Breastfeeding issue - help!
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Topic: Breastfeeding issue - help!
Posted By: denny25
Subject: Breastfeeding issue - help!
Date Posted: 18 October 2008 at 8:44pm
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Over the past week or so Ava has started to scream and cry during breastfeeding.
It seems to happen more on the right breast. She will latch on fine, suck for a little while then tense up, flap her arms around and cry and scream and latch off. She will then latch on again (obviously hungry) , tense up, etc, and the cycle will continue. She has reflux - could this be it? Why would she want to still latch on if she was in pain though? |
Replies:
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 18 October 2008 at 8:58pm
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Lil miss does this on the left hand side, it's so frustrating! She keeps slipping her latch and making clicking noises. I had the Mothercraft nurse watch me feeding her on that side the other day and she said it's coz my milk flows too fast on that side and lil miss struggles to keep up.
I'm sorry I don't have any advice, just wanted you to know that you're not the only one! All babies have a favourite side, all four of mine have preferred the right, and lil miss is so fussy about the left that she won't feed off it unless she is absolutely perfectly positioned which is impossible when we are out and about so I get awfully lopsided! You could maybe try the football hold on that side to change her position? Oh and once when lil miss was even more fussy on that side than usual I noticed that I had a small crack in my nipple that was bleeding and I think it was putting her off. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 18 October 2008 at 8:59pm
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Oh and refluxers will sometimes keep trying to feed coz they think that will fix the pain, as they get older and associate pain with feeding the opposite happens and they refuse feeds but early on it can make them want to feed more frequently. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: kathyandbub
Date Posted: 18 October 2008 at 9:06pm
| my little man does that sometimes wen he is really hugery or over tired he will latch on pull off wriggle and cry and through his head around and he can do that for 5 mins or so and then if i change sides its fine. he doesnt have reflux and is a hard out guzzler so i sometimes wonder if its that my flow is to slow? sorry i was no help |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 19 October 2008 at 8:14pm
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Little babies don't understand the difference between sore tummy (hunger) and sore tummy (reflux). With reflux, suckling soothes the tummy but of course when they are overfull it then makes things worse. It's very tricky, especially in the case of silent reflux.
It might not be reflux though. It could be the milk letting down too quickly or even an ear infection. For the latter, you could experiment with different angles (e.g. lying down) to see if that makes a difference. ------------- |
Posted By: DJ
Date Posted: 19 October 2008 at 8:21pm
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awww hugs denny - you seem to be having a rough run of things. It really will get better - most babies seem to get a lot easier after 3 months.
A used to do this to, and she was also diagnosed with reflux, but I think she was actually too tired and didn't have reflux at all. I had terrible trouble getting her to sleep during the day at the time. I really hope things get better for you and wee Ava soon  ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: blondy
Date Posted: 20 October 2008 at 8:21am
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Natalie does this too, but only at the end of the day when she is really tired (is a cat-napper during the day, and we don't get any big sleeps from her, but that's another issue!) - I've found that tired wins out over hungry!
But if it's only one side, and she's sleeping ok, maybe it is reflux? -------------  
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Posted By: cealz
Date Posted: 20 October 2008 at 4:36pm
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Ruby does this too. She flaps, scratches and stuggles when i am trying to get her to latch and then she does a couple of swallows and pulls off (hurting me in the process).
She only seems to do it when she has got herself overtired and wants to suck to get to sleep. This morning I was getting so upset that I wrapped her really tight so she couldnt flap and got her to feed that way and she was soon asleep. Maybe its just something that babies do? I thought it was just something that Ruby did. ------------- 
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Posted By: denny25
Date Posted: 20 October 2008 at 9:35pm
| Update = today she has pretty much all out refused to feed from me. Screaming and crying and getting completely hysterical. Ive tried to pump but i only get about 50mls. I don't know what to do. |
Posted By: fallen
Date Posted: 20 October 2008 at 9:53pm
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You poor thing, you must be at your wits end.
Perhaps its time to contact your midwife,plunket nurse or doctor to get some answers and get it sorted out? You can't go on like this. Good luck. |
Posted By: blondy
Date Posted: 20 October 2008 at 9:56pm
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Hugs!
You should call either your MW (I'm not sure if you are still under her care?) or a lactation consultant, or La Leche League ( http://www.lalecheleague.org.nz/ - link ) asap so hopefully they can watch you feeding her, and can see what the problem might be? also plunket's family centres would be a good place to start? or maybe your GP (maybe if it is reflux, they might be able to help) You must be getting pretty stressed, which won't be helping either! I'm assuming she's drinking formula or EBM from a bottle? -------------
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Posted By: kakapo
Date Posted: 20 October 2008 at 10:09pm
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You could also ask a lactaction consultant (LC) for help. Depending on where you live, an appointment with an LC may be free. My LC visited me at home until 12 weeks after birth when I eventually gave up trying to breastfeed. Did you try craniosacral therapy? Is the losec working, or making things worse? Do you think Ava may be allergic to something you're eating? If your doctor etc recommends you supplement with formula (which hopefully won't happen but you might have to be prepared for the possibility), don't beat yourself up about it. She's had a great start by being on breast milk for this long. I was devastated that I couldn't BF Jimmy, but he had EBM for several weeks before becoming fully formula fed and has been a very healthy, happy baby. And once we got the feeding problems sorted I became a much happier mummy too. I really hope you can get these problems sorted soon hun. |
Posted By: denny25
Date Posted: 21 October 2008 at 9:59pm
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Thanks everyone
well i went to a Paediatrician today and he thinks it may be a milk allergy.- which runs in my family. he could be right, because i gave Ava a bottle of formula today and she spat most of it up and then got really bad diarrhea! The only thing i can do is take all dairy out of my diet for a while and supplement with goats milk or a similar formula to see if that makes a difference. The Dr said allergy tests are too unpredictable NOW since the cows milk formula this afternoon she is rejecting both breast and bottle 
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 21 October 2008 at 10:40pm
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Big hugs Denny25 My gremlins both had cows milk protein intolerance and my breast milk used to upset them, they ended up on a prescription formula and after that they were completely different babies.
I do think it might be worth seeing if you can spend some time at a Plunket family centre or with a lactation consultant so they can watch her feeding and see if there is any problem with the mechanics of the feeding (latching, positioning etc.) ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: denny25
Date Posted: 22 October 2008 at 8:17am
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OMG Maya I've tried the Family Centre in Mt Eden and Ava was PERFECT that day. Fed great, slept great. I could've killed her! That was about 2 weeks ago when the issue was her falling alseep at the breast.
How did your Dr diagnose the gremlins milk protein intolerance? I wish mine would do tests to confirm so i know for sure. |