Question About Breastfeeding Newborn

I had the same problem with my daughter. She didn't like being interrupted to switch sides. I ended up feeding her on one side at each feeding. And then fed her on the opposite side at the next feeding. It didn't work as well for me until my body adjusted to it, but it did wonders for my daughter. She ate better and fussed less. Hope this helps.

About me: 30 year old stay at home mother of 3, ages 9, 8, and 21 months. Married to the love of my life, my high school sweetheart.

My daughter had very bad gas build-up in her tummy, due largely to the fact that the side that she favored nursing from always had a huge "let down" because it was so full. . .

what the lactation consultant told me to do was to let her feed for 30seconds and then let her off, so that she wasn't swallowing a lot of air while she was "gulping" my milk.
This helped a lot, also, before feeding we would give give some "gripe water" -- it's all natural and calms their tummy!
You can find it at Walmart, I know.

She just might have to burb or is not hungry for the other side yet. My baby, Grace, who is going to be 6 months has just recently been eating one side and not the other for about 20 min or so. So I feed her one side and then change her diaper and burp her and then in a little while she will get hungry. I wouldn't stress over it if she's hungry she will eat. My name is Kat by the way, I live in Arkansas. God bless and good luck.

Have you tried burping her again? I have a 4 month old. Sometimes she needs to be burped, is not hungry, or just needs a little break. I will change her diaper between sides and sometimes that helps. If I try to get her to lay there and eat when she is not hungry, she sill start screaming. Good luck, I hope this helps.

Hello L.,
Does she always do it with the same breast? Maybe when you switch her to the other breast, she is uncomfortabe. Try just letting her eat from the one breast and pumping the other. If you had her vaginally, and she screams on one paticular side, maybe you should take her to the doctor. (I'm not saying this to alarm you, it is just a possibility if she only screams when you put her to one side.) It has been known that in vaginal births the collar bone has sometimes been broken due to pressure and the fragility of the baby's bones. Best of luck.

Is she fussing at the same breast each time? If so, chances are she's unable to latch on well to that breast. Sometimes one nipple is flat or inverted, making it difficult to nurse. Try nursing her on that breast first, while she's hungry, and see f it makes a difference. If the nipple is flat you can get a devise from medela called the Hobbit (a perforated plastic dome with a silicone back and a hole for the nipple to go through) you can wear inside your bra that makes the nipple distend, making it easier to latch on. Breastfeeding can be challenging, but it's worth it - hang in there!

There are several things that could be happening.
1. She has a gas bubble and needs to burp.
2. You have an overactive milk ejection reflex, and she is having trouble "keeping up" with the outpour of milk. Expressing a little first, or breastfeeding while lying down may help. If she seems to cough or sputter, this could be what is going on.
3. The letdown is "too slow" for her. She was getting satisfied, but now has to work to make the other side work and she is frustrated. Expressing enough to get the milk flowing may help.

You might also try switching her back and forth from breast to breast during a feed to help combat either of the last two issues. You might also try to contact a La Leche League Leader in your area. They can really help with things like this.

Congratulations on your precious baby girl!

Try starting on the side she DOESN'T prefer. Your flow is probably better on one side than the other. Also, IDK your birth circumstances, but with my daughter the Dr. had to use suction, so if she has any kind of discomfort on the side she is laying on, that too could effect her.

How are you nursing her? Are you lying down on the bed or sitting up and letting her nurse? If you are switching sides and turning the baby over...she could be having ear discomfort if it is the same side every time.

Be sure to burp her between breasts. She could have some gas on her tummy.

Also, alternate breasts at each feeding starting with the one she did not finish on last. I used a saftey pin on my bra to help remind me which side was the last one nursed.

If your 2nd breat is too full, she may be having trouble latching on. You may need to express a little bit of milk to make it easier for her. Whatever you do, don't give up! If this continues contact a nursing specialist at your ped. office or the hospital where you gave birth. There are almost always ways to make nursing work!

Are you burping her between breasts? Or her tummy may be full but because of the need to suckle she will still nurse. Maybe you can lessen the time she nurses on one breast before switching to the other. A good resource is to contact the Le Leche League in your area. You can find someone by going to their website.

You might try pumping a little first on that side.

It is possible that your milk doesn't flow as fast as the other. I produce more milk on one side than I do on the other. Sometimes it can be frustrating to the child especially when they are tired and just want it to flow quickly. Just make sure that you are drinking plenty of water that way you are always producing the milk. If you become dehydrated, it will hinder you milk production. Another suggestion, I bought Yogi's Tea for Breastfeeding mothers to help with production. It worked, but don't know if it is from the tea part or the extra water. Hope this helps!

Have you tried burping between breast? Or waiting a minute before transferring to the other side while baby lays on your chest? This always helps my son....I have noticed if I don't burp him between breasts, he barely eats at all on the second side and he usually spits up afterwards, but just making sure I burp him, he eats alot more and usually doesn't spit up.

L.,
I don't know what's going on with your daughter, but I just wanted to give you props for choosing to breastfeed!! It is absolutely the BEST thing you can do for your daughter. And even though it's a tough commitment, it is so worth it. Just keep at it. Also, there is a forum online that has lots of people who are very knowledgeable about breastfeeding (and lots of other stuff, too.) mothering.com/discussions. Check out the breastfeeding suggestions for ideas about your daughter. Also, kellymom.com has lots of good info.

