My 5 month old has nursed every 2 hours and sometimes 1 1/2 hours since the begining. But the last couple days,it seems that when nursing on my right side, he often pulls off. he will go right back on, and pull off again over and over. I thought of 2 things, supply or teething. I thought maybe his mouth is hurting when he tried to eat because his first tooth is protruding under his gums. But that doesn't explain why he seems to do fine on the other side. I am worried about supply on my right side. So I decided to try to feed him on that side first for a while... he pulled on and off tonight, and started fussing, so I moved him to the left side. He relaxed and ate for a little bit, but was soon finished. I tried to burp him but he just leaned over and fussed for more, so I put him back on the original right side and he stayed for a bit longer than the first but not very long. I gave him the pacifier and burped him, and he went to sleep. Could he be that SUPER efficient??? I want to catch this quick if it sounds like my supply is lessening. Or is this a common behavior during teething? I appreciate all input.
Thank you everyone. The pulling on and off seemed to get better when I put orajel on when he was teething. Now we have a evolved into something else. Please see my new post "still pulling off durring nursing"
It could be teething. I would think, it's less the side he is on and maybe more that he is less comfortable being held there. Have you tried laying down to nurse? It might help. In any case, keep starting him on your right side and if you can't get him to nurse, you can still express some milk yourself, maybe while standing in the shower, so that you don't get any clogged ducts. Also, he may not be needing to nurse so close together.
Sooo common during teething. It also sounds like he is favoring a particular side. Is this brand new? You certainly don't want more milk on one side and less on the other, it happens. If you really have trouble breaking the one sided habit, make sure to pump or express milk on the opposite side so your supply doesn't go down. Even if he won't take a bottle, keep the milk flowing because he will soon have his appetite back.
Both of my sons used to pull off some times because of over-active let down. Could this be his issue? Maybe he's just gotten so much better at nursing that he's getting it all gushing down at once and he can't keep up. If you notice that he's extra gassy lately when you burp him, then that's another indicator of this because they end up swallowing a lot of air while they're gulping.
Neither of my boys ever nursed for more than 10 minutes before they were completely full, and that includes both sides and was right from the start. After that they would just nibble for comfort for a while before falling asleep. Babies can be VERY efficient.
Just saw this and wanted to say there are many reasons for this but you should let hour OB know.
In your case it sounds as if this is new and that he previously nursed both sides equally. So like the others I'd think it is simply change in supply, increased sucking effiency with baby or side/position of neck or head preference when nursing.
If your supply seems to be decreasing you can increase your fluids, I found drinking more milk helped me. Oh and of course not all sides are equal, many women have one breast that produces more!
Not to scare you bc the Internet does enough of that. And again based on your description I'd think it preference of baby. I'm simply including this as mamapedia now has ability to search and this is a sidebar for others looking for answers with more sever refusal of one breast. Infection and or cancer can distort the milk in one breast and therefor baby will refuse.
Again does not sound like your case based on baby's age, teething and previous behavior. Either way I'd still mention to my OB to see what they say, of course consult peditician too for confirmation on age appropriateness on this new found preference.
Sounds like your going to be weaning at your baby's pace.
God bless,
mb
I went through this with my daughter. I asked her ped and he said that different things can affect how a baby eats on one side compared to another. Such as: smell, size, texture. If you are sweating sometimes your baby may not like the smell, or if you have more milk in one breast then the other. Make sure that you pump on the side that he is not eating or there will be a decrease in milk supply or even a loss of supply. One thing that got my little one to eat on that side was I tried laying down and feeding her a couple of times and she started eating then when I would sit and hold her she began eating fine again. Babies know what they want and sometimes they just like to be a little picky. You just have to figure out what might be upsetting them and how to remedy the problem. Good luck.
As babies get older, they do become more proficient nursers. I have a ten month old baby and she spends no more than ten to fifteen minutes on each side, every 4 to 5 hours. (She is obviously eating solids at this point too). I rarely leak and I can 'feel' the flow of the milk so I know its there.
It could be any of what you suggested. At his age, he should be able to go longer without nursing and maybe he is trying to tell you that by pulling off. I know that when my baby is interested in other things like the cat or someone else in the room, she will nurse, pull off, nurse, pull off and continue that pattern until I sit her up and let her pay attention to what was distracting her.
You are close to introducing solids. Even with the longer periods between nursing you should be fine as long as you keep hydrated and nurse him periodically throughout the day. Your supply should not dry up.
I am also wondering if he has an ear infection?
