Almost 2 wk old - turning into 'snacky' feeder; also really area on 1 boob.....

[caspercat]

This will prob be long, sorry!!
DS bf at the mo. Started off well, gaining weight etc. Has always done the odd 10 min feed, but mainly feeds for 20 mins +, burps & goes to sleep. Since last night tho, feeding only 10 mins if lucky, sometimes as soon as he goes on he pulls a face like my milk tastes horrible, & pulls off. When he does go back on, he either falls asleep after 10 mins, or spends the whole feeding time squirming, groaning & just seeming really uncomfortable. We're co-sleeping at the mo, & again till last night this has worked really well, we're all getting some sleep. But since 3 am this morn, he's just been constantly squirming & groaning again, i guess like he has wind. DD had awful colic, & this crying is nothing like she did, he just seems really unhappy/uncomfortable. BF didn't work out with DD (d/t colic & snacky feeding) & i really want it to work with DS but already fretting we're going that way again.
This morn, again he's snacky feeding. Never seems to really do that 'gulping' slow drinking that i've been told to look for. BF consellor has checked his latch & said it's fine, but i'm not convinced. Sometimes i just can't get him to open his mouth as wide as he's supposed to. He fed for about 15 mins, then grizzled & fussed for about an hour before crying for another feed, then fed for about 10 mins before falling asleep again .
I'm so worried that i'm going to give up BF again cos i just don't know how to get him to feed properly. Beat myself up so badly about this with DD ended up with v bad PND.
Any tips? Have tried to contact BF counsellor & midwife, but only getting ansaphones.
And finally (sorry), since early this morn have got a really painful area in my right boob - feels like a huge bruise, giving sharp pain. Could this be a blocked duct??
Apologies again for huge post - so many questions & don't feel i have anyone who can help at the mo, so any advice very welcomed
TIA, Caspercat xx

Hopeful bump.....bugger, knew post was too long

Casper, yes this sounds as if it could be a blocked duct. It needs checking out - call HV (if she knows about bf), GP (ditto), and/or breastfeeding counsellor.

Sounds to me that you could do with a confidence boost. 'Snacking' is fine, lots of babies feed this way, and there is nothing wrong with it - I am assuming your baby is giving you no health concerns and he is continuing to gain normally?

You are worried he is not feeding 'properly' - hard to tell from your description, as some babies simply are grizzly and squirmy! Is he better if held upright/semi-reclining in a sling? Have you tried this?

I hear what you are saying about groaning, but babies in real pain will do more than this.

I think it will help to speak to someone in RL, and to maybe read a helpful book like BabyCalming.

can i butt in here as well, have 6 wk old dd happy and alert gaining weight well etc etc but who gets really distressed at night feeds. she behaves as if she is ravenously hungry but when i put her back on she just screams and screams and won't suck. The only thing that appears to work is to rock her almost asleep and then to feed her when she is calm and sleepy. This is emotionally really draining as have 4 year old ds as well. is there something i am doing wrong? also can you give me some arguments for dp as to why switching to formula will not help (or will it?)

witch - start a new thread.

It's not really practicable to mix responses to your situation with responses to caspercat's.

will do, just thought some of the issues were quite similar