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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Baby screaming pulling off breast and very unhappy! Please help

24 replies

spottedandstriped · 05/07/2008 21:07

All advice welcomed. My baby is nearly 11 weeks old. Everything was going relatively ok until about 6 weeks when I did some expressing and introduced a bottle - now I think he prefers the bottle and is frustrated with me because he has to work a bit harder to get the milk. It is really hard work feeding him now he flails around, screams and arches his back, I end up swopping sides many times and sometimes he is even still crying at the end of a feed. I have to say I have thought of stopping because of it, even though I really want to BF him. I think it may be the let down and he likes the faster flow of the bottle as it is not so much of a problem at the first feed of the day. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this? Does it eventually stop (generally?) It is very difficult to breast feed discretely with this happening!!

Many thanks

OP posts:

JordTyler · 05/07/2008 21:18

hiya. i have exact same problem. i'm not using regular bottle but seem to use 1 every other day at stressfull times. i've also been over using the dummy, and really scared i FU his latch and its all gonna fall apart. i desperatly want to BF aswell!
This is more of a sympathy message really, but i will say since i thought we had a problem i now feed lying down whenever i can so i know he's comfy. I have actually just spent well over an hour feeding DS cos every time he came of he was still crying. I do the same as you said and swap sides for a faster flow cos i also think that is my problem.
Hope some1 does have some ideas!

JordTyler · 05/07/2008 21:19

P.s he's 5 weeks.

Greedygirl · 05/07/2008 21:21

Sorry I have no words of wisdom but someone will be along soon...I do sympathise because I have had several phases with DS like this but was due to teething I think. Makes it very hard work doesn't it?

Ineedsomesleep · 05/07/2008 21:24

How often are you giving the bottle and do you think it might be colic?

weebump · 05/07/2008 21:40

Had this problem too, and very nearly gave up bf thinking it was my milk, let down, baby preferring bottle, but once the first 2 teeth appeared a week or so later it had settled. So in my experience it was teething that caused the upset. It passed, and we got back to normal. Hope it's the same for you.

Original poster

spottedandstriped · 06/07/2008 08:50

Ineedsomesleep - not very often - just when out/occasionally in the morning (other half feeding with bottle/me expressing)

OP posts:

KnitterInTheNW · 06/07/2008 09:11

My DS is 15 weeks old now, about a month ago he started to do the same thing. Up until then he'd been fine with 1 side per feed. When he started the pulling off and screaming thing, someone suggested giving him both sides each feed. So he'd start with 1 side, when he started to get frustrated with that side I put him on the other side and he'd get another lot of 'fast' milk. That did the trick.

determination · 06/07/2008 09:13

I experienced the same thing when my 1st dd was around 11 weeks. This was due to me expressing and bottle feeding ? following the advise of an ill informed HV who I stupidly trusted. My dd would not allow me to even hold her in the cradle position without trying to feed her. She would scream so hard that she would loose her breath .

Anyway, What i did was ditched the bottles. i would feed her using a large feeding syringe (free from chemist) and also the Medela Softcup Advanced Feeder. This meant that her sucking needs were not satisfied and usually when she was really tired or actually sleeping i could get her to latch onto me using a nipple shield.

Then i started a mission to get dd to associate my breasts with a "Happy Feeling". The way i done this was by laying dd on the floor and blowing raspberries on her tummy until she laughed, then i gently and quickly touched her face with my bare breast. We done this nearly every waken hour throughout the day for about 10 days then she started to show loving signs of the breast again. She would happily cuddle into my breast and would let me hold her happily whilst i was clothed or not. Then suddenly whilst playing "Happy Breast Time!" she quickly rooted and latched on - i was on all fours on top of her but managed to stay there until she was finished! I honestly felt like opening the house windows and screaming to let the world know how excited i was.. this was around 2 weeks after we started it. Then we spent about a further week around the house.. sleeping together naked, bathing together and playing together naked!

Before long we were back in full swing and the bottles were long in the bin.. we managed to continue BFing until she was just over 2 and she self weaned as i got pregnant again.

Hope this story helps you and encourages you to continue.

TC08 · 06/07/2008 09:17

Hi, my little one is doing the same. When he stops and starts screaming he is definitely in pain, also he was vomiting a lot afterwards. So we were refered to the hospital and were told that wee one has a "silent" reflux and he screams as soon as acid meets milk, it feels like very VERY BAD hearburn.

So we are taking zontac at the moment which definitely does a trick. I do give him a bottle a day with added carabel and he takes it no problems (never screams or vomits). As for breastfeeding, i am still and like KnitterInTheNW suggested I just switch sides if he gest too upset and try to keep him upright in the middle of the feedl. Does a trick.

