5 week old BF baby coming off breast and mouthing to go back on....

[NBM]

My DD has started coming off the breast within a minute of going on then mouthing to go back on. She has a cold but at times id feeding fine. Any ideas why? Please.

Just a few possible thoughts: might be the cold, might be an overactive letdown....does the other side leak when she feeds? Does she gag or sputter when she comes off? Might be too that she is not wanting to, or having a difficult time, waiting for letdown to occur. Could also be she has a bit of trapped air...might try winding her. Not real common with breastfed babies, but it can cause them to come off and on.

If you think it might be too much, too quickly, a couple of things you can try: get the flow going first before putting her on and/or lean back a bit so she has to feed uphill slightly. If it is due to that, she will adjust and get used to it as will your body.

If it is due to cold, maybe try saline drops or breastmilk drops in her nose...if need be, you can use an aspirator. Short time in a steamy bathroom, using a vaporiser, etc., to help her clear her nose a bit. She might just be trying to get the breathe and swallow down with having some congestion.

Could she be struggling to breathe? Often babies with a bit of a stuffy nose come off and on a lot, as they need to take a breath through their mouth. Saline drops/breast milk up the nose can sometimes help to clear it. Otherwise it usually gets better as the cold clears up in a few days. Some mums find their cold-filled babies also take shorter more frequent feeds, perhaps partly as that way they get more fluids, but also because they get fed up with the faff of feeding with a blocked nose. Sometimes that and swallowing mucous leads to a few greeny nappies, but again this is usually temporary.

Hope she's all better soon.