Baby straining and gassy. Oversupply?

[surreygirl1987]

My little boy is 15 weeks old now. When he was born we had 2 months of hell- he cried all the time, wouldn't nap and seemed really miserable and gassy. The paediatrician thought it was silent reflux, possibly with cmp (never confirmed despite elimination diet) nd put him on ranitadine. While it took a while, he did improve massively and has seemed pretty cheerful lately. However, the last couple of days have seen a relapse- he's been miserable, crying at the breast, straining and grunting/groaning and screaming like he hasn't for more than a month and a half! I wonder if it's trapped wind - he has been farting loads the last few days and I'm finding him suddenly harder to burp.

Also I wonder if oversupply could be the root of all this? I express once a day as I give him a bottle of expressed milk before bedtime (as he would fall asleep too soon on the breast). I express at around 10pm and get between 8-10oz. I also leak loads and have to wear breastpads. He chokes on my milk sometimes especially in the morning or if my breast is very full. Then he seems to get frustrated with slow flow when my breasts are much softer. Does this sound like oversupply and overactive letdown? I do block feed (sort of) by only offering him one breast per feed, and I get and stick to that same breast for the next feed too, so two feeds from one breast. I'm worried he's getting too much lactose from the foremilk. Anyone got any experience with this? I've googled it to death but haven't found a solution. Coleif sounds good but difficult to administer if breastfeeding?? I did go to a baby cafe for advice but they didn't really know what to do...

Thanks for any possible help!! X

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

I'm not trained, so if you are in the UK, you might be best to phone one if the BFing Helplines. Have you got the numbers?

[surreygirl1987]

Yeh I tried one and they were useless (in my case at least; maybe useful in othee cased). Also seen a couple of breastfeeding counsellors at baby cafe who didn't really know either.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Sorry I can't be of more use surrey.

Hopefully someone who knows more will be along soon.

In the meantime, have a read of this on Kellymom

[Mumofboys95]

Has his ranitidine dose been increased with weight gain? Maybe his reflux is playing up?

[surreygirl1987]

Yeh it's been increased in line with his weight. We've covered all the obvious things we can think of. I was hoping someone might have experienced the same thing with their little one and come up with a solution that even Google can't fine! Thanks anyway though. Back to the paediatrician we go!

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Was the Kellymom info of any use?

[surreygirl1987]

Kellymom is brilliant but I must have read everything relevant on her website 5x over in the past few months! Thanks though. We've covered all obvious bases as I say.

[Mylittlepony374]

Probiotics helped with my babies reflux. Might be worth a try? I have a powder you add to expressed bottle or just put on your nipple before bf.
Sorry I have no other suggestions, hope you get some resolution.

[surreygirl1987]

Many thanks. Yeh we've been using optibac for the past two months. Maybe I'll try changing the one I use - hadn't thought of that!

[PickledPig]

I've no experience with reflux but my 11 week old has been coughing and gagging while feeding from my right side for a few weeks now. After googling I decided to try the laid back or 'natural' breastfeeding position and it has helped massively as gravity slows the milk flow down. She can now feed on that side much more calmly and doesn't pull off the boob all the time.