You might want to try to start alternating which side you start feeding from. When my son was born he did the same thing. I would nurse him on one side and then the other but he wouldn't eat as long on the other. So I started alternating which side I started on and he started eating a little more. If you are still having a problem go see your doctor.

Hi L.. How long is your baby on the first breast before you switch her over to the other side? Is it possible she needs to burp in between breasts? have you tried that? Have you checked to see that milk is coming out of the second breast? Perhaps you have some clogged pores and should cleanse the area a bit more. It's difficult to say without actually knowing the details of the feedings going on throughout the day. There is a club called La Leche for breast-feeding moms. They've been around for centuries, it seems. This organization is educated in all areas of nursing your baby. You should Google them and present your situation therein. I know you'll find a solution right away! If I can help you further, notify me without hesitation. Take care and GOD BLESS you and your family.

sincerely,

denise maria

p.s. I've found their website for you. go to LaLecheLeague.net or LaLecheLeague.org there you will find help in various languages to meet all needs. Good Luck!

your burping her after the first breast right? If you already are, then maybe she is full. Maybe she isn't full and it is taking more than a min. for your milk to let down and she is mad about it, if that's the case then there are a few things you could do to make it let down faster (hot compress, expressing a little first, relaxation) Maybe try the LLL's site, I think they have some message boards there or even motherings message boards.

I only have one idea for you, and it may or may not be on the right track. From your question, what I understand is that you're putting her in bed (laying down) with you to nurse.

It could be that the flow of the milk is too strong for her to handle while in a laying down position. This might be the case if you can for sure see milk coming out, on her face, etc. Maybe she's having trouble latching on because of the amount of milk. If this is the case, you might need to nurse her in a more upright position until the situation resolves itself.

This happened to me, with my baby. I couldn't nurse him laying down in bed until he reached about 4-5 mos. old. By that time, I think he had learned to handle it and also the amount of milk had settled down (I had "too much" milk at for awhile).

On a side note, I want to encourage you to keep breastfeeding! It will get easier! You might already know this, but just thought I'd add that!

You might check her "tilt". If she's not propped up enough, she might be getting a little fluid in her ears and causing discomfort. I hope this helps :}

First, let her tell you when she is done with the first breast by either popping off or falling asleep.

Second, burp between sides. Sometimes you have to burp in the middle of a side if the baby hasn't been on long. This is especially true if you have forceful letdown and she pulls off sputtering and fussy. Burp her and put her back to the same breast when this happens.

Third, call a lactation consultant or LLL leader. The hospital you delivered at (unless you had a homebirth) will probably have a LC on staff who will do a phone consultation. LLL leaders usually do phone consultations and will help you troubleshoot if you go to a meeting. If you have WIC, there should be someone there to help you troubleshoot too. LLL and WIC are free.

Ask your pediatrician about possible reflux.

hey L.,
i had similar problem with my little one when i breast fed and it was due to her being so hungry but unable to eat because she was also extremely gassy. i just burped my little one more often and i used mylicon about 15 minutes prior to each feeding... it really made the difference. i can not say how important a good and loud burp is for your little one... and i tried tons of ways before i found the way that worked for burping my baby. sp the short version is that the baby is to gassy to swallow anything and starving which means irritable and then the whole ordeal makes them tired. best wishes.
-mb

If it's just one breast that she is favoring start her on the favored side for about five minutes to take the edge off her hunger and then switch her to the other side. If it's a side she's not eating well on it may not be producing as much. If that doesn't work you can always just feed her on the one side and pump on the other to keep it from being "lop sided". If it seems that maybe she starts falling asleep on the one side and she's irritated to be woken up to switch you could try switching her a little earlier to keep her a little more calm. Or if you can try standing and walking while you're feeding her to help keep her calm. If you haven't already you can contact your local health department they normally have a breastfeeding support group with a lactation nurse specialist. I found them to be very helpful. The one in Cabot is wonderful and even give you a number you can page her at anytime. She would rather be woken up in the middle of the night to help a struggling mother than for you to be frustrated and give up.

Are you co-sleeping? If so, are you turning over so that she always takes the bottom breast?

If you're putting her in a crib far from you, she might be sensing, and already starting to feel, the impending stress of separation, and putting off finishing nursing.

Try putting the crib closer to where you'll be when you put her to bed, or get a co-sleeper, or just have her sleep with you, and when you're finished nursing at these times, stay with her till she's deeply asleep. Read or sing to her, and rub her back. She will feel safter, and thus calmer, this way.

Good luck!
L.

Hi, I am a registered nurse and used to be a lactation consultant. I have breast fed 2 children for approximately 2 years each. It is important to rotate the breast that you start feeding on each time you feed, so that one does not become larger and engorged and you maintain the same supply of milk in each breast. Is sounds like you have been using the same side first each time? You may be so engorged on one side that she cannot latch on properly and may not be able to get a let down in the second breast, which frustrates her. This will all work it's way out as the weeks and months go by and it will get alot easier. The toughest stage is when your baby is newborn and your breasts are large, but as she grows and gets stronger this becomes less and less of a problem. Please feel free to contact me with further questions. Breast feeding is my passion! ____@____.com

B. S. RN CCM.