Baby (3wo) screaming/crying after each BF - normal, wind or another problem?

[PickledLily]

Apologies for over-anxious first-time mum question.

She'll feed fine on both sides for 30mins or so (is burped in between) then the screaming begins and continues for about 1.5 hrs after she started feeding, during which time she'll be rooting madly, but won't generally latch on; she just frantically head bobs. She's inconsolable and looks really miserable. It often ends with her doing a massive, loud poo (usually when she's just had her nappy changed) :)

Am BF on demand, but don't know whether continuing to feed her during her head bobbing is adding to the problem - she's making the right hunger signals ('neh-neh' cry, rooting) but maybe I'm misinterpreting them. Is it just wind or potentially another problem I've missed? Very confused.

Is your letdown very fast? My 10 week old used to do exactly that when he was newborn and it happened when he was full but still wanted to suck for comfort and was bothered by the fast flow. I gave him a dummy and that calmed him down and made him fall asleep. It works for us but lots of people don't agree with giving a dummy to a newborn baby so check with someone more knowledgeable before doing it!

Yes it is, she often pulls off at the start and pauses before feeding. I'm not keen on using a dummy just yet, but she does suck on my little finger if offered. Except tonight - she's going ballistic (including shrieking mid-feed) and won't even suck on a finger.

Am trying to hold off feeding her for a bit to see if she settles down (and her stomach stops bulging!). Could be in for a long night. :(

Mine did that - v stressful isn't it? I think she had wind from a too forceful let down. I just rode it out and she got better at about 6 weeks but Was windy til 5 months. Probably a good idea to seek some b feeding help. I didn't as was just trying to cope with toddler and newborn but think it could have helped. Certainly the wind caused problems with bedtime and evenings for months and months.

Not much sleep last night, although when she did pass out she slept well; she seems to find sleeping tummy down on me very comfy (don't tell the HV, she'll have me arrested )

I will see the BF counselor tmw, one side is definitely proving problematic (leaking milk everywhere, lots of blocked ducts and she doesn't latch on as well). Good to hear your baby grew out of it. How you cope with a toddler on the scene too, i have no idea!

I think I have this problem with my newborn - on day 6 now and she seems to have terrible wind and also keeps wanting food when I don't think she is hungry (fed and fed and fed this morning and then projectile vomited and has been very uncomfortable with wind.

Is there anything I can do to help wind her a bit more effectively? Are some bf positions better than others? - Only just managed to latch and feed comfortably and quickly so don't think I can manage anything too ambitious!

Best position for winding for my LO last night seemed to be the 'aeroplane' - lying on her tummy on your forearm, like an aeroplane taking off - and gently/slowly rocking/swinging her. She hates being on her back at this point!

But if your LO is vomiting, I'd be wondering if she has reflux - I'm (clearly!) no expert, but from what I've read, vomiting can be a sign of reflux, where the milk is leaking back from her stomach into the oesophagus (the stomach valve is still developing at this age).

Hoping someone better informed can guide you here - it might be worth you starting a new thread.

I was in exactly the same boat as you so feel your pain! IMO it sounds like wind, my DS would root around like mad after a good feed, would suck once or twice and then come off again - he wanted to comfort suck but didn't want the milk. Can I ask what her poo is like? It could be that she is suffering from lactose overload (have a google) especially if you feel you have a really good milk supply? Trust me though, it does get better as their little digestive systems mature - I was close to giving up on many occasions but we are now at 15 weeks and things are so much better - still a lot of wind but no screaming. Oh, and a double dose of Infacol before every feed really does help my boy with his wind. At first I thought it was crap but I persevered and now he has no problem bringing up lovely orange smelling burps!

Oh I let her sleep on my chest on her tummy for the first while.... First 3 months? She would groan and groan in her basket.

And she lived in the sling til she was 4 months. So slept in it. If I tried to get her to nap on the pram she always woke after 15 mins with a burp.

Now she is totally fine. Aged 8 months.

So a few days on now... it seems to be wind. Have seen the BF woman who has helped improved LO's latch and put my mind at rest regarding feeding frequency.
But today LO has fed constantly (with less screaming but more squirming) and hardly slept - think she's having a growth spurt. Hope so - HV has just weighed her and is threatening to get the doctor involved as she's only put on an ounce since last Thurs. :(

She's definitely growing longer, just not chubbier. Bloody growth charts/stats. I didn't need that to worry about too.

I agree, you definitely don't need more things to worry about at this stage! About the weight gain, I don't know if this is helpful but you may want to take a look at the guidelines which your HV should be working from.

The other thing I wanted to ask about was feeding from both sides. I'm sure you already know this, but it is best to wait til the baby comes off the boob herself before offering the other one. If you're switching her over before she's finished, she would be getting less of the fatty hindmilk - which might explain the wind/unhappiness/explosive poos?

Yes, I let her finish one side before starting the other, although this can take ages as she tends to eat or 5 mins, rest for 5 (repeat, until she falls asleep). Tricky this morning, she's just 'hanging out' on the breast. When I gently pull her away to see if she's still latched on or asleep, she gives a couple of good hard sucks/swallows then just lies there nibbling, not swallowing, cheeky thing!

Did the HV give any possible reasons as to the slow weight gain? Would you say your milk supply is really good? When my LO was having similar probs I would feed from one side only per feed to ensure that he stayed on long enough to get the good fatty stuff - if he came off, I would wind him and put him back on the same side to up the calories he was getting but decrease the volume of milk he was consuming (he was taking in so much milk it gave him tummy ache and alot of wind). I had masses of milk so doing this wasn't an issue for me - just a thought if you think the low weight gain may be related in some way to this.

No possible reason from the HV. She just said I might have to FF . Didn't make sense to me if they don't know whether it's a supply or absorption issue.

Plenty of milk - someone asked earlier if i had fast let down - I've just sprayed milk across the kitchen, so I guess the answer is yes! Perhaps LO's getting too much fore-milk.

I'm wondering about silent reflux as many of the symptoms fit, except vomiting/spitting up - she doesn't do that. Does anyone know?

That should be, does anyone know if silent reflux always has vomiting?

I was prescribed infant gaviscon as before I realised I had oversupply and a forceful let down, all of the silent reflux symptoms seemed to fit. Then my lo had ultra explosive and watery poos and I realised that I had a foremilk\hindmilk imbalance. The la leche league website has great info on this, low weight gain can be a symptom. Of course the health of your LO comes first but there are things to try before swapping over to formula, surely? Have you thought about maybe expressing a feed and giving a bottle. This may mean your LO gets the hindmilk. May just eliminate one possible cause. Keep your chin up, I know how horrible and frustrating it is when it doesn't seem to work.