How do I get a frantic feeder to breastfeed?

[Moreton]

Hi all. My daughter is now 5 weeks old and weighs 10lb 13. She has never successfully breastfed so I have had to express all of her feeds. I am now finding this very tiring and disheartening. I have had all sorts of advice about positioning and timing etc but nothing has worked. She is able to latch on but becomes so frantic that she throws her head back after a few sucks and begins to scream making it impossible to continue. I know my positining is right and I have a really good milk supply. She becomes very frantic when bottle feeding as well (I use a Haberman feeder and her sucking does not seem to be affected when she comes to the nipple)She takes about 5-6 ounces per feed and feeds ever 2.5 - 4 hours. I am on the verge of giving up and am really upset - particularly when my daughter gets so upset. Anyone had a similair experience who can help please?

have you tried expressing then breastfeeding? maybe your flow is fast at first...? well done by the way for keeping going this long! x you tried a BF councillor?

for you - but as Quootiepie says, well done on making it this far - I know what it's like, as my DD wouldn't latch on at all and I expressed all her feeds for ages. Could you start her off on the bottle, and then try breastfeeding when she's not quite so hungry? Also second Quootiepie's suggestions that maybe you have a very efficient let-down, so she can't cope with the rate the milk comes out? You really do need an expert to come and look at you - are there any breastfeeding clinics where you are? Take it feed by feed - you're doing so well to have got this far.

Moreton - she may be having a problem with too fast/too slow let down. As she is only 5 weeks, it is probably too fast. I had this problem with DS as I had masses of milk !

The other thing that comes to mind with a fussy at breast baby is thrush. DS and I got thrush when 3 - 4 months old and he used to thrash about and scream a few seconds after latching. I got to the bottom of it with the help of www.kellymom.com.

They get sore mouths (sometimes there is no sign of thrush in the baby's mouth at all) and find it painful to suck. Thrush takes absolutley ages to clear so she may have had it since born which may explain why she has never liked latching. I guess tongue tie could be another issue (?) she needs to be checked.

Please see a properly trained BF adviser. They will be able to tell if it is a fast let down or thrush or some other problem. If you look up www.kellymom.com it has an excellent section on fussy babies and the possible reasons for it.

Good luck !

What was her birth like? Might cranial osteopathy be an idea?

Thanks all. It is a relief to get some feedback. I know there is a breastfeeding group locally but I've been nervous about going along as I'm not actually breastfeeding. I will make the effort this week and see what the BF counsellor has to offer. Cheers to you all!