Nursing Questions

It's probably not reflux...sounds like he just needs to poop. To rule out reflux give him a couple drops of calm-a-tummy by wish garden. That will take care of it if it is reflux.

Most likely the baby is done when he starts to squirm and fidget, but he might be a sucker, have you tried a paci to see if it is just the sucking motion he is looking for? Just a thought.

Hi, N.-

My five month old boy does this as well, and we call it the "tooty dance" at our house. For some reason, when he is nursing, it seems to stimulate his whole digestive system, so his intestines are gurgling and moving with gas, etc. Very often, after fifteen or twenty minutes of nursing, he has a BM, and then relaxes quite a bit. If he is still wanting to nurse, just keep feeding him and hang onto his squirmy little body. He may just be squirming in an effort to get comfy, not understanding all those digestive rumblings inside.

As far as aching, if you are finding that you have a lot of milk when nursing, the ache may be from having an abundance of milk that is still trying to let down, even though baby is done nursing. I'd say gie it another couple of weeks to let your body continue regulating how much milk to make. I have nursed four babies now, and I find that for the first month, my poor little ones are drinking from a fire hose, so to speak, but then my body settles down and makes a much more reasonable amount of milk. But the letdown does cause a certain amount of "ache". I guess it's a blessing - I always end up with nice fat babies! :)

Hope that helps!

I really don't know why he is squirming and I still can't figure out why my 6 month old squirms but I started grabbing her hand when she was that way and for some reason when I hold her had, the one that is at the top position, while she nurses she calms down and finishes. I mainly grabbed her hand at first because her little finger nails would scratch my breast but I discovered that it calmed her down. Good luck.

My baby girl did that exact thing. She would stay attached but twist and squirm and wimper. I went to a Lactation specialist who said she thought she had "silent reflux" that she wasn't spitting up but it was burning her esophogus. I saw a specialist who explained that some babies don't have a fully developed intestinal track and that the parastalsis can actually radiate to the center not from the stomach down. So, when she started to eat, after a minute or two it would start to hurt. I tried various medications but nothing worked. I used to walk, bounce her, nurse and sing to try to calm her enough to eat. It was so frustrating for both of us. The bad news is that they don't grow out of it until 4-6 months. My daughter did it until 6 months. Then one day she just stopped. I called my Mom and said "she smiles all day!" I was so amazed. I know it seems like a long time right now but the good news is they do grow out of it! Maybe check with your pediatrician for some medical advise and to make sure everything is ok. Hang in there and good luck! I hope this helps.

My little guy does this too. I'll take him off to burp him and then he goes after his hand and sucks on it really loudly! It turns out for us that the squirming and hand sucking is a que for gas/brewing a poo.You'll just have to watch him and figure out what he's trying to tell you.

If you are going to be a working mom like myself, take the opportunity to pump and freeze your milk. This may help your breasts feel better.

my boy did it because he needs to be burped

My 2 month old does this. He usually has to burb, so he's dealing with hunger (trying to nurse) and gas pain (cause of the squirming) at the same time. Taking him off and getting him to burp (sometimes it takes 5 minutes) seems to settle him down.

Good luck.

reflux is painful, so see a doctor and if it's that get him on some meds.

The throbbing should go away in another month or so I think. maybe sooner. I think I do remember that with my boys (I have two also), but I was more concerned with my bleeding nipples with my first boy. He latched on correctly but clamped down fast.

I kind of wonder if he may be getting reflux because your milk comes so fast? I don't know what you do for that, maybe spray it into his mouth the first little while? Good luck.

I agree with a previous post. His digestive system may be getting activated with his eating. He may pass gas, urinate, or have a BM.
To take it a step further, check out: http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/index.php?module=faq&FA...
When my son was a newborn, I never thought about taking him to the potty. However, I have heard of moms nursing their kids on the potty to help them relax. Or, nursing them with the diaper off and just put them on a towel to see if he needs to eliminate. The premise of Elimination Communication is that babies are born knowing not to soil themselves and they give us signals that they need to go.

Does your little one also, spit up alot? My daughter did and did the whole squirming and arching the back thing and they determined she had acid reflux, which was easily treated and made nursing so much better. Also, be aware of your diet to make sure its nothing to spicy, or foods that could give your baby gas (brocolli, cabbage, onions, beans, etc). Good luck with the nursing.

I have seen a few babies do this. The one most recently had some tight muscles in her neck. It was hard for her to support her neck while nursing. She would just get really tired and thrash around. I went with her and her mom to the doctor. She did some exercises and it helped. You may want to watch as she looks around to see if she is favoring looking to one side or the other. There is also sometimes a latch issues. If you are still sore after 3 weeks he may not be getting your nipple in far enough or she is pushing her tongue around weird. The best book I have found to illustrate how to have a great latch is BestFeeding (I can not remember the author). You should be able to find it in the library or on-line.
Pacifiers may only make it worse right now, so I would avoid them. If it is still an issue find a good lactation consultant. The go through lots of training for specific issues and even your doctor can not help with.

Hi, N.. You know, my daughter did this, too; I figured out that it was gas--she was hungry and wanted to eat, but her little belly hurt from gas, so she was uncomfortable when she tried to eat (squirmed all around, kept her mouth open like a baby bird as she moved all around but wouldn't latch on or would keep pulling off). I had heard that dairy and soy product are the 2 biggest culprits in causing gas in infants, so I experimented with cutting dairy out of my diet to see if it would help. It was literally like flipping a light switch--I had an entirely different baby! She stopped screaming and crying from gas pains, and stopped squirming and pulling off when trying to eat. It might not be the same for you, but it could be worth a try!
Good luck, and congratulations on your new little one!
S.

