Feed, Scream, Burp, Repeat...

[Lolli]

Aaah... help me. I'm having the same trouble with belly pians with dd as I had with ds as a newborn and we never got them properly sorted. I want to kick this in the butt now before it becomes a major issue.

DD keeps getting a bad pain the tummy after almost every feed. She'll feed, scream her head off, tucking her little legs up, going red in the face and squealing. So I'll burp her (eventually- takes a few minutes) then she'll be screaming for a feed again, looking like she desperatley wants to suck. So I'll pop her on, and five minutes later we repeat the cycle. this can go for two hours and while it doesn't happen every feed, it happens more than half the time. Alot of the time the whole thing ends in a big explosive poo.

I'm doing one sided feeding on recommendation of the mw to avoid any problems with too much foremilk (which became a huge problem with ds). But I think we are heading there anyway because I can't get a sustained feed in. I've tried pulling her off at letdown but that seems to make things worse- she screams so much, I think she sucks down more wind. I don't want to give her a dummy at this age and she won't take one anyway. I think the ABA would say to feed her through the belly ache but that's what IK did with ds and it ended up causing bigger problems.

Help... I'm at my wits end here already....

[Janie]

It sounds as though you're having a tough time Lori . Hun, I would be inclined not to guess what the ABA would say, and give them a call 1800 MUM2MUM. You can explain that you've been down this road before, and what made things worse for your DS. You will likely find that the counsellor will be quite happy to talk things through with you, rather than just telling you what to do.

I'm afraid that i don't have any brilliant suggestions for you myself, sorry. One thing that is popping into my mind is that she might need a little rest between feeds, I know you use a sling, does that settle her at all? Do you have a sling that keeps her upright? As for which point would be best to try and settle her in other ways, I'm not sure. You would possibly know yourself, or hopefully Barb will pop in and give you some brilliant suggestions . Otherwise, do you think you may have a fast let down? If that's the case, you can try different feeding positions to lessen the flow for her. If you would like more info, sing out, and one of us can tell you more about it . How old was your DS when this phase settled for him?

Hang in there Lori, tough times, but you know it will get better

[thepixie]

LR I had a similar problem with my DD when she was tiny. She basically wanted to suck all the time but her body couldn't cope with the quantity of milk she was getting. Result - much screaming, explosive poos and a baby who looked hungry but feeding made it worse. I tried to make sure I waited at least 2-3 hours between feeds to make sure she had digested the last one and reluctantly I did resort to a dummy. I didn't want to but it was the only way she could suck and not receive milk. DD did not have reflux or other physical issues so in her case it was just a matter of too much milk for a tiny little body.
HTH and good luck!

[BekZ]

Hugs Lori, it is so hard this stage. All my girls went through this and it can be very upsetting. With Eva I did the one breast feed, burped and belly massage (or I put bub over the knee and rubbed her back) and then feed the other side if she needed it. Eventually I worked out that some times when she had belly pains she acted like she was hungry. At this point I'd just rub her belly for a bit or put her in the sling. Mostly though I think it was her little system getting used to working. Eventually this phase settled around 6 weeks I think it was.

[skybie]

no advice hun just wanted to send u a big hug and some energy to help u through this.
xxx

[Santosha]

Is it possible that she has reflux? The screaming might be the pain of the acid coming back up again, and I've heard (from my friend who's bub has reflux) that they then may want to feed more and more as the milk going down soothes the burning feeling.

Just a suggestion though... I don't really have any idea as we haven't experienced this. We just have nasty tummy pains long after a feed which result in great big noises at the other end!!! Might be worth getting it checked out however. My friend's bub ended up on reflux meds which she was reluctant to use at first, but now has a much happier, more relaxed baby - and thus, a happier more relaxed Mummy!

Good luck hun.

[aussienic]

One tip when Olivia used to do this

I would lay her on her tummy and rub her back.. She seemed to find that more comfortable

you can lay her across your knees or on the couch

[Kmn]

With the one sided feeding - you can even (expressing the other one if you have to) use the one side for 2 feeds in a row.
Does a warm bath help get the pooplosion out?

[Marlene]

Awwwww, Lori, that certainly doesn't sound like much fun
I wish I had some advice...but I think you are doing the right thing by trying to feed from one side to lessen the foremilk.
Do you have a breast pump soo you can express from the other side? Or maybe even express a little before she attaches so she gets the thicker stuff straight away.

I can bring one up on Friday if you need one I also have a brand new bottle of Infacol and some Brauers stuff if you want it.

[Marlene]

double post

[JellyBean]

You poor thing...

I found that taking a probiotic (friendly bacteria) supplement helped immensely with DS colic as it passes through the breastmilk and aids their digestion. You can even buy infant probiotics in powder form from selected health food stores and phamacies and add it to some expressed breastmilk. Needs to be kept in fridge. If you or bubs were administered antibiotics during or post birth this is vitally important as antibiotics kill off the probiotics which are vital for optimum digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
The nutritional/probiotic supplement In-Liven by Miessence is really good - I think they have it in the belly belly store. There is also an article on it here in bellybelly.

