Breastfeeding fussiness

Ds is almost 11 weeks old and probably for the last week or so he has been really fussy at the breast. During a feed he will pull on and off the breast quite a bit, sometimes he will come off and cry and will seem quite distressed. Other times he will suck on the breast and pull his head back and pull really hard on the breast. Needless to say it's quite painful! Does this sound normal for a baby of his age? I'm getting concerned that he may be in pain or frustrated for some reason. Does this sound normal and is there anything I should do to calm him down so that he can feed better? TIA.

How far into a feed is he doing this? Has anything else changed for him (ie has he started to roll, or similar)?

At this age, babies often wake up to their environment and he may be upset because he's finished a feed, he doesn't like the distraction, or something else. Try feeding him in a quiet, darkened room, or lying down, where you can both relax. Is he worse at some feeds than others? Are you able to bf him before he gets upset or is too hungry?

It sounds like you've done a great job up until now, and babies have a habit of changing the game just when you think you've got it all figured out.

It pretty much starts right from the beginning of a feed. He will suck a few times, pull off, get back on, squirm around, pull off etc etc. He doesn't seem relaxed during a feed iykwim and I find it hard to know if he has had a good feed due to all the fussing. He hasn't started rolling yet but is trying. He doesn't seem distracted, he more so seems like he is frustrated or uncomfortable. I haven't noticed him doing it at any particular time of the day, it's pretty consistent during the day.

Does he do it in all bfing positions? I'd suggest trying to bf him in the football hold, or maybe in the bath, etc. Do you think you have a forceful letdown? How has he been going up until now with wet/dirty nappies and weight gain?

If you think you might have forceful letdown and/or oversupply, it might help to try leaning back or hand express a little off first, before feeding him.

My DS did this around the same age. We took him to see a lactation consultant. DS very conveniently did exactly what he had been doing when we tried to show her. What she thought was that he was not actually hungry at that point - he was tired. So instead of feeding, we tried putting him to sleep and being more vigilant with his tired signs. It was all new to us at the time. So - do you think he is really hungry or may he be tired?

Some things to consider when they do this is slow letdown, forceful letdown, oversupply, fast flow, overtired, not actually hungry, ear problems, throat problems. It can be many different things. Sometimes they just go through phases were they fuss for no apparent reason, usually to just start normally again.

im glad you posted this beautitude, coz Cooper is doing the exact same thing and i was worried about it, they are the same age so it could be normal :) :crossfingers: we both work it out soon

I find dd does the same thing when she isnt actually hungry, usually she is tired. I had a stage where i was misreading her signs and mistook hungry for tired so i was trying to feed her all the time (probably too because ds was a constant feeder so i thought dd would be the same) when she wasnt actually wanting it. Then all our feeds would be not nice ones cause she was having little top ups all day and not actually needing full feeds.