Help, FF DS2 screaming, taking in air from teat

[scienceteachermum]

hi DS2 is now being ff (bf till 8 weeks but had mastitis 3 times due to his tongue tie so had to stop). He is now on Ranitidine for possible reflux. Basically we are at our wits end. He seems to only be able to drink small volumes of milk (3oz) and then gets so uncomfortable - burps really well, but then won't have the bottle back, thrashes around, gags on it, screams etc. He also seems to get periods of time when he is in absolute agnony (abdominal cramps?) and screams and screams in pain. He is also incredibly windy, farts al the time and often cries when doing this. He doesn't seem to make a proper seal on the teat of the bottle and so consequently takes in loads of air when feeding (using avent bottles, have tried doc browns and tommee tippee and none make any difference). We are not sure what is causing the problem. The ranitidine seems to have helped a bit as he is no longer throwing up massive amounts and doesn't sound like you;ve poured water up his nose when he lies down. But we have no idea why he can't seal on the bottle properly nor why this screaming is getting worse. He is generally grumpy all of the time. Been referred to the paed but no appointment yet. He is gaining weight fine, but this is more due to the fact that he has small feeds every 3 hours or so.
Really good do with some advice.

How much is his tongue tie? It sounds really tight to me so it's probably affecting his feeding. Have you tried a nuk teat?

shop.nukbaby.co.uk/category.aspx?cID=3 They are designed better so they may help. Have you tried giving him half the feed then winding him?

He had his tongue snipped at 5 days but it still affected bf so had it snipped again at 3 weeks - they had to actually cut some of the muscle under the tongue as it was still latched down tight. They said if it had to be done anymore they would need to use general anaesthetic as it would bleed more. His tongue now comes to his lips but no further. Also when he feeds from the bottle he does not seem to get his mouth around the fattest part of the teat, its as if his mouth does not open wide enough - I wonder if his tongue is still too tight and it preventing him from sucking properly?

No not tried a NUK teat - will it fit on an avent bottle?

It should do, they all seem like standard sizes. If a referal to the paediatrician has been sent then I'd pop back to the GP and see if they can give them a swift kick. If your baby's unable to open his mouth to accomodate the teat then this needs looking into. The tongue is supposto wrap around the teat, making a vaccum, if he's unable to do this then he'll be swallowing alot of air. Give him a small amount, then wind, then give him some more, wind again etc. He may benefit from using a teat designed for babies with a cleft palate as they are sometimes unable to feed properly due to the structure of their mouth, I'll try and find you some information.

I know your baby doesn't have a cleft palate but these look alot like the nuk teats, as far as I am aware they should fit on a standard size bottle It's probably a case of try one and see how it goes, if it doesn't work try another.

thank you so much, I really think you are right about his tongue. We watched a friend's baby feed from an avent bottle today and she had her lips curled properly around the bulb part of the teat and drank so nicely! DS2 does not do this, he literally has just the thin teat end in his mouth and constantly breaks the suction, you see air bubbles going in the end of the teat all the time instead of through the venting ring on the bottle. I think he basically cannot open his mouth wide enough - possibly due to tongue being too tight? this is what caused the problems when I was bf as well, he basically could not latch on fully and so couldn't get the nipple far enough back so feeds were agony for me! Have just ordered some nuk teats. Think i might take him back to gp and see if she can refer for tongue to ENT again.

That's how he should be feeding, if his tongue is held down too tightly then he won't be able to have the u shape around the teat that he needs. Is he a little floppy generally?

No he's pretty strong, can hold his head up when sat up and can stand on his legs with support for ages.

That's really good. Pop back to the GP and get another referal for him, you should be able to just call the hospital up to be honest and make an appointment directly unless he was discharged.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/958371-Help-Trying-to-find-a-specific-teat-that-helps -with I spotted this thread that may help you.