with their head right by Dad's voice box (sounds weird but it's worth a shot!).

Oh and she doesn't sleep in a pram or carseat. She just screams!

DS was a bit like this, I ended up lying propped up on the bed holding and feeding him with the lights off and no noise. It seemed to calm him down so I put his behaviour down to over stimulation after a long day.

Hope you find something that works for you.

She lives in a sling all day. Except for the first two weeks, I've never been able to put her down. I have tried it in the evening but am a bit claustrophed by then but might try again for my sanity.

She won't settle for dh in the evenings. Same in the day - if she wants a nap, has to be me! Much more clingy than DS. She's currently screaming with him while I gobble my dinner :(

I do suspect silent reflux as DS had the same and has food intolerances even now but reluctant to rush to meds but I think this must be part if not all of the problem.

God she's screaming so hard :( dh is trying but she is so unsettled. Wen I take her back she's got her fists in little balls and tears pouring down her cheeks :(

Same every evening :(

Have you tried a cranial osteopath? Dd used to be like that with feeds and being put down and it really helped her. Was stiff as a board down one side so found it painful to feed and be on her back. Also helped with her wind and reflux a bit. Hope she gets better soon.

Is it only recently? My DS was like that with his colic but that was from 2-11 weeks pretty much every night. If its recent perhaps it's growth spurting and the milk isn't flowing in fast enough at the start of the feed? I remember the 6wk spurt and my DS screaming at me pretty much constantly for 2 days and at one marathon feed screamed at the start of the feed, screamed as the flow trailed off and screamed whenever I swapped him over to the other boob. Perhaps it's worth getting in touch with a Breastfeeding support group in your area to help with latching on or suggest a better bf position? Hugs x

No - I'm not sure how they work? I will admit I'm a bit sceptical though :) DD didn't have a difficult birth and seems ok physically. She does suffer from dreadful wind - sometimes in the sling she'll cry painfully, I'll think it's a burp but it's actually bum wind. She does the most loudest long ones too

The more I write the more I realise something is up. I was hoping for an easy time after DS but alas no.

Thanks everyone for replying - keeping me sane. DD is now curled up asleep on me - could almost feel her relief when dh have her back to me!!

Mar no it's been getting progressively worse over time. We have a few local groups so will go anyway. She has a minor tongue tie but I'm usually ok getting her on properly. It's the fact that she never settles for dh which makes me wonder if something bothers her so she needs boob to be close by all the time.

Also for wind, a great position i was shown was having him vertical to my boob so he looked like he was standing up infront of me while I slouched back on the sofa. It made gas easier to bring up and seemed to help him swallow less air.

It may be a minor looking TT but it may be causing other problems - interesting article here on 'mild tongue ties'.

Or it might be nothing to do with any of her other behaviour but worth a look at.

Dd2 was like this, increasingly screamy in the evenings from after a few weeks old, and just wouldn't settle. As dd1 had milk and egg allergy, I tried cutting milk and egg out of my diet - better the next day, and totally calm and settled the day after that! I never dared to start eating milk/egg whilst i was bf again (about another 10 months!).

May be worth considering if your oldest has intolerances.

Dd2 (now 2.5) doesn't have any allergies or intolerances btw, so it must have been a transient thing whilst she was a small baby.

Just seen your latest post - dd2 had minor tt as well. We did have it snipped though at about 6 weeks as it was causing some strange choking whilst feeding, and didn't want it to cause problems later on when my supply settled down. Definitely worth considering.

Ah thank you I'll check out the tie. I had ruled it out but I should think again.

I also had to cut dairy with DS and have cut it again but have been a bit slack recently.

There are so many possibilities!

Had a read of article - I have had no pain feeding. DD is gaining very well. She does take down a lot of air, chokes and clicks when feeding.

have a look at this article about oversupply
www.llli.org/faq/oversupply.html

Hang in there, it can feel so overwhelming with an unhappy baby. Going out in the sling, with big coat over you both, can help get baby off to sleep as your stride is much more soothing when out and about rather than pacing the house...plus the cries don't sound so loud outside and you can go and buy chocolate!

DS was like this from weeks 6-11 in between cluster feeding he would want to suck but got very upset that milk was coming out. I finally introduced a dummy at 7/8weeks and it calmed him right down. He still cluster fed in the evenings but had the dummy to snooze in between. When he stopped cluster feeding, he stopped needing the dummy too.

chocolate I have over supply problems bit have been tackling and settled down (had it with DS too). I feel a bit crap really because bf and me don't get on! I have oversupply, overactive letdown, DD has a tie, DS had reflux and if eat dairy/soya it causes problems

Have tried a dummy - DD not interested! DS was the same - he only took one when 3 months +

having oversupply in early days of b/f is very normal...body is preparred for twins etc. if baby has TT then is getting a lot of foremilk from forceful milk ejection reflex but not got the energy to stay on for the hindmilk. There is a new LLL Leaflet about just this thing. Costs £1.25 plus postage or see if you can contact local LLL leader who may have one more and can help support you through this challenge. Block nursing? Cabbage leaves in bra but only for an hour at a time as it can really knock milk supply. Or expressing to get past the oversupply so baby can comfortably feed? This can of course lead to more milk but if you're not going to keep the expressed milk (pls don't flame me) then no need to sterilise pump and can pour the milk down the sink (yes I know liquid gold and all that but comfort of mum and baby are important too). Expressing off the extra milk might allow baby to have a comfortable feed with more fatty milk. Less watery lactose rich milk might make baby's tummy less windy too. Also coping with a fast let down and TT can cause baby to take in more air. Slower let down might also mean less air going in. Also feeding against gravity, leaning back with baby straddling your leg and then plunging onto boob. baby will turn head to breathe. Gravity is supporting baby and boob, less work for baby to stay on and milk is going upwards rather than downwards in the traditional cross cradle hold.