Baby fussing at the breast

[arunde]

Help please, my baby started to behave rather oddly at the breast and it's making feeding difficult (and unpleasant).

He will start off ok and feed normally for about 10 mins. But after that, he starts kicking his legs with quite a lot of force and hit with his hands which obviously makes him unlatch. He will then latch back on (within seconds of unlatching), suck a couple of times, unlatch, suck, unlatch, latch back on etc etc. All while wriggling like crazy and hitting with arms and legs.

I don't think it's to do with wind as the same continues after I burped him. I also don't think it's due to forceful letdown as he feeds ok for the first 10 mins or so. I've tried different positions and it makes no difference. He's clearly getting less milk with this behaviour as his weight gain has slowed significantly in the last few weeks since this started.

Help please!

Bump. Baby is 12 weeks old if that is relevant.

Don’t panic, this is totally normal. It’s not wind, just that they get more efficient at getting milk faster and also get far more distracted! There are some tips in this link, but I found this with mine too. She used to pinch hard and twist, so I covered her hand with a muslin occasionally until that phase passed! We’re now on toddler bfing stage where she thinks she can climb my shoulder with her legs and suck her toes at the same time as feeding. We had a nice calm phase in between though!
Distracted breastfeeding baby

I just saw the slow weight gain comment (sorry toddler on lap). I’d maybe consult a bfing group in your area and see if they can give advice re weight gain. They can help with any latching issues. Otherwise though, 12 weeks is a really distractable age, so that may be contributing.

Ah that's interesting! I will try feeding in a boring room as the article suggests. He definitely is taking more interest in his surroundings so perhaps he is just getting distracted. Thank you!

So he was feeding well through the night, no fussing at all, but this morning I can't get him to eat! He's kicking and hitting and wriggling at the breast from the very start of the feed, didn't even get the usual calm 10 mins. It's been 4h since the last feed so surely he's hungry! But just keeps unlatching and latching back on, non-stop..

Bump

@arunde how are you getting on? I have the same issue with my daughter, the same age. Her weight gain is a constant struggle. I managed to get her to gain 600g from month 2-3, but it was like pushing a bolder up a hill. She doesn't really ask to feed either. I have to stick her in the sling and stand in a corner so she can't see anything and she screams for 5 mins, then drinks like she's starving

@CycleGirl20 Sorry, I don't have a solution still! He still does it from time to time, I just take him off if he starts fussing and try again in a little while. He does take a feed eventually. Still haven't figured out what causes this, as he does the same thing in a boring, dark room too! I'm thinking it could be air in the stomach or reflux making him feel uncomfortable 🤷‍♀️

He's still following his centiles according to the red book (thankfully), I guess their weight gain naturally slows at this age.

Mine did this from 3 months ish. It was a nightmare, got to the point where during the day she would only feed when half asleep I.e. just woken up. It did get better by 5 months ish.
In our case it was silent reflux. Prescribed gaviscon which didn't help. Wish we had a feeding assessment at the time. We've ended up having a tongue tie diagnosed at 11 months despite being told by gp that no way she had one..
I would speak to an IBCLC for advice.

My little girl did a similar thing. For the first few weeks had quite long feeds (15-20 mins) then started becoming very nosey, kicking her legs and moving her arms about, on and off the breast (which was so frustrating on a night when I didn't want to put the light on and was trying to feed in the dark), her feeds dropped to about 5 mins and never really picked back up. Thankfully the kicking and moving about didn't last to long, seemed to just be a phase. Definitely worth speaking to a breastfeeding consultant though if it goes on. But if he's having wet and dirty nappies every day and seems alert and gaining weight (even if it's slowly), then sounds like he's getting enough.