crying during breastfeeding

[Annie]

I am currently concerned about my 13 week old little girl. She has had this problem on and off since she was born but this seems to have worsened over the last couple of weeks.

She feeds mostly every four hours, I am feeding on demand so if she wants to be fed before this then I will. She seems to have only gained one pound in the last four weeks which seems like very little to me. She currently weighs 11lb 4oz. She has suffered with colic since about three weeks but I have been giving her colief for he last three weeks and since then there has been virtually no pain which is a huge relief. I plan to start reducing the dose now as she is 13 weeks. She still suffers with a lot of wind, especially in the night and often wakes up grunting and straining which is followed by a lot of blowing off.

I have always worried about her getting enough as she only feeds from one breast and a feed lasts an average of ten mins but she seems to be satisfied following this, however one in about every three feeds (and recently more) she lets out a little scream, arches her back and come off the breast after about five minutes. She will then latch back on and after about two sucks do the same again, this will continue about ten times until she eventually cries and I have to take her off (even though I suspect she is still hungry). I give her a break and try again but she either won't take it or the process of crying and pulling off starts again. Once I sit her up to burp her she stops crying and seems fine, she will then wait four hours before wanting her next feed. Needless to say I am worried that she is not getting enough or gaining enough weight. She was feeding at about 9PM when I put her to bed, followed by a feed at about 00.45 which I wake her for when I go to bed, then one wake in the night between 5AM and 6AM and sleeping until about 08.45 but she has recently been waking earlier and more often. I am not sure if this is necessarily due to hunger or if the wind in her tummy is waking her up???

Any suggestions???

Annie

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

I don't think your little one is far off track. (though I'm struggling with the pounds and ounces!) It's pretty normal for babies to lose about 10% of their birthweight post birth, and they should regain it by 10-14 days. They will then gain 150-250 g per week in the first 12 weeks, and then the normal growth pattern for babies is to gain about 100 g per week. Babies will double their birthweight by about 4 months - so while I don't know her birthweight, it seems likely that that will be the case.
Feeding 4 hourly is on the lighter side of normal. Would she have more feeds? Sometimes mothers don't think they would, but are surprised to find that they happily take a couple more feeds per day and actually soon start asking for more feeds. Or, if you gave her a break, a burp and a nappy change, would she have another "side"? It's worth a try.(sort of like I finish my meal and am "full" but give me 10 mins or 1/2 an hour for my meal to settle and I'll go a bit of dessert) Many mums who do "feed play sleep" find that they can get another feed in by doing feed play feed sleep. Most of the milk is transferred in the first 10 minutes or so after the letdown, so getting her to take the other breast would be a help.
Making more milk is generally simple - the more she drinks, the more you will make. Good luck - you are doing a great job.
Warm Regards
Barb

[Jac]

Hi there,
Sounds like she might be suffering from a little reflux to me (pulling away from breast, crying, back arching, all while seeming to be still hungry). My son was exactly the same and I was constantly worried about weight gain as he seemed hungry and would cry/appear to be in pain during feeds. Does this sound like a possibility? He is now taking medication to assist with relflux and rarely has a problem with his feeds now (thank goodness). Check out the thread on "colic, teething and reflux" for more info.

[angelwithinvisiblewings]

hi annie...I am having the same sort of problems as you and am just curious to find out how you went?

[mickyndan]

Just a thought... My 14 week old does this occassionally and i find he does it when he has hit the over tired stage, could this be a possibility?

[mickyndan]

Just a thought... My 14 week old does this occassionally and i find he does it when he has hit the over tired stage, could this be a possibility?

[angelwithinvisiblewings]

Just a thought... My 14 week old does this occassionally and i find he does it when he has hit the over tired stage, could this be a possibility?

Yes actually over the last couple of days I have noticed that this is the case...so nothing major to worry about...thank goodness. I have found as soon as I wrap her she settles and goes to sleep.

[kungfubecca]

We have been through this and sometimmes still do.

Sometimes it's tiredness, sometimes it's a big burp waiting to ome out.

And it makes it confusing too because DS does act hungry when he is tired and in pain because bb's are a comfort thing. So I just try different things until I find something that works. DS loves baths so sometimes that's a good distraction and the warmth can help pass some wind.