Help- sudden fussing with feeding

[*PinkLilly*]

DS is 2 and half weeks and so far the feeding has been going well. He's a bit of a sleepy one but I can usually get him to take a full feed on both sides. Plenty of wet and pooey nappies too.

Over the last few days he has been really fussy, mostly on the right. He latches on (which is an entirely different issue) feeds to get the letdown, but once he needs to suck to get the milk he screws his face up, clamps down on the nipple, twists his head, and pulls. He then comes off and I need to re-attach him. This can happen up to 5 times in 10mins. My nipples are killing me! He does this to the other side too but not so much.

Is it supply issues? He feeds almost constantly in early evening and usually between every 2 to 3 hours during the day with a long 5-6 hour stretch at night. He is gaining weight (getting him weighed again this week to make sure that's still alright).

What can I do to stop this? I'm so sore from the puling that even wearing a bra hurts.

[HotI]

you need to protect your nipples, so you might want to take him off before he pulls away or hold his head so he can't pull too far.

His feeds and nappies sound ok to me, but hopefully some one with more experience can pop in.

[Kmn]

Have you had a talk to an ABA counsellor about this - 1800 Mum2Mum ?
It will probably resolve itself as he gets bigger and better able to deal with the milk flow.

Try feeding with you lying on your side and him lying on his side on a big towel - that way if the issue is that your milk shoots out faster than he would like he won't feel like he is choking, and he can just let the excess dribble out of his mouth.

[Visitor8]

Do you think he might be struggling with the let down? My let down was incredibly strong with Eli and he'd suck till the let down and pull of and gag and cry. I learnt to let him suck to trigger it, then pull him off and put a towel there until the flow wasn't so strong, then reattach. Also laying down to feed helped.
I would say it's NOT a supply issue though. If in doubt, see an LC or ring the ABA

[Arcadia]

I agree with others that it sounds like your bub has an issue with the let down. My dd used to be fussier on my left because of it (ouch, I can still remember the pain she caused!). I knew a woman who would pump until the let-down squirting bit had passed and then put bub on, then she also ensured bub got all the hind milk (I think she used to give the pumped milk to her toddler lol).

As others suggested, try lying down, or feeding after the squirting stage has passed and see if that helps...

The only other thing I thought of, is if bub is in fact comfort sucking (which is totally fine) they sometimes get annoyed when milk comes...when all they wated was some sucking. I used to try a dummy, but dd wouldn't take it, so I used to feed through the fussiness and needless to say, dd was ginormous by 3 months. They soon learn how to suck without getting so much milk though.

HTH