Good Luck!!!

Ineedsomesleep · 06/07/2008 12:51

Determination, like your ideas on ditching the bottles. Spottedandstriped, is giving LO a bottle so important? Do you need to return to work soon? If so, you usually only need to give one bottle a week for them to remember how to suck on it.

Is there a baby cafe near to you or have you tried phoning a bfing counsellor?

moominsmummy · 06/07/2008 13:12

Has your LO had a snuffly nose recently? They can do this screaming and arching thing if they have had an experience of struggling to breathe whilst BF - can be due to positioning (if you have huge norks which get in the way of their nose) or if they've had a blocked or stuffy nose. trying some nasal saline drops may help? also if they refuse to latch on try them with a dummy next to the breast then quickly remove dummy and replace with nipple - HTH

JustCallMeDaisy · 06/07/2008 17:00

Sorry cant offer much advice but I am in same boat at the moment. He refuses the breast and just screams. I feel like I am choking him at times. We are bottle feeding expressed milk at the minute as I have to add a fortifier powder to my breast milk for him. I would love to get just one breastfeed in a day if I could! We keep trying but no luck yet although I will persevere! He is nearly 5 mths and has been bottle fed since 2 wks. Think I need to try more often.

Good Luck with you

JustCallMeDaisy x

mummypig · 06/07/2008 17:08

hi it might be to do with the flow, or it might be silent reflux as TC08 suggested. These sites are very helpful:

Kellymom.com on babies fussing while nursing

Pollywogbaby.com (Click on the e-book 'Living with Infant Acid Reflux as this is really useful)

sorry can't say much more as have baby on my lap, but I have been through this so my old posts on reflux might have more information and suggestions

Original poster

spottedandstriped · 06/07/2008 19:34

Ineedsomesleep - no not going back to work for many months. I have to say it has become a bit circular now because I almost want to give the bottle when out because BF has become so difficult....

OP posts:

Original poster

spottedandstriped · 06/07/2008 19:40

Ineedsleep - am going to call a BF counsellor - this is getting too difficult to cope with!

Moominsmummy - No he hasn't got a snuffly nose at the moment. I have tried the dummy trick though - this does seem to work for a minute or so.

OP posts:

Original poster

spottedandstriped · 06/07/2008 19:40

Ineedsleep - am going to call a BF counsellor - this is getting too difficult to cope with!

Moominsmummy - No he hasn't got a snuffly nose at the moment. I have tried the dummy trick though - this does seem to work for a minute or so.

OP posts:

derah · 06/07/2008 20:36

Another one here with a similar problem at the moment. Baby is 4 months old, and was a VERY difficult baby at first. She cried all the time she was awake and would scream after every feed too. She's been better for ages, but suddenly the last couple of days she's been crying all day again, and howling during feeds. She's fighting the breast and just doesn't want to feed. This evening we've given up and she's gobbled down a 7oz bottle. But she hasn't had a bottle for weeks so it's not that she's being lazy and wants a bottle instead of the breast.

She's been quite windy too, so we've been trying Infacol again but I'm not sure it's helping.

She had her last set of jabs on Thursday and has been unsettled since then. She's sleeping really badly too. So I'm really hoping her sudden dislike of my boobs and sleep is connected to that. But if anyone has any ideas I'd be glad to hear them.

Twelvelegs · 06/07/2008 20:37

Wind?

derah · 06/07/2008 20:38

PS - we're also wondering if she's just hungry and ready for some baby rice, but she's only 4 months old and it's supposed to be 6 months these days.

I've also considered if it's my diet but I can't think of anything new I've been eating.

Ineedsomesleep · 07/07/2008 13:01

Derah, I cut out tea with DS and his colic cleared instantly. Could be coincidence, but worth a try. Babies rarely need weaning early, have you looked at the kellymom site?

spottedandstriped, did you call a bf counsellor? How did it go.

Original poster

spottedandstriped · 07/07/2008 13:30

Ineedsomesleep - have left a message for BF counsellor. Will let you know what she says.

OP posts:

Original poster

spottedandstriped · 08/07/2008 17:04

Hi everyone. Saw the BF counsellor today - she thinks that he has a posterior tongue tie and so is finding it hard to suck. May need to have it operated on

OP posts:

Greedygirl · 08/07/2008 17:44

Hi Spotted, really sorry to hear that but glad you have maybe got to the bottom of the problem. Hope everything goes ok for you and your LO.

Ineedsomesleep · 08/07/2008 20:34

Hi Spotted, really sorry to hear that your LO may need an operation . Like Greedygirl, hope everything goes ok.

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