Poor attachment = wind?

[westy]

Hi ladies, i am after some advice please!!!!

I am wondering if having the wrong attachment can cause my baby wind? Sometimes when i feed my baby (who was 1 month old yesterday) there is a toe curling pain when i intially attach him but then it goes away so i am guessing the attachment is ok but maybe it's not ?

Like i said i am worried that poor attachment is causing my little boy to get this horrible wind, but what i dont know is how can i change my attachment to a way that doesnt cause him to get the wind....any ideas, help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,

[PollyA]

Hey WEsty,
This is a normal thing for many women, I had it in the early days too, the pain goes away after you let down but the pain is excrutiating. It does go away and it has nothing to do with attachment. My DS is 10 weeks and I think its been at least a month since I had that pain, I will occasionally get it after he goes a long time overnight and I am really full.
Keep doing what you're doing!

[onthefly]

If attachment were wrong you'd probably know about it. Initial pain that subsides suggests that attachment is ok.
If he were getting in lots of air whilst at the breast (and attachment would be 'well wrong' for that to happen) then that could cause wind, but it doesn't seem like that's it. If you're unsure, seeing an LC would be the best way to go.
It could be that he's just windy. It'll probably get better as he gets older, or at least it won't cause him as much grief anyway.
It could be that you have a fast letdown, which can make them more windy. Try feeding him in a more upright position, or leaning back even, to slow your flow.
Either way things will improve as he gets older - his digestive system will mature and his tummy will get bigger, so don't stress too much about it for now.

[human bean]

Westy I have the same pain too, I posted about it awhile ago I was so concerned. It has subsided alot, and much like Polly said, I get it only occasionally now for the first 20 - 30 secs of a feed.

At around 4 weeks we had the worst wind issues with DD, you could see the pain she was in, and every night from about 6pm to 10pm we would be massaging, bicycling legs, lots of upright time on our shoulders, and then homeopathic drops to ease her discomfort. It was awful. It was only 2 nights ago DH and I realised we hardly have any probs now, haven't used the drops in over a week (she's nearly 8 wks) and it seems to have really calmed down. Although with that said I no longer eat any broccoli, cauli, zucc, choc or coke zero. I had cut right down but it's not until I cut them right out that things started to improve, perhaps hand in hand with her little digestive system maturing? Either that or I was the cause of it all - I hate to think that Just wanted to let you know that things do improve, even if it feels like they never will

[Barb Glare]

Tell us a bit more. I wonder, how often is he feeding in 24 hours? Both sides or just one? What have his weightgains been like over the past 4 weeks? What are the symptoms of "wind" - we tend to use 'wind" as a coverall kind of term, but there may be something more specific we can work with. What are his wet and dirty nappies like?
Talk soon

[westy]

Sorry Barb, i didnt really give too much info did i....im new to the whole breastfeeding thing and i guess im just not really sure what is normal and wht isn't normal.

How often is he feeding in 24hrs ? He feeds anywhere from 6-10 times during a 24hr period.

Both sides or just one ? Depends sometimes he will take both breasts at a feed other times he just has the one then at the next feed i feed him the side he didnt have at the previous feed - is that what i'm ment to do?

Weigh gains ? He was weighed on 14th May and was 4.920kg and yesterday weighed 5.260kg - so a gain of 340grams in 6 days which i think is a good gain

What are the symptoms of wind ? He has a blue ring around his entire mouth area, pulls his legs up , wont settle and cries ...as soon as i am able to get the wind up he is fine but sometimes it can take a long time to get it up. This is not the case all the time, he doesnt get it after every feed but when he does it lasts for a long time and he is distressed.

What are his nappies like ? Lots of wet/poo nappies ....poo's are just starting to go from yellow to a greeny-yellow in the last few days. He has been known to poo up to 10 times in one day although he is starting to do less (6 would be average now).

Thanks so much everyone for your help i really appreciate it, i hope this is able to give you some more insight Barb.

[turtleschell]

greeny/yellow poos??
how green? if it's a distinct GREEN this is a sign of too much foremilk. this usually happens when DD isn't finishing the breast.. either from snacking or you may have oversupply..
I am thinking oversupply, does DD make a gulping sound when she feeds? Like her swallows are quite loud?
If so, this could be the cause of the bad wind.
You could try feeding on the same breast twice in a row and then swapping to the other side twice in a row, iykwim.
You want to see lovely mustard yellow poos.
However, if it's only a tiny bit of green, don't stress, my DD has tiny flecks of green sometimes, and I definitely don't have oversupply.
Barb should be able to give you some excellent advice soon.

[MantaRay]

Westy, it sounds like you are doing really well. The first few weeks can be so tough

Turtleschell is on the right track. Green poos are a sign that the poos are moving through the system really quickly - 6 - 10 poos in a day is another sign! This can be due to oversupply or fast flow, although there are other reasons. The high weight gain is another sign. I'm guessing that your DD has a lot of wet nappies too.

I wonder how much of the day your little one is unsettled? Often these things go away in the first 6 - 12 weeks when your supply settles down. If the unsettled behaviour is really hard to manage, or if it persists after 12 or so weeks, there are some idea that can help manage it. These include block feeding - feeding only from one side for 3 or so hours before switching sides. This isn't always necessary though. If you knew that this was temporary, could you cope with it for another few weeks? If not, you might like to give the ABA 24 hour helpline a call on 1800 mum 2 mum (1800 686 2 686, drop the last 6 for VOIP) to discuss the block feeding strategy, and some alternatives.

All the best hun, you are doing a great job

[westy]

Turtleschell, thanks so much for your reply and advice.
Now that you mention it i think it's probably a oversupply issue i have happening here, my DS does make gulping sounds and yes sometimes his swallowing is rather loud. I have large breasts and they always seem to be full ...even after a feed which is why I am going to buy a electric breast pump next week - this would be of benefit to me wouldn't it ? At least then i can express some and hopefully resolve the over supply issue, but at the same time i dont want to express too much and cause more milk to be produced - do i ?
As for the poo's they aren't a full on green colour more just a tinge in his nappy but definately still yellow ...does that make sense?

MantaRay, thanks for your advice i appreciate it.
My DS isn't unsettled all day, he will just have times when i can see he he has wind and thus causing him to be unsettled due to the pain in his belly. I have thought about doing two feeds on one breast then swapping to the other but like i said my breasts are large and that is a long time for the breast that isn't being used to fill up and got rock hard and be very uncomfortable...maybe this is where that breast pump i'm buying next week would come in handy, at least then i could express enough to get some relief ykwim.

Thanks again everyone i really appreciate all of your help and words of encouragement, i am really enjoying the whole breastfeeding thing.

ETA... I have also noticed over the past few days that when ever i feed the breats that bubs isn't feeding on gets shooting pains, what could be this reason for this? Sorry for all the questions i feel like i should know but i just dont, although this is my third bub i have never had any success breastfeeding before so it is all completely new to me.

[HotI]

ETA... I have also noticed over the past few days that when ever i feed the breats that bubs isn't feeding on gets shooting pains, what could be this reason for this? Sorry for all the questions i feel like i should know but i just dont, although this is my third bub i have never had any success breastfeeding before so it is all completely new to me.

I get this, and i think it is the other breast letting down. Does it leak at the same time?