Crying at the Breast

[Assisi]

I'm just looking for some ideas as to what could be going on with my 11 week old. The ladies I've asked IRL said this never happened with their Bubs.

Over the past two or so weeks my baby has become increasingly fussy. That's okay, out of character, but okay. But what doesn't seem normal is that he is fussy at the breast. Well, more than fussy. He asks to be fed, and we start to nurse. After a few minutes he starts to get restless and kick his legs, then he gets intense. He cries out, he bites down on the nipple, thrashes his little head from side to side, arches his back, pushes with his legs. He goes all red and looks like he's in pain. I take him off and sit him up, and his cry turns from a 'pain' cry to a 'hungry' cry so I put him back again - only to repeat the process.

If he was a spitty baby I would suspect reflux, but he isn't. It's rare that anything comes up, and when it does it isn't all that much.

We were sick two weeks ago, so at first I just thought that he was fussy because he was a bit unwell and that perhaps my supply was not up to scratch because I was unwell. But we are both fit and healthy now and after a feed I can still express milk - so my supply is good.

 

[Assisi]

I called Nursing Mothers today to ask for advice and I got a really nice lady. She has given me some great advice, judging by the questions she asked me I think she has is sussed. She hypothesised that I had a really abundant supply for the first few weeks (and I did) and that now that my supply has levelled out, coupled with being sick, Matt gets a bit frustrated because the milk doesn't just fall into his mouth. Matt is learning to nurse like an older baby now. Granted, the milk still falls into his mouth during the initial let down.

 

[jgonz]

I'm so glad you talked to someone today!

When I read your first post I thought of a few other things:
I was going to ask you if you'd eaten anything different lately, that might be giving him gas? Or if he's drooling more and could be starting to teeth? A couple of my babies' necks were out and it hurt to be in a nursing position until they got a chiropractic adjustment, so I usually bring that up too... There is also the possibility of "silent" reflux, where the baby has the acidy stuff irritating the esophagus/opening to the stomach without the spitting up/puking all the time. Abel had some silent reflux for the first 3 months, but it seemed to disappear overnight when he hit his 3 month growth spurt.

 

[angelsgirl]

I called Nursing Mothers today to ask for advice and I got a really nice lady. She has given me some great advice, judging by the questions she asked me I think she has is sussed. She hypothesised that I had a really abundant supply for the first few weeks (and I did) and that now that my supply has levelled out, coupled with being sick, Matt gets a bit frustrated because the milk doesn't just fall into his mouth. Matt is learning to nurse like an older baby now. Granted, the milk still falls into his mouth during the initial let down.

I'm so glad you called the ABA!!! I meant to mention that when we were chatting this morning!
So did she give you any advice about how to deal with it?

 

[Assisi]

I'm so glad you talked to someone today!

When I read your first post I thought of a few other things:
I was going to ask you if you'd eaten anything different lately, that might be giving him gas? Or if he's drooling more and could be starting to teeth? A couple of my babies' necks were out and it hurt to be in a nursing position until they got a chiropractic adjustment, so I usually bring that up too... There is also the possibility of "silent" reflux, where the baby has the acidy stuff irritating the esophagus/opening to the stomach without the spitting up/puking all the time. Abel had some silent reflux for the first 3 months, but it seemed to disappear overnight when he hit his 3 month growth spurt.

Thanks jgonz


The mother I spoke to also asked those questions and made those suggestions. I don't think he is teething because he has been like this for more than a fortnight and no teeth are beginning to erupt.

My mother thinks it's reflux as many babies in our family have had reflux. If the tips I received from the mother I spoke to today don't help I'm going to ask my GP for a referral to have him checked for it.

But the more I think about it the more I think that her suggestions will work. Angels girl, she suggested that I move him from breast to breast each time he cries and make sure I keep up my frequent nursing. But the main thing I think is perseverance. She was so encouraging. I asked her about your suggestion of breast refusal and she said it's definitely not breast refusal. Thank God! We would have worked through it, but that would have been awful.

 

[angelsgirl]

I'm SO glad it's not breast refusal Assisi!

Maybe it is reflux then... I hope not though... Reflux isn't nice!
Poor little guy! Give him a hug for me!

 

[Hadassah]

If it is reflux, a lot of times it can be managed by diet instead of conventional medicine. It's a bit more tricky that way in the beginning, but it can be done.

Ours has bad issues with onion, garlic, peppers and sometimes (but not always) peanut butter. I have to watch if I have a lot of citrus too.

He's much better, but I have to eliminate all dried onion and garlic (that's all I can have), peppers ( I can't eat them but can cook with them).
If I have too much PB or citrus he reacts. If I have maybe one glass of OJ/pineapple or Banana/cherry drink he's ok. If I have gobs -- he reacts with reflux type issues.

We went thru this with him for a while also, the fussiness at the breast due to the change from overabundant supply... he tried a nursing strike last sunday and it really freaked me out, but I figured if he was hungry, he'd work it out for himself. Sure enough, come Monday he was wanting to eat like a hungry wolf, when he was awake.

He at first wasn't wanting to work for the hind milk. He'd just take the initial letdown and go play, come back for more in about 30 minutes or so; and at night was the only time he really ate well -- when we all slept.

 

[Leanna]

That sounds like reflux, baby doesn't have to spit up to have it. When he is eating, stuff is refluxing up and its uncomfortable so he yelps.

 

[gracepaints]

Sounds like reflux to me too. Reed was just like that and he rarely, rarely ever spit up.

I would try feeding him in more upright positions, holding him upright after feeding and if none of that works, cutting out all dairy from your diet.

Also, how strong is your letdown now? Do you still leak a lot? Sometimes overactive letdown causes the baby to swallow too much air and gives them a tummyache.

Hoping it is not reflux. It's really a tough one to deal with.