Like someone else said chiropractic care is also meant to be great for colic.

Other than that - I found feeding DS upright in a carrier helped somewhat - as did lifting up his knees to his tummy to expel wind. Hang in there - its a rough time but it will get better soon.

HTH.

X

[Lolli]

Thanks everyone. Lots of useful advice!

Janie, I'm slinging as much as possible but I have a really sore neck and shoulder so I can't have her in there as much as I'd like to. I have a very fast let down, any suggestions to slow the flow would be most helpful.

Marlene, thanks hun I've got a pump but have to get around to pulling it out, washing and sterilising. Seems like a huge job at the moment

Thanks everyone. I think a little bit of this might be a confidence thing on my part- I have to have a bit if faith in my milk and believe she's not hungry, when I know she's had a good feed, and find other ways of settling her, if that makes sense?

[MantaRay]

LR, that sounds exhausting

For fast flow, posture feeding can work really well. This is where you lie on your back while you feed, so that Daisy is effectively feeding "uphill". It can take a few tries to get the positioning working - I found sitting up while holding baby and then lying back helped. If you do this, it is important to sit up before the end of the feed though so that your breast can drain properly. Leaning back while feeding can help too if you can't lie down.

The other thing that often works is what you are already trying - expressing and then attaching after the first let down. It might be worth still trying this though - sometimes things work sometimes and not others.

Another option might be to try block feeding - this is doing two consecutive feeds from the same side. This works well with oversupply, but that might not be what is happening for you (oversupply and fast flow don't necessarily go together).

Have you also tried keeping Daisy upright for 10 - 15 minutes after each feed? This can be really tiring also, but works well for some babies.

I hope these suggestions help. Let us know if they don't and we'll think of some more!!

[Just Me]

Lori - I can totally understand what you are going through - DD1 was exactly as you describe Daisy to be. It is exhausting. DD2 started having wind problems like DD1 and wanting to feed all the time to make herself feel better (she started when she was 2 days old). Someone suggested trying Infant's Friend (I got some from the chemist) and it is working really well for us. I don't know if you want to give her anything extra and it is understandable if you don't (I'm not entirely comfortable with it either but have gone without it just to see and have a completely different baby).

I hope that you find something that works for you soon.

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

You must be worried that history is repeating itself? I couldn't quite work out how old your little one is - she must be very new? How often is she feeding in 24hrs would you say? What have her wet and dirty nappies been like? How did the birth go? What happened with your older child? Babies are designed to be with their mother - just about all the time. Sucking is everything - food, comfort, and closeness. It can be hard to work out what is normal and what is beyond normal. You have a wealth of information and ideas here - let us know how you go with all of that. And there is more we can offer. Try to get some rest for yourself and muster all the support you can get.

[Lolli]

Thankyou girls. I am a bit hesitant to give her any additives yet, but I'll keep that in mind.

MR, I tried the posture feeding this afternoon and it ended with milk everywhere Might take some practice. I try to keep her as upright as possible after a feed but it doesn't really seem to help. The mw shoed me how to rock her back and forth 'like moving a bubble of air in a Coke bottle' and that seems to be helping a little bit.

Barb- Sorry, I should have included that info. Daisy is two weeks old. Her birth was lovely and about as natural as it gets- we never made it to the hospital, it happened so quickly and my MIL delivered her at home. We had skin to skin contact for hours afterwards and she hada really good feed, both sides, within an hour of birth. She has about eight or nine feeds a day, but some might stretch out over an hour and a half, as three or four short feeds from the same side. plenty of wet and dirty nappies.
I had lots of problems feeding ds. He wasn't at all interested in feeding for the first 48 hours, then couldn't attach without nipple shields, which we ended up using for 8 weeks. He had problems with wind as a newborn- oretty much the same feed, scream, burp, or fart, and repeat cycle. He ended up feeding really frequently- every hour or two- for months, and had lots of bellyaches, and big frothy green poos. It only eased up when he was about 5 months old. One problem- nipple shields, wind, too much foremilk, all seemed to lead to another. and yep, it feels like history repeating itself and I can't imagine doing it all again.

[thepixie]

I think a little bit of this might be a confidence thing on my part- I have to have a bit if faith in my milk and believe she's not hungry, when I know she's had a good feed, and find other ways of settling her, if that makes sense?

I think you've hit it on the head there LR.... good luck and keep us posted.

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

Congratulations on the birth of little Daisy. I can see, from your son's breastfeeding history, how you would be so worried that it would all be unfolding again - but I think there is much that is different this time. At two weeks everything is just really new for both of you. It's a time of experimenting to see what works best for both of you - and you have certainly got a wealth of suggestions her. Try feeding her on the same breast for a block of 3-4 hours - see if that helps. If not, go back to giving her the first breast and then offering the second.
Looking deeper, I wonder, do you have a family history of food allergies or intolerances? This could be irrelevant right now - what you are going through is pretty comon in the newborn period, but could be worth looking at further down the track if problems persist.