12 week old, fussy short feeds, breast refusal

[BrownHazel]

My 12 week old is exclusively bf. Feeds can often be just 3mins (is that even classed as a feed), and will be furious and fussy with big gulps and lots of delatching and ending in tears. Having googled, this looks like an over supply issue perhaps? Or just a fussy phase?

There's no pattern or regularity to feeds either, and sometimes I'll offer my breast and she'll just arch her back away and cry. It's making bf v difficult and I no longer want to feed in public or even in front of family at home.

Any advice welcome, many thanks

It sounds like reflux, it could be silent reflux. Most babies who have reflux cry during and after feeds and do arch their back and scream. Are there any other symptoms? The big gulps also do sound like oversupply, worth getting in touch with the HV or GP and definitely track babies weight if he is getting enough. Good luck!

My baby does this also (she is 11 weeks) I've realised it's trapped wind, she is worse in the evenings esp if been lying flat all day in pram. I normally feed, when she pulls off keep her upright go for a little walk/rock her/wind her and allow her to re latch. It may be on and off for a while until the wind comes out! Gripe water also has helped a little, keeping her upright in the sling in the early evenings before the witching hours has also been a huge help. Good luck

I had the same! Took my LO to a lactation and at 14 weeks he was diagnosed with tongue tie. Cut then and there and a few weeks later saw a huge improvement.

I'd give me of the BFing Helplines a call. Sounds like it could be one of a few things and a BFC might help you resolve things

Thank you @Rxy99
Other symptoms include a daily dry cough, regular hiccups, lots of grunting, thrashing around when asleep, quite windy, difficult to settle for naps... are these standard 12week old symptoms or something else!

Have looked up reflux/silent reflux and some symptoms do align... @SiouxsieSiouxStiletto good call, will give a breastfeeding helpline a bell today :)

@Naters3232 trapped wind is something I'd not considered but sounds a possibility... there is lots of daily grunting along with the back arching as if trying to push something out (never a dirty nappy as a result though).

Will look into remedies ... is gripe water usually the first thing to try? could food I'm ingesting also be an issue perhaps?

@BrownHazel it definitely sounds like silent reflux! My son had most of those symptoms too. But do go to the GP to confirm this and also get the dry coughs and grunting checked out just in case, nothing to be worried about but just in case especially if your baby has chest recession.

Also, in case it is silent reflux, keep your baby in an upright position for at least 20 minutes, 30 minutes max before lying them down. Before I got silent reflux confirmed by my GP and HV, I used to put my baby down straight away after feeding and he used to thrash around in his bassinet for a while until he finally slept. Keeping him up after feeding for a while has improved his sleep greatly.

@Rxy99 interesting, thanks for the reply... will the GP prescribe something? What did you do to resolve it? Thank you for the help! Really hope we are able to do something to help her!

It was reflux with ours. It made it seem like oversupply for a bit because she was feeding inconsistent amounts because of discomfort and so I was getting engorged. Once on reflux medication she would feed comfortably the majority of the time.
In the meantime try walking around the room with her upright against you to settle her before trying to latch, keep her upright after feeds if possible, and feeding laid flat on side on the bed can be easier than the cradle hold as the slightly angled position can trigger reflux more.

Omaprezole is what ours was prescribed.

Because my baby was born prematurely and struggled to latch, I only could express my breast milk for a while until my pump broke and my supply decreased significantly, so I started to only give formula to my baby. When I went to the GP as he literally cried in pain non stop the entire day at around 6 to 7 weeks old, they told me to get anti reflux milk for him which did help a little and stopped the milk from coming back up (it was silent so he was swallowing the milk that kept coming up after feeds with him not physically throwing up). So I think for breast feeding you can use carobel if it is reflux, and you give it in a cup I think before feeds so the milk thickens in his stomach (check for accuracy). I'm not sure what the GP will recommend for breast feeding mothers otherwise unfortunately but the other comments suggest they definitely have things to prescribe! Best of luck with it all :) hope your baby gets better. With reflux, it tends to get better than get worse so all will be okay hopefully. My sons reflux has improved significantly :)

Hi re the trapped wind, i think some babies just struggle more than others (my baby has always grunted strained and pushed but it gradually got worse from 4 weeks onwards). I wouldn't mess around with your diet there's so many theories on cutting out food groups that you could experiment forever and restrict yourself but likely your baby is just swallowing too much air. The GP also told me the more they cry the more air they swallow creating a vicious circle.
I have been using gripe water in the morning and early evening and I think it's helped a little. Hope you find a solution : )