18 week old excl. bf baby suddenly really fussy in the evening

[ILoveDigestives]

Our 18 week old (slow weighting gaining) DD has generally been an angel in the evenings, feeding relatively quickily and going down to bed always roughly at 7pm. We feed on demand, but the pattern has settled down over the past, oooh 2 months, to a feed at 4pm/5pm and then the bedtime feed at 7pm (then another at 11pm).

However, in the past week her 7pm feed has become really fractious - with her squirming, coming off the breast every minute or so, and protesting loudly if kept on. We switch her to the other side when she gets really mardy, without much success - and recently it's taken us upwards of 2 hours to get her down.

Yesterday she was having a real squirm, so in desperation we thawed 3oz of frozen EBM and she guzzled the lot in one go - wanting more milk afterwards - so is she hungry? If so, why isn't she staying on the breast long enough to get it? Is it a supply issue? If so, why now? It's been a fairly steady pattern for a while now. We initially thought it might have been a growth spurt, but it's lasted a week now...

Any ideas gratefully received!

ILD - how many times does she feed over 24 hours? Do you offer both breasts (and more) at each feed?

She normally gets 6-7 feeds in a 24 hour period - and always from both sides (sometimes with "super-switching" if she gets tired or fussy on one side). This has generally been the pattern (led by DD) that we've been doing for the past 2 months.

mine used to do that, i just used to stick with it, its a pita i know.
im sure tt will give you the best advice.
i used to find a bath helped.. think it helps the let down.

OK, ILD, thanks....it's not all that often, and maybe fitting in another feed or two would boost your supply and keep her happier.

I have no idea if she is wanting to inc. your supply or not, hafta say, but my suggestion will not do any harm