Screaming whilst feeding

[pattersl]

Hi,

Needing some help with following problem.

My 8 week old breast fed daughter comes off during breast feeding after only 10 minutes especially on the right side. After burping and trying again she just will not latch on and continues to scream. Eventually i will try the other side which she will take for 5 minutes.

Worried as up till last week Isla would take a good 20 to 30 minutes from just one side never coming off.
Oh she is still growing well .

Help.

L

 

[LLL_Sarah]

If your baby is still growing well maybe she doesn?t want so much milk all at once. She might be happier with smaller but more frequent feeds.

Have you tried putting her on the second side as soon as she?s come off the first side? The usual advice is to feed on the first side until the baby comes off and then offer the second side ? if the baby takes the second side that is fine and if the baby doesn?t take the second side that is also fine.

If your baby doesn?t seem to want to feed again immediately try playing with her and offering the breast again after ten or fifteen minutes. Often babies like to have a break in the middle of feeding ? just like we often eat our meal in courses ? babies like that too.

Best wishes,
SARAH

 

[joannek]

have you check for any changes in your breast? i had a lot of problems with plugged duct & yeast infection, which really frustrated my daughter. maybe you can consider getting your breast checked by a lactation consultant?

 

[miaka]

i had ( occationally still have) this problem last week. my bb is also 2 mos. i found that she was probably going through a growth spurt and preferred to feed more frequently (i.e. every hour). after a few days of this she went back to her usual routine and started eating bigger meals as well. whenever she screamed she didn't want to eat anymore and (in my case) she wanted to sleep, but needed some help getting to sleep. so i would quickly put her on my shoulder and burp and pat her to sleep simultaneously.

 

[JennyB]

Agree with Sarah, but another possible explanation is a stuffy nose. When babies get their first cold, it's very uncomfortable for them to feed - although they might ignore this discomfort for the first few minutes of a feed when they are really hungry. (They get used to feeding with a cold by the time the second or third cold comes along.) I had this problem recently, and it took a few days for proper cold symptoms to appear (your doctor should be able to tell). Babies can have a stuffy nose without any outward symptoms. That can also make a difference between breasts, because lying on one side might be more comfortable than the other, just like it is for us lying in bed when we have a cold.

Another possible explanation is baby starting to get impatient once the flow slows down. Milk is still coming but they prefer it fast and furious. My baby (now 5 months) from a young age has always come off the breast in less than 5 minutes unless she has been sleepy, I think for this reason. I found that switching breasts as Sarah describes helps with this problem, also breast compression (gently squeezing the back of the breast).