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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Is this trapped wind or hunger - newborn?

13 replies

katierocket · 27/01/2007 11:44

It was all going so well.... then last night DS2 (1 week old) went through a pattern of looking hungry - routing, munching his hand etc so i'd feed him but then when we put him down within half an hour he was squirming about and seemed to have trapped wind (if left would end up crying) BUT he was behaving as if hungry i.e. routing again etc

Could he have wind and just be looking for comfort from sucking? how do you tell the difference at such young age? If it is wind and I feed him, won't it make the wind worse? Butif I don't feed him how long to leave him screaming his head off (doesn't seem to be comforted by anything else)

Sorry -r ealise this is long but very puzzled and could do with some opinions

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Original poster
katierocket · 27/01/2007 12:04

forgot to say - he's breastfed

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CorrieDale · 27/01/2007 12:09

Cluster feeding? We had this exact same thing with DS. 'he can't be hungry' I'd say, despairingly. But he was! Well, whether he was or not, he'd still feed. For the first 4 months, he fed non-stop in the evenings. IIRC, he fed from about 5 until 11 for the first few weeks, then it would get less by about an hour a month until it eventually became just a last feed before bed.

I coped by doing a lot of reading, watching tv, having my meals brought to me by my wonderful DH. Even so, it's a pig of a time, and if you have other children, then I should imagine it's even worse.

shonaspurtle · 27/01/2007 12:15

Ds was a bugger to wind in the first few weeks (he does alarmingly loud burps that sound like his uncouth dad now...).

I found that rubbing his tummy seemed to help a bit but it just took aaaaages some times to get the wind out.

IIRC there is a growth spurt at 1 week (when is there not ) so it could just be hunger to boost your supply. I guess we just have to trust that they know what they want at this age.

vnmum · 27/01/2007 12:17

it could be cluster feeding but 7 to 10 days is also a classic time for growth spurt which if you carry on to feed on demand will help increase your supply to his new needs. try winding him first if you suspect wind then just feed if he is hungry.

please dont leave him to cry, he is so tiny and only trying to communicate with you. if you feed on demand wether its every hour or every three your milk supply will build up to his appetite.

look out for another growth spurt around 2 -3 weeks and 4 - 6 weeks.

goodluck and you are doing well

lulumama · 27/01/2007 12:17

if the breast is comforting him , keep him on the breast as much as he wants..he is only a teeny baby...........i personally would not want him to scream....rubbing the tummy gently rather than just over the shoulder and pat often helps get wind up , as shona said....

Original poster
katierocket · 27/01/2007 13:44

thanks everyone (god knows what I would do without mumsnet).
I wouldn't leave him to cry at this age but i was worried that if it is wind then feeding him will just make it worse. It's the fact that he would feed for 5 - 10 mins, fall asleep, then wake between 5-30mins later, squirming about and then crying out.

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Original poster
katierocket · 27/01/2007 13:45

shone - "I found that rubbing his tummy seemed to help a bit but it just took aaaaages some times to get the wind out. "

so did you wait until you definitely got wind up before feeding him again?

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mawbroon · 27/01/2007 14:09

I had forgotten all about this until I read your thread. My ds did this when he was tiny too. It seemed like wind, you know, knees up and screaming etc, but the only thing that soothed him was to put him back on the breast. I remember having the same type of conversation with my Mum "so how can more milk make wind better then" we both agreed that we had no idea, but it did the trick, so lets just leave it at that!! Often, the wind came out the bottom end whilst feeding.

Original poster
katierocket · 27/01/2007 15:19

thanks mawbroon - yes last night wind did come out of bottom a couple of times while I was feeding him.

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shonaspurtle · 27/01/2007 16:31

Katie, I to admit that at the time feeding was so painful that I probably spent too much time seeing if the winding would work.

If I hadn't been so sore I probably would have just tried feeding him more which may have also worked.

Having said that, he was always perfectly happy after he got that final burp out

mwro · 27/01/2007 20:48

My newborn was also crying (actually screaming) all the time after I had just breatfed. We thought she had wind or maybe colic. It turned out that she wasn't taking enough milk from me and was hungry. we found this out because she wasn't putting on weight - have you tried weighing your baby?

If it is wind then gripe water seems to be good (although I am not sure what age you can use this from with a baby).

oldnewmummy · 28/01/2007 05:19

Gosh I'm so glad I read this. My 3 week-old seems to be eating constantly (and waking in the night) and the tiredness is starting to make me think I'm doing something wrong.

Glad to find I'm not alone!

Original poster
katierocket · 28/01/2007 14:22

midwife seems to think that it's probably because he;s not feeding for long enough therefore waking up hungry after 10/30 mins. Have to try and wake him up when he falls asleep after 5 mins of sucking - easier said than done!

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