My DS is 4 weeks old and EBF and lately he's been extremely vocal at the breast. About 4-5 minutes in, he'll start grunting and squirming, sometimes turning his head and acting upset. But when I take him off, thinking he must be done, he screams and acts hungry. I'm at my wits end...
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Is it possible that you have either an overactive letdown or slow letdown? Either one of those could explain fussiness at the breast.
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Yup, could definitely be overactive letdown or gas / wind if LO is a "gulpy" feeder? Or it could be the start of a small growth spurt and your LO is frustrated that your flow hasn't yet responded to the increased demand?
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Reflux? Tongue tie?
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My lo did this at that age. I just powered through. Seemed like a phase and it passed pretty quickly. I suppose it could indicate something else, but I've seen other month-olds doing it since then...
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I'm not sure this is related, but when S has fed for a while (maybe 30-40mins) she starts squirming and fussing and coming off the boob. I'll burp her and she makes the signals she wants more, so I try and latch her back on and she'll screw her face up as soon as the nipple touches her lips. I'll try a couple of times and then assume she's done... I hold her for a couple of minutes and she starts to fall asleep.
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Thanks ladies, I think it might be an issue with letdown now that you mention it @heartonastring: @Kemma: He's very gulpy in the beginning but then slows way down, sometimes to the point where he's done with one side in less than ten minutes. How do I fix this? He's also really gassy
@erinpye: how can you tell if LO had reflux? I'm trying really hard (and so far, not succeeding) not to go to our ped every week!
@mjane: powering through may be my only option! Good to know it passed quickly for you
@illumina: don't you wish there was a magic way to know what they wanted?! -
@MamaMagpie: Hmmm...does he choke/sputter at all? Gulpiness could be a sign of OALD. Try leaning back or reclining when you first latch him and see if that makes a difference. You can also trying letting down into a towel and then latching him when the initial forecefulness of your letdown has calmed down.
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@heartonastring: no, he doesn't choke or sputter...but I think I will try leaning back to feed. I currently sit straight up, and am actually probably leaning forward a bit. Thank you!!!
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@MamaMagpie: my lo was exactly like that at that age (she is 9 weeks on saturday) and it was very distressing. I tried many different feeding positions. She is also very gassy, and I think that was the main reason. She would sputter and choke though so I think I had a fast let down. Also turned out she had a posterior tongue tie which has now been clipped and so she feeds much better and faster. She also has some reflux. So it could be a combo of all those things for you as well.
There was not much I could do to rectify it either, and just stuck with it. She still fusses sometimes at 8 weeks and keeps unlatching herself several times during a feed. I am just trying to be patient and power through as someone else suggested.
Might be your only option too, but you might want to have her checked for tongue tie. -
@scotchbonnet: how did you discover the posterior tongue tie and reflux? I've gone to an LC to get help with our latch and some advice in general, but I'm not super confident in her (she didn't know what cluster feeding was
) I was hoping she would help figure out some of this for me but since he's gaining weight, she kind of just shrugged it off as quirks. He's gaining weight because I'm feeding on demand, which is basically ever 45 minutes and never longer than an hour and a half, and I'm going insane.
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@MamaMagpie: Eek, yes, that is not confidence inspiring in an LC! Have you looked into finding someone in your area who's IBCLC certified? Probably worth meeting with another LC if you can find one who's board-certified.
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@MamaMagpie: mine had posterior tongue tie and lip tie too. I've posted a TON about it (signs, symptoms, etc) here and you can def take a look at my previous posts. Also, read the articles section on Dr. Kotlow's website http://www.kiddsteeth.com. Let me know if you have any questions or can't find that info! (She had reflux that was actually caused by her ties, that vanished once her ties were corrected.)
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@scotchbonnet: did you also have your LO checked for an upper lip tie? A posterior tongue tie is nearly never found without an ULT as well, and if you didn't get both corrected, one alone can still cause feeding issues.
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@mamamagpie, I saw feel your pain. My lo was also gaining because I was feeding on demand. I remember those horrendous 45 minute round the clock feeds. I also had significant nipple trauma despite a "good latch", and that was the first clue to a tongue tie.
The LC that I saw latched dd onto my breast herself to ensure a good deep latch. After dd finished feeding, she checked my nipple and it was still pinched at the top, you know, with a shape like a new tube of lipstick (does that make sense? Hope so). She said this would indicate that that dd was not thrusting out her tongue far enough. I was then referred to another LC who specialises in tongue ties (thank God for the NHS). She checked by putting her hand under dd's tongue to check the muscle there. The pediatrician who actually performed the snip just took one look under her tongue and said, yep tongue tie.
Regarding the reflux, I was researching silent reflux and she had all the symptoms.
@erinpye no I hadn't thought of that. I will speak with my health visitor. Thanks for the heads up. Will definitely check it out because dd is still very gassy and wakes up frequently with gas pains. Still only sleeps max 2 hours day and night. -
@scotchbonnet: ugh it's the worst! I'm so glad you had good healthcare support and got things figured out. I hope looking into her have an upper lip tie is also helpful -- if she does have one, it can be corrected and your issues will go away, and if she doesn't, at least you'll know for sure and won't be left wondering.
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