My 7 month old moves his body all over when he is breastfeeding. He moves his head and positions his body as if facing mine... and it can sometimes be very uncomfortable, yet more annoying. He even acts as though he is jumping on me while he has my breast in his mouth(OUCH), he pulls his legs to his chest like in fetal position onto my stomach. He is not acting like he is in discomfort, he doesnt make any sounds or seems to be bothered. When he was a newborn he did it not as much and the doctor said it was possibly reflux or gas, but Im thinking not. Its just getting to be too much because he does this to me in the middle of the night when he wakes up to nurse. I dont want any negative comments I just wanted to see if any other Mamas out there had a little one who did the same thing, and see why you thought our babies did this, and any possible suggestions. Thanks so much in advance! :)
My 8 week old girl is doing this as well! Sometimes it seems like she's being super impatient, and it's usually when she's not really hungry. She flails around and trashes her head from side to side, which makes me really frustrated, so I just take her off and move her around. Today I stood up and rocked while feeding and she calmed right down.
I've noticed though that she gets super active right before she falls asleep.
Try a nursing necklace. I made my own - it was ugly but functional. Instead of fidgeting, my son would play with the beads. It distracted him just enough to keep him more still and took away our breast feeding wrestling matches. There are really cute and pretty ones online. GL!
I think this sounds perfectly normal as he was in your womb for 9 months and is actually a part of you. He was in the fetal position and wrapped securely in his mother's love. Babies normally love to be swaddled tightly for a time because they feel more secure. It seems to me as if he is still acting out his movements when he was in your womb. However, if it is very uncomfortable for you, I would think it might be advisable to start him on a bottle. Your uneasiness may be making him uncomfortable as well.
I pray that all will go well with you and your little son. He is a wonderful gift from God. And don't be too hard on yourself, that is an easy thing to do sometimes.
My 8mo is the same way. Sometimes she is fine, nice and quiet nurser, but for the most part she likes to wiggle. She is just an active baby, always moving around. She started crawling at 6m and just likes to be on the go. For the most part I just let it go, but I might try out that nursing necklace idea-that sounds good! Good luck!
My son also did this. I started to rub his feet, pat his hip or run my fingers through his hair and that helped calm his down. He just needed something extra in the sensory department, so one of those necklaces might have worked to.
My daughter did this and needed to burp...
Food sensitivities can make them majorly squirmy. Try cutting dairy out of your diet first and see if that helps.
I used to call my son an Olympic nurser. He was ALL OVER THE PLACE. I had to pretty much stop nursing in public because he exposed more than I was comfortable with. Sometimes he settled down more than others. I think he was just interested in moving around AND eating. :)
When my son was about 4 months old, when he was feeding he'd move his legs like he was running. He wasn't in pain, he just liked to do it. It was a challenge holding him without dropping him or getting kicked. Some of them just go through this stage where they are trying out their muscles and seeing what movements they can make.
I will start by saying that I strongly advocate long term breastfeeding even if it has to be supplemented.
That said, my son has been the grabbiest, most aggressive nurser since day one. Even my ob said that when he was rooting at minutes old. He sticks his butt in the air, twists turns..he's all over the place sometimes! I try to gently, politely correct him. I say, Ouch that hurts Mommy if it in fact does, and otherwise I just chalk it up to his active personality and sometimes gas. I wouldn't let it be a deterrent.
It sounds like you just have a fidgety child. If you were to give him a bottle he would be the same way, just fidgeting with glee over the precious fluid that he's indulging in. You might just talk to him soothingly, and try to hug and restrain him when he gets a little crazy... Maybe take your boob away and tell him to lay still and then put it back in. He is getting old enough to understand "No, be still"... just practice that for a bit and see if it helps.
My oldest and second son both acted this way at about 6 months. They just wanted to keep moving. That's the time when I stopped nursing them. I always said they weaned themselves, they just didn't want to sit still to nurse anymore.
At this age babies seem to start getting really distracted when they nurse. My daughter has a snuggle blankie that I would drape over her head to cut down the distractions. If you don't think that's what's going on, then you'll need a different tactic. If he starts jumping (OUCHIE! I cringed when I read that!) break the latch, look at him and say "No jumping," then let put him back on your breast. If he does it again, break the latch and set him down on the floor. He'll eventually learn that jumping is not acceptable while nursing.
He might be pulling his legs up to get more comfortable. Does he sleep in the fetal position? You could use the same technique that you would use to stop the jumping.
