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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Crying at the breast.

16 replies

Stefka · 13/12/2007 13:29

My DS is 7 weeks and in the last couple of days he has started to fuss a bit at the breast. He's feeding away and then starts to cry a bit. I am trying to get cracked nipples to heal so he has been getting one bottle of EBM a day to give me a break - do you think this is causing the problem? He has been getting bottles since he was three weeks old but has only started this crying business in the last few days.

OP posts:
ib · 13/12/2007 13:34

You poor thing. Sounds unlikely to be related to the bottles. Does he pull off and stop feeding or does he then continue to feed?

Pannacotta · 13/12/2007 13:40

Sounds like he has wind, or maybe fast let down choking him. If you are giving a bottle a day it might be that your milk is coming down quite fast which can be hard for small babies.
When DS used to do this I would sit him up and more often than not he'd burp then would be ok again and back to his feeding.
USeful info here
www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/fussy-while-nursing.html

dal21 · 13/12/2007 14:13

stefka - my ds did this between the 6-8 week mark. sometimes you could have thought i was murdering him. tons of us went through the same thing on our pnatal thread - apparently the fussing coincides with growth spurts and is perfectly normal.

DS has just done the same as before (but a with a little more attitiude) at 13 weeks (another growth spurt i think). I have to sit him up, wind him, let him calm down and then put him back on. One feed took over 1 hr 15 mins! DS has never taken longer than 30 mins to feed. Both times it passed within 3/4 days so please dont worry.

Original poster
Stefka · 13/12/2007 14:39

He is quite windy - he tends to start wriggling around and I have to take him off to get him to burp which he doesn't like so maybe that is part of the problem. It's not nice because he always liked being on the boob before. He has been really fussy these last few days in general. I will check the link thankyou.

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Pannacotta · 13/12/2007 20:33

I would just keep taking him off, sit him up and try to wind him each time he cries/wriggles, it really does sound like its wind which is bothering him.

Pannacotta · 13/12/2007 20:33

I would just keep taking him off, sit him up and try to wind him each time he cries/wriggles, it really does sound like its wind which is bothering him.

Mincepiedermama · 13/12/2007 20:35

It could be thrush. Are your nipples sore, red or itchty. You could be passing it on to each other and I know it hurts a baby when he has thrush in his mouth and he's trying to feed.

If he has thrush it will look like little white spots in the mouth which don't rub off. There's gel available for it in the chemist and you'll both need to be treated.

misspenguin · 13/12/2007 20:47

Go and see a cranial osteopath. He may be uncomfortable as no matter how he is feeding it is unusual for a comfortable baby to cry. If he is windy then he may need some treatment to get it released and to enable him to release it himself. Suggest you google 'Sutherland Cranial Collage' and search for a practitioner near you.

It is good to get any discomforts sorted asap because it is important he doesn't associate food with discomfort/pain/unhappiness as this can later lead to issues with food. (Obviously, not always, but there is a high correlation.)

Good luck

Original poster
Stefka · 14/12/2007 09:38

It seems to get worse as the day goes on. His feed this morning was fine but one he had last night was awful. He cried and wriggled, I took him off and I couldn't get him to burp. He screamed so much that I ended up just putting him back off. We did this a few times and it was pretty horrible. He settled eventually or just got to tired maybe.

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Original poster
Stefka · 14/12/2007 09:38

I don't think it is thrush because we had it a few weeks ago and I can't see any symptoms on him or feel any in me.

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5goldrings4MONKEYBIRDs · 14/12/2007 10:58

Morning Stefka

Hmm, interesting - but second the other posters' comments that it sounds pretty normal at this stage - defo mine has been through it around 8-10 weeks and periodically since then.

Is he now feeding reasonably regularly? Are you spacing the feeds at all or at least timing them?

Here's what happened with my boy - and we still back and forward between the two...

He had screaming fits - wanted breast, didn't want breast all at the same time. I believed him to be hungry, DH believed him to be tired. In the end think it was actually both. So two approaches tended to work - one either DH and him in a dark room getting him to have a powernap so he could be alert enough to feed after 10 mins or the other sleep alternative was - sometimes he just wanted to lie on his back in his babysleeping bag in a dark quiet room and go to bloody sleep! The second approach was - keep trying and trying to feed him - sometimes also in a dark quiet room but sometimes with the vacuum cleaner on (try it! has an amazingly soothing effect for lots of babies! certainly all 3 of mine). He would fuss and fuss and pull off - until he got a good letdown and then he'd feed properly until he fell asleep.

The reason I asked about spacing feeds was if he is demanding a little bit more but you're thinking no it's too early etc he could be getting too frustrated and tired to feed properly. think this is what it was with mine...

Only my experiences though so yours could be summat else completely!

Has your thrush/nipple damage cleared up now?

Original poster
Stefka · 14/12/2007 19:39

I am pretty sure it has - I don't have that awful burning pain after I feed now.

His last two feeds today were ok - I will see how the evening ones go as it is this time of day that he seems to get really fussy. One thing I wondered about is that I am suffering from a sore tummy at nights (seeing DR on Mon) - could this be transferring to him?. I generally feed him when he wants - he tends to feed, get a nappy change, be awake for a bit then go to sleep. I feed him when he wakes up again.

Nipples are healing btw - am hoping that it might not actually hurt by Christmas!

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moondog · 14/12/2007 19:41

Ah Stefka,good for you girl, still hanging in there.You've been to hell and back eh? Glad to hear tjhe nipples are healing at last. (Would you ever pre-baby have thought in your wildest dreams that you would be discussing your nipples with a bunch of strengers?!)

I second the quiet dark room approach.

Original poster
Stefka · 14/12/2007 20:43

I never imagined a great deal of things. That giving birth would be so traumatic, that I would have pain relief, that I would give my baby a bottle and a dummy, that my greatest wishes would be to have Jack Newman as my best friend and to have a utility room so that my house didn't look like a chinese laundrette!

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5goldrings4MONKEYBIRDs · 14/12/2007 20:45

LOL Stefka. sounds like you've fully joined us in the School of Scummy Mummy breastfeeding now! Congratulations!

Original poster
Stefka · 15/12/2007 11:01

I really do feel like I am getting there. My right side is now just really uncomfortable. Left side still sore but not as bad and looks a lot better.

His feeding was fine yesterday so don't know what the crying was all about the other day. Strange.

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