11 week old suddenly fussy and pulling away during feeds

[DaisyChain505]

I’ve been extremely lucky that my 11 week old and I took to breast feeding from day one and we’ve never had any issues.

He’s gained weight as he should and there’s been no hiccups however in the past week there’s been a sudden change.

Suddenly he’s very fussy when feeding and will scream and pull away constantly and his feeds are now very short. He’s still getting wet and dirty nappies and I’m pretty sure he’s eating enough.

Has anyone else experienced this?

It is probably your milk flowing too quickly for him (or too slowly). Either way is usually connected to a growth spurt. Your flow at the start may be too fast - try changing his position. Maybe football hold or laying back with baby leaning against you and latching on top (like he is at the top of a hill if you know what I mean!)
If flow too slow he may be going into a growth spurt and impatient - just offer breast more often to help supply and demand.
Mine are way past breastfeeding age now but it was such a lovely time!

My bet is he is thirsty.

Boil and cool some water (not cold - room temp).

Give it to him in a bottle.

See how he does with that.

He will continue to nurse afterwards.

At around this age my DS's feeds suddenly got much shorter. I was worried, but he continued to gain weight and had wet and dirty nappies so he must have been getting enough milk. I guess he just became a lot more efficient at feeding?

Very normal 10-12 week old behaviour! Have a read of this from a lactation consultant 10-12 week olds

Breastfed babies don’t need water.

Thank you everyone. He’s definitely going through some sort of spurt so it’s hopefully connected to that.

Its definitely true what they say, you think you’re in a routine and know what’s going on and then something new comes along 🤣

Could also be teething. Mine started at this age and the first sign before any dribble or having her hand in her mouth was always pulling away and being fussy on feeds. Listen out for them making an "mmmn mmn" noise during the day - that's often the noise they make when they have mouth pain. Time to stock up on teething powder and Calpol!

Please don’t give him a bottle of water! This is not evidence based advice.

Nope nope nope.

Never ever give a BF baby water! This will interfere with feeding.

Milk is thinner at the start of a feed to account for thirst, it’s literally a liquid

Is he nearly 12 weeks? Sounds like it could be the 12 week growth spurt kicking in?

Well - I have a few.

All born in the spring and all a few months old in hot summers.

All breastfed.

All needed/benefited from a little water in the heat.

Never ever give a BF baby water! This will interfere with feeding.
This is actually untrue.
Milk is thinner at the start of a feed to account for thirst, it’s literally a liquid
This is true.

But, it is also true that an infant can need a little water when the heat spikes. It does not interfere with breastfeeding. The baby does not guzzle pints - it takes a tiny bit.

All of mine had a little water when heat spiked, and all of mine breastfed happily for one year,

But - perhaps mine are exceptions.

Even the NHS website says fully breastfed babies do not need water until they start solids. In heat let them breastfeed more often. My 3 were raised in a Mediterranean country. No water just breast milk.

FF babies need a little water in extenuating hot conditions. A think a few did die of dehydration in the summer of 1976 when it was hot every day for weeks.

If you can quote a case of a baby dying of dehydration who is EBF I’d be amazed.