My son is 3 months old. He is exclusively breastfed. For the last few weeks when I try to nurse him he will latch on for a few minutes then will stop and at times arch himself back and act as though he is in pain, start crying etc. I try burping him and have given him baby gas x. I try different positions, pillows, changing breasts, nothing seems to make a difference. I nursed my older son and never had this problem. Any thoughts or ideas?
Thanks for all the advice. I guess I should clarify a little. It doesn't happen everytime. So I'm guessing (and hoping to God that I am not pregnant) that it is not a taste change since he does eat at other times. I am going to his pediatrician's office today for an appt. with my older son so I'll see if she can recommend a lactation consultant.
kellymom.com has tips to get baby back to the breast.
Also, think about what you are eating. Does he doe this after you eat dairy products? Fish? Spicey food? My DD was sensitive to my fish intake when she was wee. The holidays have just passed. Maybe a new food or extra indulgences have not sat well with him. Or maybe he's teething.
H. - this exactly happened to me around the same age of my son, and this always happened in the late afternoon through the evening for us. I first want to say I am sorry you are going through this - I was so stressed because of it because I felt so bad that I didn't know what to do and didn't understand why my son was so mad.
I was given advice to go to kellymom.com. I read through many things and learned SO MUCH! It turns out that I realized he was so mad because my flow (let-down) was not fast enough. We were able to get a good flow the first couple minutes from me, but once it slowed down he had gotten very impatient which is why he screamed and arched his back. I tried what was suggested to try to speed up my flow, but sometimes it just didn't work for me. (If you have a slow flow, you are to massage, massage, massage, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze - there might be other tips on kellymom that I forgot about).
He nursed fine in the early am hours through noon (which would make sense because we all have more of a supply earlier in the day), but afternoons and evenings were a screamfest and nothing worked! After trying days and days, I started feeding him more often from a bottle; this calmed him down and he was so much more happy!
If you haven't checked out kellymom.com, you should. Look under the 2nd Column under Concerns - the first two bullet points could help.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/index.html
Good luck! please keep us posted!!
Any chance you could be pregnant? My first stopped nursing when I got pregnant. Th hormones change the taste of breast milk.
What about early teething? Those symptoms seem typical.... it doesn't really bother them until they feel the pressure from nursing and latching on.....
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/teething.html
I realize it may seem early, but it might be a possibility.....
If it continues, and nothing helps you might want to see his doctor about him possibly having acid reflux.
Will he take your pumped milk from a bottle? If so, it's probably not something different about your milk (like a change in diet) etc... If not, then call a lactation consultant and also take him in for a check up with his pediatrician to see if there is something going on with him. At 3 mos, he should be consuming quite a lot of breastmilk or formula. Best wishes!
Are you only nursing? is he eating at times and then other times doing this? I have a 5 mo and he did this sometimes- I think he just wasn't hungry. He would pull off and arch back- then latch on and doing it again, fuss and sometimes cry. I then started giving him a pacifier and that seemed to make him happy. He wasn't hungry just wanted something in his mouth i guess. You could try a paci - (if you want to use them). I find them helpful.
Contact a lactation consultant - call your ob/gyn or the hospital for a referral. They can be a GREAT help.
I'm thinking ear infection. That or do you have a really fast letdown? He may be protesting the heavy flow of milk.
Try nursing in a laying back position so that he is more upright. Get him in a cradle hold and then lean back at a 45 degree angle.
He could be having an allergic reaction to cow dairy/milk products. My daughter became allergic to cow's milk at the age of 6 months. Try restraining from drinking or eating anything with cow dairy in it for three days and see how he reacts when he's feeding. If that's the issue, then you will either have to totally abstain from eating anything with cow milk dairy (very hard to do; trust me) or you'll need to put him on alternative formula or find a goat farmer and get goat milk for him to drink.
Some babies just don't like to nurse. I was exclusively breastfed. At the age of 6 months, I completely refused to breastfeed. And I refused a bottle. That was way back, when sippy cups weren't in yet. My parents said it was a challenge giving me liquids in a glass.
And remember, every baby is his or her own unique person/individual. Just because something worked for one of your children doesn't mean this child isn't unique. Your first child didn't have any issues with breastfeeding; this one does. You need to find out why and then work on fixing whatever the problem is.
Could you be prego?? Mine at 5 months didn't like the taste... she knew I was prego before I did :)
If not I say you need to see a lactation person ASAP!
Most hospitals will have them and they will totally help!!! Also ask your kids doc if they recommend one.
Stuffy nose making it difficult to nurse? Perhaps there is a slight position change he is having that you're not noticing, but it may be giving him discomfort or making it difficult for him to latch?
Hi H., I know exactly what you are going through. I had the same problem with my son, too. He couldn't turn his head because he had something called torticollis...basically he had a kink in his neck muscles and it hurt him to nurse. I think he also had reflux, too. I ended up pumping exclusively and have been for almost a year. He'll be one in a few weeks, but I'm weaning now. It was tough for me emotionally because I never got to nurse my younger son either (he was a preemie and in the NICU for 5 weeks) so I had to pump exclusively for him, too. But I was just glad to be able to give both my boys my milk. I would definitely check with a lactation consultant. I never did and wished I did, but I'm glad I had him checked out by the ped. for his torticollis-he had physical therapy for a couple months to help with that and it worked wonders. Best of luck to you.
It could be something you are eating. My hot button was eggs. It takes my body 8 hours for something to get into my milk. Keep a food log and see what it might be.
I also get my kids adjusted by our chiropractor from birth on, if needed, and that helps a ton with their comfort, sleep, etc.
