5 week old choking on both breast and bottle

So baby girl has been choking on the breast for the last few weeks. This isn't just through let down because I pull her off for the let down. She chokes constantly, every couple of sucks. This has resulted in constant fussiness at the breast. Pulling off and on, having to be burped constantly because of the choking and in the last couple of days there has been some refusal to drink anymore after a few sucks because of the choking. Because her feeding has been so erratic she wasn't sleeping at night basically at all. I started expressing at feeding her night feedings in bottles. This has worked and we are finally getting a little bit of sleep. She still chokes on the bottle but until tonight it hasn't been as bad as the breast, especially if I sit her at a 90 deg angle. I've tried a few bottles, all slow teats and she has managed to choke on all of them. Tonight however her feed was a disaster she choked on the milk every 2nd suck until she completely refused to drink anymore. So then I put her back to the breast, she choked on it and refused it too. So now she has refused both breast and bottle because of the choking and I'm a little worried if I don't get it sorted the refusal will start to happen more often. I thought as she was getting older the choking should be getting better, but it seems like she's getting worse. Everyday the choking happens more and more. I'm going to take her to the doctor because she seems to be very refluxy (choking on the reflux too) but was wondering should I see a LC?? Could this be a sucking issue?? Just wondering if anyone had experience with a baby that choked alt during feeding.

Hi, my DD choked a bit when she was really young but that was due to heavy let down/flow. I started feeding lying down on the side or her on top which worked a bit better. If ure really worried and she's still not taking anything call the ABA line. They are volunteers but if ur baby isn't taking any milk that's rather urgent I reckon.

Eta: sorry if this isn't helpful.

Hi. My DD used to do the same. Have you tried a different position on the breast? And maybe a nipple shield?

When you are using bottles what kind of teat are you using? Low flow?

Can you express and try possibly thickening feeds?

These are just some of the things dd and I tried.

Hang in there lovely. Your persistence will pay off. Sending hugs x

Hi, yes we have tried all manner of breastfeeding positions. Lying down serves us best but its still not great and with lots of choking and fussing. With the bottle I hold her up in a 90 deg angle and all of the types I have used are the newborn flow. She always appears to be in a lot of pain directly following each feed, writhing and crunching up and grunting and crying. She does this regardless of whether its breast or bottle. We just had a slightly more successful feed with me pulling the bottle out every couple of sucks before she choked but still she only drank 40ml before she refused and started grunting and crunching like she was in pain. She is do hard to settle then and neither of us get any sleep. I haven't tried thickening her feeds, merely because I'm scared if she choked on it, it might be more dangerous.

Yes absolutely you should see an LC. If you let me know (PM) where you live I could perhaps give you a referral. In terms of the reflux, the one thing we call “reflux” isn’t always the same thing - it has a number of courses. Reflux can be the first stage of what we call the “allergic march”. So an LC would be asking about any family history of allergies/eczema/asthma (is there any in your family) Or it could be a structural anomoly of the oral cavity, or tongue tie. Is your little one gaining weight? How often does she feed in 24 hours? You really need to find out what is going on with your little one before you start to use formula or thickeners, because many times the issues are worse on formula, but when you have stopped breastfeeding it’s hard to go back

I was going to ask if she has been checked for tongue tie or high palate as Barb mentioned. They could make her more prone to choking.

I second Barb's call to go see an LC as soon as you can find one. LC's are breastfeeding experts, but the majority of GPs are lovely but know very little about complex breastfeeding problems, so are often more likely to suggest non-breastfeeding solutions.

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Yes absolutely you should see an LC. If you let me know (PM) where you live I could perhaps give you a referral. In terms of the reflux, the one thing we call “reflux” isn’t always the same thing - it has a number of courses. Reflux can be the first stage of what we call the “allergic march”. So an LC would be asking about any family history of allergies/eczema/asthma (is there any in your family) Or it could be a structural anomoly of the oral cavity, or tongue tie. Is your little one gaining weight? How often does she feed in 24 hours? You really need to find out what is going on with your little one before you start to use formula or thickeners, because many times the issues are worse on formula, but when you have stopped breastfeeding it’s hard to go back

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We only have one LC in our area as we live in a small town so I'll see if I can contact her. There is some history of allergies in the family. Mostly hayfever. She is putting on good weight, it has been getting less and less as her symptoms worsen but still within the good range. I'd say she feeds between 8-10 times a day depending on whether she feeds well or badly. I think she might be also choking because she sounds really congested. I've been using saline drops but the congestion sounds at the back of her throat/nose so it's not really helping. Will see if I can get in contact with our LC.

I hope the LC can help you out!