[Pebbles2424]

Hi all

My DS is 18 weeks today and for the last probably 6-8 weeks we have had increasing problems with breastfeeding, to the point now where every feed is a bit of a debacle. He constantly pulls off the breast while feeding and cries, will go back on for maybe 30 seconds and suck then pull off again, this goes on for the entire feed and is making it difficult to actually get a full feed into him.

He has reflux but is on medication for it(zantac) that he has responded well too and we dont seem to have many vomits anymore. He has 1 bottle a day of either EBM or formula as part of his bedtime routine, but has had this since 8 weeks so before the feeding dramas started. I have tried feeding in a quiet dark room, leaving it 4 hours between feeds rather than 3, switching boobs more often (in case its cause hes impatient with the flow) but nothing seems to be fixing it, its just progressively getting worse to the point now where im not sure hes actually getting enough to eat.

I am going back to work in february so at some point in the next month or so will probably start the weaning process to bottle/solids but i had hoped to keep doing maybe 2 breastfeeds a day (morning and night) when back at work. Im reluctant just to stop breastfeeding him so soon but im concerned about him getting enough and its also becoming quite stressful for both of us at every feed. I really dont know what to do/try anymore.

Has anyone else had this issue?Any suggestions?

[Guest_divineM_*]

have you had professional help - lactation consultant or contact your MCHN.

[tiredtoo]

To be honest, it sounds like bad reflux. The pulling away and screaming are typical reactions to having reflux. Just because they are not vomiting does not mean it is no longer happening. The acid in the stomach still comes up and burns the throat. Zantac does not really do much for reflux. You should really see a GP, or nurse to see what they think. But from what you are describing it sounds like silent reflux and your child might need proper reflux medication. Losec is the better one according to my GP.
Another thing you might want to think about is ensuring you have your bub upright after feeds for about 20 mins, and even trying to feed in a slightly upright posture so if it is reflux the milk is settling in the stomach. I also had the cot mattress elevated to assist with the reflux. If you talk to a professional they should be able to give you more advice on best ways to handle it if they too believe it is reflux.
Hope you get it sorted soon,
Tracy

[misse10]

agree - this sounds like bad reflux & his meds aren't working. this is my DS to a tee until he went on Losec...now he's a new child.
Losec is stronger...we use the suspension made by a compounding chemist as it's much easier to give (& bubba loves the chocolate flavour he adds).

Losec takes 2-3 weeks to start working (regardless of what dr says) so ask about giving 1ml mylanta with feeds until the losec is established (you don't want to take mylanta for longer term)

if you're not sure if it's reflux try the mylanta for a few days...if it stops the crying then it's certainly reflux!

[lucky 2]

Perhaps see a LC to watch a feed and see what happens.
Is your baby doing this at all feeds or just in the day and bfing well at night.
Distractibility peaks at 4 months, starts at 2 months of age, the link below has some information about this.
http://kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-fa...tractible-baby/
You do have quite a bit of time before returning to work, about 10 weeks and by this stage your baby will have started solids, there are alternatives to weaning if you wish to combine bfing and working.
There is a pinned thread in this forum which has lots of member stories about bfing and working.
All the best.

eta, my baby was very fussy to feed especially in the day, she also was on Zantac for reflux, I usually had to switch feed when she carried on and give up to 8 sides to get her to finish a feed but she continued to thrive. I also got a bit house bound at that age as it was too stressful for me to have to feed outside of the home.

[axiomae]

I know many people think "there's no such thing as a supply problem" but have you thought about your supply being a little low? This is EXACTLY how my DD was at that age, and turned out I had low supply. I thought she was overtired. I too did the stretching feeds to 4 hourly thing but of course that made it worse.

See a lactation consultant and try to feed more frequently, maybe every two hours, for a few days and see if that helps. Expressing, frequent feeding and a domperidone prescription helped me immensely and no more boob battles anymore, just a happy, content baby who smiles and coos. SO much nicer!

It might not be that, but it certainly was in my case. It was horrible to feed DD before I got this sorted, so I empathise

[lucky 2]

Supply is always worth looking at for fussy feeding which would mean looking at overall growth and wellbeing (ie if baby is thriving normally despite the behaviour then it is not a supply related issue vs underfeeding/poor growth).
One of the many benefits of frequent and switch feeding for fussy feeding behaviour is that it can help baby take more milk each feed which in turn improves milk production (whether or not it needed boosting!).

[sarkazm76]

Losec was what worked for our son - we'd tried mylanta before without much improvement after our GP recommended it.... FYI our Paeditrician told us NOT to give mylatnta as it contains aluminium.
With the Losec we put his does in his bottle so he didn't even notice - we tried giving it straight once and he was not happy

[Mum2TwoDSs]

My DS does that when he's not getting milk from my breasts so for us it was supply issue.

[CharliMarley]

Supply is always worth looking at for fussy feeding which would mean looking at overall growth and wellbeing (ie if baby is thriving normally despite the behaviour then it is not a supply related issue vs underfeeding/poor growth).
One of the many benefits of frequent and switch feeding for fussy feeding behaviour is that it can help baby take more milk each feed which in turn improves milk production (whether or not it needed boosting!).

I think this would be the problem, as babies like to have "flow" all the time and get cranky when it is not there, so switch feeding and giving more feeds will help to settle him down and also give you more milk for him at each feed. I don't think reflux is as frequent as a lot of mums think it is.