Screaming when I try and put her to the breast - HELP

[weirdbird]

My 7 week old has reflux and is on ranitidine and Domperidone, she is also a very windy baby and screams a lot despite how much you wind her.

I have breast fed her with no problems till this week when she has started screaming when I try to feed her, she will latch on and have enough to take the edge of her appetite but then screams and arches her back away from the breast when I try to feed her anymore, she also has a blue tinge around her mouth when she does this.

I really don't know what to do, she isn't doing this at night when she is sleepy, just during the day and especially the evening. It means she isn't settling and is starving again an hour later, she was going 3-4 hours between feeds as she is a big baby at 13lbs

I have tried different positions etc but nothing seems to help when she is like this, she screams cause she is hungry and then screams when I put her to the breast, she wont feed sitting more upright cause I have tried, she already feeds at a 45 degree angle cause of her reflux.

It really upsets me when she does this and I start getting angry and frustrated that she won't latch on and feed, thursday she did this every feed all day and in the end I just had to put her down and let her scream. Cause I couldn't cope with her screaming at me anymore when I tried to feed her.

I really want to continue breastfeeding, I enjoy it and I know its the best thing for her, I breastfeed before with my DD1 till she was 8 months. But when she does this I just want to give up.

No one seems to be able to give me any advice on what to do, apart from the things I have already tried such as different positions.

Shes not an easy baby I am struggling to cope with her and DD1 who is at school, and the cooking, washing and being self employed as it is. I dont have time in teh day to express of every feed and then sit and feed it to her (she will take a bottle of EBM!)

Has anyone ever come across this problem?

Before she started doing this my HV and midwife had both said we where an advert for breastfeeding as we did it so effortlessly, the problem is I havn't changed anything I am doing.

Bump Bum Bump Wierdbird. Sounds like you are having a hard time.

I'm afraid the best I can do is to give yo the helpline phone nyumbers:
NCT 0870 444 8708
La Leche League 0845 120 2918
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers 0870 401 7711

I hope that someone will be along with some proper advice soon.

Please get in contact with a bfc and let them watch a feed and they will be the best to advice you!
Also hoping Tiktok mihgt come along, she is brill!
At this age they do go through a growthspurt, whihc just doesn't help!
Obviously the reflux is a problem, but also wondering, do you hvae a very fast let down maybe?
Also have a look here on the kellymom website loads of brilliant advice and info about bf there!
Best of luck and so sorry I can't be of more help to you!
Oh, anohter thing, have you considered osteocraniotherapy( or something along those lines, that can help) and a Sling is helpful too for a unsettled Baby, best is a Wrap or Ringsling or something like that!

www.infantrefluxdisease.com/help_infant_reflux.php

14 steps to reducing your infant's Reflux

Hi, weirdbird. This must be very distressin for you. Can't really make a comment, as someone who knows what they are looking for should watch you feed from beginning to end. That would be a basic in this sort of situation. They need to see what she is doing and when she is doing it, and to get more info than you have given so far (weight gain, general behaviour, what happened before and so on).
Call one of the organisations or go to a breastfeeding support group locally - hope you find the right help.

So sorry you're having a hard time.
Just a thought, and nothing to do with reflux: my dd started to do this at about 10 weeks and it turned out that she was teething. I think the sucking must make their gums tingle, or something.

Calpol or Bongela before a feed worked a treat, but your dd is probably too young for this. Could try massaging her gums before feeding?

All the best with finding a solution...

Bit random and likely to be wrong but........Does she have a cold? as it could be earache....sometimes babies pull away from the breast and cry - this may be because it increases in the pressure in their ears causing earache. This is particularly common overnight or after a longer sleep.

My DS has been crying when put on the breast as well but I think it wind with him. Back using Infacol which i find helps.

Sadly she is quite well, so can't attribute it to this and feeds really well at night when she is mostly asleep.

I have looked at the kellymom website thank you 3andnomore, and from that it looks like I have too much milk and too fast a let down, apparently in severe cases they can start to refuse the breast and she ticks all the other boxes, I am trying to feed her more often so she doesnt suck as hard and only offering her one breast per feed unless she starts to refuse it...

Seems to be working so far, but its early days!

if you change your perfume or soap or deodorant that can have them refusing to suckle and screaming in frustration, just a thought, if you wash off anything like that it might go away, but then it might not but just a thought as that happened to me once, a whole day of screaming and hell as I had put perfume on that morning without thinking

The Kellymom website is also good for breastfeeding advice

Weirdbeird, I know you mentioned that you have tried different positions, but a friend of mine, that had that to fast let down prob big time found , that her lil one was best if fed her laying down on her back and him lying on top, as that slows the let down a bit down...agaisnt gravity and all that! Admittedly she was a bit stuck at home a bit at first, as that meant no public feeding possible really, lol...however, your let down will sort itself out!
I personally had probs with a fast strong let down and as I had abundance of milk I fed of the same breast for several feeds, up to 6 hours maximum inbetween swapping, and that helped reduce my milksupply a bit and helped with the let down aswell (I had tried to feed lying on my back, but just didn't manage that...)...if you do the delaying swapping breasts bit, you got to be very careful and really look out for symptoms of mastitis and blocked ducts, etc...you don't want your breasts to be to painful and sore before swapping!
The way it works is, that obviously supply is managed by the empty breast signal...hence, if you let your breast become very full it signals that you don't need that much milk...hope that makes sense!
Really feel for you, as that problem is bad enough with a non refluxer, but is worse with a refluxer..best of luck!