I have a 4 week old daughter. For the past few days, when I breastfeed at home, she latches on and nurses for a few minutes, then absolutely screams. I put the nipple back in her mouth and she does this again and again for about 15 minutes. Finally she'll stop and nurse normally but then when I switch over to the other breast, we go through this all over again. Her head is higher than her stomach. While she is screaming, I am burping her in case she needs it (a few burps come out, but she still screams). She is getting milk, as I see it coming out of her mouth a bit as she starts screaming, and she has a good amount of wet diapers. However, when we are over at friends houses, or the mall in the nursing lounge area, she does not scream. Only at home... any ideas or advice? I try to nurse for about 20-30 minutes on each side, and with the screaming (that I don't count), my nursing sessions are on average 1 1/2 hours or more when at home. I am just at a loss as to why this might be.
I did go to a lactation consultant, and it was helpful a bit. After this episode (that lasted another week or so), and another one a couple weeks later in which she would not breast feed at all (only bottle for a few days then back to breast), the lactation consultant suggested that my daughter was on a nursing strike. When asked if any change had happened in our household, both times she was acting up, my husband had just left for work (he works offshore). So that made a lot of sense. The screaming and not breastfeeding were her way of noticing I guess. Since the second period ended, nothing else has been amiss. Thank you for all your help and suggestions!
Did you know that FREE lactation consultant services are available at Methodist Women's Center? They really helped me. Good luck :)
All the other suggestions below are right on. Getting too much too fast and reflux. She can also feel your tension - relax - soothing music - breathe - pray etc. Swaddle her. Just don't give up. It is really worth it to your baby to keep on nursing. Is there a La Leche League type group in your area? (ck internet)
Also, Look inside her mouth. Are there white patches or a heavy white coating on her tongue that won't go away? Indication of thrush. Not serious and common in babies - just can be painful.
After you shower, make sure you wipe off your breasts with water and get any soap and shampoo residue that might have dripped onto the nipples.
It sounds like maybe your having a faster "let-down" while you at are at home, probably because you are more relaxed. If your milk is letting down to fast it can cause her to choke and get frustrated. One way that you can help is to try to lean back a little while you are nursing her, so gravity is kind of working against you. It sounds like she is getting enough milk with all of the wet diapers. I second the comment of finding yourself a good lactation consultant. Good luck - you are doing a great job!
I used to have a similar problem with my son who is now 10 months old. I plan to continue breastfeeding him until he is at least 12 months. When my son was your daughters age (about 4-6 weeks old), we had alot of problems breastfeeding.
My pediatrican thought it might be reflux and prescribed Mylanta for a week to see if that would help.
Luckily, my best friend is a mother of 2 children. She watched my son nurse and realized that my over production of milk was causing him to choke. For the first 5 minutes of nursing, my son would cry and choke on the milk. You have a couple of options to try out if you are over producing milk.
First, I started only feeding my son on one side at a nursing session. For example, nurse from only the right breast for 2-3 hours. Then, nurse only from the left breast for 2-3 hours.
Second, I increased how often my son ate so that the milk did not come out so strong (giving the milk less time to build up.) Instead of nursing every 3 hours, we started nursing every 1.5 hours.
Third, you could pump off like an ounce from your breast before you nurse your daughter. This would remove the heavy spray of milk that might be choking your daugher initially if there is an over production of milk. (Personally, I never had made the time to try this suggestion. I was usually too tired and stressed out to even think about pumping. But this could help your situation too.)
Fourth, the most important thing to remember is that even if you have an over production or an under production of milk, eventually your daughter will either grow to like how fast your milk comes in or your breasts will over time slow down the milk supply according to your daughter's demand.
Nursing started out as such a stressful and time consuming process for the first 6-8 weeks. But after about 8 weeks, we started to get the process down.
Good luck and remember that you are not alone in your struggle.
Let me know if you have any questions about what I suggested. I will try and think of anything else that helped us get thru that tough time.
Kyra,
My daughter would do the exact same thing...I could not for the life of me figure out why she did it....nothing had changed for us. The only thing I could think of is that maybe as the previous poster suggested my let down might have been too fast for her or something. I understand how you feel though....it was always kind of a mystery to me that she finally grew out of.
It is important that you remember that the breast fed baby get 90% of the milk she need in the first five minutes. Do not worry that she is not getting what she needs. If she needed more milk she would try to nurse more often. I think this calls for a pediatrician or nursing consultant visit. You are truly devoted to your child's well being but I feel for you having such a tough time right now. Keep asking questions and trying new things; this will resolve itself.
Kyra, do you ever give your daughter a bottle? If so, she might be getting frustrated because nursing requires more effort than bottle feeding.
My opinion is, if you're NOT giving a bottle at all yet, check with your doctors office. The nurses at my pediatricians office walked me through MANY issues like this.
