11 week old screaming during & after feeds

[themarchare]

I'm really hoping someone can give me some advice.

2nd baby is 11 weeks old, EBF. Feeding had all the usually challenges at the beginning but improved loads after we had his tongue tie operated on at 4 weeks (tongue tie has not reattached- this was checked on Friday).

However, since about 8 weeks he's been screaming during and after 9/10 of his feeds. He doesn't often bring up milk so I don't think it's reflux, and I try to hold him up right for 15mins or so after each feed although this is tricky as he's often so distressed he flings himself around and I need both arms to hold him let alone pat/rub his back.

HV suggested a dairy sensitivity so I gave that up just over 2 weeks ago and we did see an improvement. I know they say it can stay in your system for 2-3 weeks but the lactation consultant we've been seeing said you will know pretty quickly if that's the cause. However, the problem seems to have returned this weekend and it's getting so frustrating.

I didn't successfully bf my first baby beyond 4 weeks and on paper things are going so well this time round - he's never struggled with his weight and my boobs haven't hurt at all, even at the beginning. But nearly every feed is now a battle, my arms ache from trying to support him while he tugs and groans and head bashes my chest, and I'm so disheartened that at nearly 3 months in I still can't comfortably feed him. I have to take myself off if people are around (in the garden etc) and yesterday fed him in the car rather than in a pub garden to avoid a scene (screaming, boobs everywhere, swapping between them every 10 seconds, all to produce an unhappy, unsettled baby).

Not sure what I'm asking really but if anyone has any experience of this or can give me any idea how long it stays this hard for I would really appreciate it.

Hey OP. My DD was like this until I have up dairy and soy...have you been asked to cut out soy as well?

*gave up

You said he doesn’t bring up milk so you don’t think it’s reflux, but it could be silent reflux. They have all the same symptoms without bringing up milk.

Agree with PP though, if you’ve cut out dairy you might need to cut out soy as well as most babies are allergic to dairy are allergic to soy too.

Thank you both.

I did wonder about silent reflux however I was told there wasn't really anything we can do about this apart from wait for him to grow out of it. GP said infant gaviscon etc would only make things worse as it stops them bringing milk up (which he obviously isn't doing if it's silent) but can cause constipation. It also sounds like a right faff to administer to a breastfed baby!

Interesting to hear about the soy! Thank you. I'll try cutting that out too and see if it helps.

Thanks again

Hi OP, I have had something similar not really sure of the cause frankly but, what helped me was a combination of the following -

• feeding in the koala hold (basically helps milk go down and stay down
• feeding baby in the day before he's really hungry so he's calm, this way he will generally feed more calmly though not always
• lots of winding during each feed, gripe water before feeds helped in a particularly bad patch though I've stopped using it now (baby is now 13 weeks and is quite a bit better)
• tummy massage/bicycle legs for trapped wind throughout the day as I found feeding causes baby to want to fart more and he gets upset when he can't
• keeping baby upright for 10-20 mins post feed (I do this as he definitely has silent reflux)

I've found it really hard and stressful but now it's easier and for no particular reason so I'm sure things will get better for you too. Good luck!

Could it be thrush? My son exhibited many of the same symptoms and he had a very nasty case which took a while to clear up with treatment- we kept passing it between each other during feeding so I had cream too.

Thank you for the tips! Good to know other people have been in this situation as the gp and health visitor aren't really interested in what the problem could be given that his weight is fine. It's so hard at the moment though!

I did wonder about thrush and asked them to check this at our 8 week check but apparently that's not it.

We have a paediatrician appointment mid May which may shed some light on what's going on... although that feels so far in the future he'll practically be a teenager by then

How strict are you being with the dairy? There are an awful lot of things that have milk or milk protein in that you don't realise. It could also be lactose (the sugar on milk) dd was sensitive to both as a baby but luckily grew out of it except when poorly.

Certain meds contain lactose as it is a binding agent in tablets.

Worth trying to see if helps.