My 22-day old boy cries while drinking breast-milk, and keeps drinking too. Why so?

Answer 1

Heres an article I found:

Q:
My 3-month-old is constantly crying while at the breast. He's been doing this since he was about 4 or 5 weeks old. We've already seen a lactation consultant, I've tried going off dairy, and the pediatrician prescribed Zantac for my baby's reflux. I think part of the problem could be my fast milk ejection reflex. He chokes while nursing, which leads to the crying. Sometimes he just gives up and refuses to nurse anymore. What can I do?




A:

Breastfeeding should be pleasant for both mother and baby, and your baby's distress does not indicate a pleasurable experience. While food allergens in your diet can pass through your milk and affect your baby, it doesn't sound as if that's happening in your case. Infants with food allergies (generally to dairy or wheat products in the mother's diet) have diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain after, but not during, feeding.

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is also a common cause of pain associated with eating, but, similar to food allergies, the pain from reflux usually occurs immediately or shortly after eating. It sounds as if your suspicions that an overactive milk ejection reflex is responsible for your baby's upset are correct. During breastfeeding, there is usually a balanced supply and demand — you supply the exact amount of milk that baby needs at a rate he can swallow and digest. Even though some nursing mothers do deliver more milk than a baby can handle at one feeding, by 3 months of age the supply and demand usually clicks in. It sounds as if this balancing has not yet happened for you. You should continue working with your health care provider and pediatrician to find out the exact source of your baby's nursing discomfort. In the meantime, here's how you can help him feed more comfortably:

Pump before feeding. Try manually expressing a few squirts of your milk into a container for 30 to 60 seconds prior to breastfeeding. Expressing just a bit of your milk before breastfeeding may slow down the delivery of milk. You can either pump and dump, or save the expressed milk for situations when your baby will need a bottle.

Burp and switch. As soon as you've finished nursing on one breast, take time to burp your baby before switching him to the second breast. This allows any trapped air bubbles in the stomach to be expelled and gives the milk from the first breast a bit of extra time to digest. Infants have tiny tummies (about the size of their fist), so eating too much too fast can cause discomfort and spitting up.

Feed twice as often, and half as much. This rule of thumb works well for most feeding disturbances, such as ingesting too much milk at one time, milk allergies, and gastroesophageal reflux. Fast feeders will get more milk entering the intestines than they can digest at once. Normally, the intestinal lining secretes enzymes, such as lactase, to digest the lactose or milk sugar. In the early months, if baby gets too much milk at one feeding, there may be more lactose entering the intestines than there is lactase available to digest it. The result: The leftover lactose ferments, causing gas, bloating, and discomfort. Feeding smaller amounts more frequently allows digestion to take place more easily.

Keep baby upright after feeding. Gravity helps keep food down. For twenty to thirty minutes after feeding, let your baby remain upright in your arms at a 30 degree angle. Also, try not to jostle him after a feeding — otherwise much of the milk is likely to end up on your clothing!

Calm baby before feeding. A baby who is very hungry or upset is likely to feed too fast and too frantically, causing him to swallow too much air and/or milk too quickly. Get in the habit of looking for your baby's early hunger cues — perhaps he smacks his lips, or roots toward your breast — and feed him right away before he has a chance to get distressed. Also, be sure your baby has an efficient latch-on. A professional lactation consultant can help you with this. Your baby's lips need to form a reasonably tight seal around your areola. Check out your baby's lower lip: If it's pursed in, flip it out, so it looks like "fish lips." Be sure he opens his mouth wide enough so that he sucks mainly on the areola tissue around your nipples and not on the nipples themselves. The milk glands are located just below your areola (the dark skin that encircles your nipple). You want him to compress these glands during feeding.

Use the above feeding strategies, and you and your baby should ease into a comfortable breastfeeding relationship. Just give it some time: In my experience, most too-fast milk delivery problems subside by 4 months of age, if not earlier.

Answer 2

It can be sooooo confusing for a new mum....but maybe being only 3 weeks old, your little baby is suffering from colic( also known as wind). Try giving him some gripe water or burping him more regurally. Both my boys has reflux and unless you recognise the symptons....the Drs wont help u at all. Listen to all the answers u get and hope that at least 1 of them helps. I'm sure u will get loads of well intentioned help. Just remember...u r not alone and we have all been there. It is a case of elimaniton by experintation. Try things and eliminate them if they dont work...it may take a week or 2 but things will get better. If not....see an after birth nurse of some sort they should be able to help.... Good Luck Sweetie xx

Answer 3

The same thing happened to me!

The problem in my case was that my letdown reflex was too fast. So basically, my milk was coming out too hard and too fast for my baby to handle.

Because the problem was usually at it's worst in the morning, I woke myself up about 1/2 hour before my baby's usual wakeup time and pumped.

This usually took care of the problem. After I started doing this I usually didn't have any further problems during the day. I just made sure to pump before I got engorged if need be.

I know it's hard now, but it will get easier as your baby gets bigger. It would also be a good idea to mention this occurance to your doctor or lactation consultant, just to make sure there's nothing else going on.

Good luck!

Answer 4

We need a bit more detail here.
Does he pop off and on the breast and cry?
Does he sputter milk when he pops off?
Does he pull his legs up like he could have gas?
Does he do this at any time while nursing or a certain point in the nursing session? (Prior to letdown when you first attach him? When the milk lets down? Towards the end of the feeding?)
Does he only get breastmilk straight from the breast or does he take bottles too?
More info would allow us to provide a better answer.

Answer 5

FIRST of all, it is kind of rude of you to say will my baby be a normal child if he is formula fed. Many babies are formula fed and they are just fine. It is rude to think a mother is wrong for formula feeding her baby. I didn't breast feed my babies and they are both very smart, and normal. they have never been sick neither. And as long as you baby is gaining some weight it is fine. They don't just up a pound a week. They should double there birth weight by three months old though. And your wife can pump as long as she wishes, as long as she keeps pumping the milk will produce. Some babies just refuse the breast. There is nothing wrong with your son.

Answer 6

your milk may be choking him..express some milk so that the stream will slow down a bit before he nurses. and sit him up some so he won't choke
He keeps drinking because he is hungry
The older he gets the easier it will be..I hope you keep nursing till he is at least a year and a half..I nursed 6 children and the one i nursed the longest didn't get sick like the other children. He had my antibodies to protect him.

Answer 7

Burp him before you feed him.
Keep track of when he feeds. When you find a pattern....start to fed him a little bit before he gets too hungry to eat.
Make sure his nose has room to breath.
Don't be in a chaos atmosphere. It will distrace him.
You need to be completely relaxed so he can feel your peace..

Is he wet or messy while nursing?

Is your milk dropping quickly enough? Is he getting enough to eat?

If this continues talk to baby's doc.

Answer 8

Wind. Try feeding a little then sitting him up and winding him. Also try not to eat too much onions and garlic.

Answer 9

Maybe he has a little tummy pain and is using you as comfort.

Answer 10

might have an ear infection