My little boy does this same exact thing let me know what you find out. The pain could be mastitis if it persists but if it goes away after 10 minutes and doesn't seem to bother you after that I'm not sure. My little boy is 5 months and he acts really uncomfortable also even just a minute or two after I start and I think it might be because he isn't getting the milk fast enough, like a bottle.

A little about me: 1 boy 5 months old still nursing/pumping.

I didn't read any other responses so this might be a repeat. The throbbing may be due to something like thrush. I had thrush, and it was very painful. It can cause discomfort for your baby too, which would explain the squirming. He's hungry, but it's hurting. Are your nipples cracked? Are there any white patches in Baby's mouth? Those are signs of thrush. If you notice anything like that, call the doctor who can prescribe some stuff to get rid of it. I hope you're able to get everything worked out, and that your throbbing will stop!

It could be that you have eaten something that upsets him. I love chocolate and I think I ate a lot of it when I was pregnant with my second one, so I thought that when he was born that he would be able to tolerate it when I nursed him. Boy was I wrong! He cried and gave me the saddest of faces. His little tummy would tighten up and I just had to listen to his sad cry for help until it went away or I gave him Mylacon. I would try eating chocolate again every so many months just to make sure that was it and it was. I don't think he ever got used to it. I weaned him around thirteen months (it was so convenient to nurse him to sleep).

Besides chocolate there are some other foods that could be upsetting him, like broccoli or cauliflower. I read the things that could upset the baby in a nursing book that I either got in the mail or from the hospital. I'm sure you could look it up on Google too.

Your breast might be hurting do to an infection. Is it red? My chest seemed to hurt for a few weeks after I had my second until they became used to it. Sorry I don't have better advice than that.

I've never heard of throbbing...unless you are engorged-which a hot shower helps with. If your nipples are sore after you are done feeding, express a little of your milk and rub it on your nipples and let it air dry. Your milk will heal the soreness. Good luck! Amy

I had two thoughts. One is it could be reflux if there are other signs, like spitting up a lot. The other is just he's being more active. It seems to me my little ones all did this. My DD is doing it now and, yes, it hurts. I hold her head a little tighter so she can't pull so far and that helps. You might be right that it's frustration, too. For my little ones it was just a stage that had to be worked through.

Hey N.!
I totally know what you are going through! My daughter did the same thing, its called the cluster feeding cycle. She sadle had reflux during this so I would keep feeding her because she acted hungry but then she would just throw up:( any way they totally out grow it and i got the best advice ever about it on www.kellymom.com
Good Luck!
Kristne

N.,

I had a strong letdown with my second baby, and it took her a while to grow into it. With her, however, she would cough and splutter and sometimes come off because of the milk spraying.

Also, I'm not sure about the throbbing, but I wouldn't bet on it being a milk letdown reflex. I always felt sore while letting down, but never after nursing. It sounds like you may have positioning problems. I would be concerned about a milk duct that is not draining properly, which could in time lead to a breast infection, mastitis.

I really recommend you get in contact with a local La Leche League leader. All their services are free. Not only are the very well trained, but they also have nursed their own babies for at least a year, so they have plenty of first-hand experiences. You could also contact your local hospital and see if they have a lactation consultant available to talk to.

Often babies just have to grow out of stages, with nursing as well as with everything else, but it is a good idea to talk to a nursing expert about anything that is causing you pain. It may be something they have to grow out of, but it also may be something that is easily fixable.

Best of luck,
S.

PS - I would personally be cautious about a diagnosis of "reflux." It is a possibility, but this seems to be the new fad disease for babies that doctors are medicating for. Just my $.02.

It sounds to me like he is just trying to cope with a strong let down. I have a very strong let down, so all three of mine did this. It definitely gets better as they get older and can swallow more. Also, as time goes by your milk will adjust so it slows down a bit. As for the throbbing, it is probably your breasts getting used to the nursing. It will definitely get better as time goes by. Congratulations and good luck!

A.

The nurse at my doc's office told me that often times they latch on differently on each side, because each nipple is shaped differently. That could account for being more sore on one side, which is what happened to me.

As for the squirming, could it be that he has some gas? I know that my little one wiggled around while eating like that when he had gas.

Good luck!

N.,

My boy is now almost 2 months old, but he does the exact same thing. Sometimes he does let go and just shakes his head really fast too. But I haven't had any problems, he eats enough, has enough diapers, is growing and healthy. I don't know why he does it (the grunting and squirming) but he seems fine. I haven't worried about it at all, and he doesn't seem to do it as much as he used it. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that deals with this.

For the first month or so, it seemed that one side hurt more than the other too, but now I don't notice that at all either. If it really hurts when he latches on, just take him off and make him open his mouth more, that helps me a ton! So hopefully it will get better for you, sorry I don't have any advice, but I hope it helps to know you're not the only one.

I think it's a pretty common symptom with overactive letdown. It should dissipate some as your baby gets better at the suck/swallow thing. Does he also gulp & sputter?

I remember my older boy doing what you described... I could've sworn he was trying out for the nursing gymnastics team when he was a bit older & I had no idea why. My current nursling does it, too, though it's sometimes better if I lie on my side to nurse. And that was especially helpful when he was newer... he's 4 1/2 months now.

If it is due to fast letdown, the throbbing should subside. It took around 8 weeks or so for things to relax again for me, and I feel fine now.

Best of luck!