You could also check with the hospital where your daughter was born, they should have people on staff who help with breast feeding issues.
Good luck, let us know what you learn!
T.
hi
she might have thrush. see if she has whit stuff on the inside of her mouth( cheeks and tong).
it hurts when she tries to nurse. If she does, the doctor can give you something for it.
my daughters both did that...i really think it was gas. it would come and go...i really don't think there's anything to do...just another fun hurdle:)
are you nursing her in a quiet area or where the tv/radio is on? maybe she is overstimulated at home by extraneous noises.
Hi Kyra. I'm so sorry you are having these problems. My son did the same thing but when he was just a few days old. I know it can be SOO hard. he would start crying and then I would start crying, very difficult. First of all, hang in there with the breastfeeding. You are doing a good job and it is worth it if you can get past the difficulties. I called a La Leche League leader who gave me several ideas. The thing that worked for us, was skin-to-skin - my shirt and his shirt both off - and lying down on the couch. Make sure you are as relaxed as you can be, because the baby can pick up on our stress and I know it gets stressful when you are expecting the screaming. I would definitely suggest you call La Leche, they will help you for free and they have lots of ideas.
Please let me know if you need anything else. Just hang in there!
- P.
Kyra,
you need to see a lactation consultant asap to help you with assessment and positioning and possible referral back to your pediatrician. There are some minor things like thrush or more important things as in reflux and positional things that can cause all of the symptoms you have mentioned. A consultant would need to see you however to make an accurate evaluation and plan of care. If you have no one you are already seeing please feel free to call the Nestingplace and I will be happy to help you.
K. (lactation consultant) @ The Nestingplace
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If you are using a nursing pillow at home and not when you are out try not to use one at home. Try to nurse her the exact same way you do when you are out. It could be she just likes that position better than the one you are using at home.
Sounds like your baby has severe reflux. all 3 of my boys has it and although they were bottle fed breast milk that I pumped, they all did the same thing you are describing and it can cause feeding aversions if you do not get it under controll. We did not realise my oldest had it and it got so bad before we figured out what it was that he stopped eating becuase every time he did he would hurt.
Ask your dr for prevacid 75 solutabs it works much better than zantac and they can take 1/2 tablet a day or 1/2 in am and 1/2 in pm.
Another symptom of reflux (silent reflux if they do not spit up. this is when the acid reflux comes up and stays in the throat and they never actually throw up)
not wanting to lay on back, arching back, constant crying, and for the babies that can spit it up spitting up more than a few teaspoons and it smells real acidic. (not all babies with reflux spit up, 2 of mine never did and it can be worse than when they can actually spit it up and get it out of their tummies)
Mylanta origonal (1/4 teaspoon) can help as well.
Good luck, but see a dr if this continues because it can really cause feeding aversions. (they will associate pain with feeding)
A. J
try to make sure that she is lvl meaning that her head, shoulders, and bottom are in a straight line
Interesting! Maybe try nursing her in a new location in your home, that is quite, lights turned down... Maybe she is distracted by pets, radio, lights, tv... anything...
Maybe, she likes being covered with a blanket, like you may be dping when you are out, but not at home.
Both daughters had reflux. I wouldn't say this is the case. Reflux would happen all day long everywhere and everytime the baby nursed. Also the baby might be wanting to nurse no kidding all day long even though the reflux hurts the milk soothes the burning. You would notice more frequent needs to nurse than normal or extended durations without nursing - refusal to nurse because it hurts too badly.
I think it sounds like a letdown issue - either too fast and she is frustrated or too slow and she is frustrated. If too fast she might choke a litle (you would probably hear it). Too slow and she would be frustrated by not getting the milk ASAP.
Sounds like you have a little one that knows what she wants! Enjoy her and congrats for nursing.
ve you tried making background noises? it seems that in the other places there would be a lot of noise. try turning on the tv low. i know that sometimes helped with my son. good luck hope this helps
Are you doing anything different when you're out than when you're at home? Could it be she does like the noise when you're out? Try some music if the quiet doesn't help (like the other person suggested). Also, have you tried different holds? I know there are several to choose from and maybe she just needs a different one- like the football hold or something. Just try something different than you've been doing. I'm sure the screaming just makes it all worse- gives her gas and stuff from sucking in all that air. Sorry to hear you're having trouble. Just remember that you are an extremely devoted mom to go 1.5 hours feeding her. I admire that devotion to doing that for her! Keep at it, though, if you can- give it your best because it's best for her.
I wasn't able to nurse either of my boys, so I can't help you from a "personal experience" standpoint.
Have you tried talking to your Lactation specialist? She should be able to help you pinpoint more accurately as to "why" your daughter is doing this, and help you resolve the issue.
I'm thinking the other mom was right in that your daughter may actually want the blanket that you use when you're out in public. It's probably very soothing to her as she nurses.
Good Luck, and keep nursing as long as you can! :)
