My baby is 6 week old, have a diffcult time breastfeeding?

Question

since a week she have hard time to breastfeed, all night she keep on crying and breastfeed, crying and wont go sleep. I dont know whats wrong with her, i try to burp her, change her dipers.. i dont want give her formulas Milk. can anyone help me? i havent sleep since 2 am to now. pleaseeeee help me...... No fever.

Answer 1

first relax... nothing is probably wrong at all..but any stress and frustration you are feeling is going to be felt by your baby...they are geared a little different in that our emotions are "felt" by them... some drs call it a survival instinct.... we call it ESP as adults... to them it is how they get some /most of their cues...so your tension right now? baby feels and gets tense too... so... take a deep breath... and do your best to release all that tension, frustration... and do what you can to just keep the "feelings" of calming.. happy...
I know... it is not just hard.. but geez, I felt silly at first.. but it had a great impact on all the children I did this exercise with... not to mention the benefits to mommy (lower blood pressure... letting go of some anger even) so... initial steps taken... more relaxed mommy holding a screaming baby still.... so...
. I do not know how much of any of what I am going to type is known and just annoying to hear over... or how much is new and might help... hope it is the latter....
I nursed all six of mine.. as long as I could.. number two it turned out I had to switch to bottlefeeding when she was about three months... and three seemed to have the same issues you are describing! oh wow.. talk about stressful!! anyway... here is what I learned... mostly thru trial and error.. the rest from talking to some other friends/family.. none from the pediatrician who just said "switch to bottle... sounds like your milk is not good for him" which I would do in a heart beat (and did! when it was warranted) okay
gas.. pure, simple gas... get the mylicon (spelling is wrong I think... ) or the store brand of it.. just as good... that is step one... I had to (this might sound odd) "pump" their legs.... like doing the bicycle exercise? lay them on their backs and slowly push their legs up to the chest and then back.. I made a game of it... running... pumping... dancing even.. lol.. I got some unexpected and early smiles as a reward! I also got lots of little gas bubbles out.. and some bowels... one son could not do that much even without my help... I also realized.. they were hyper sensitive to spices, dairy and garlic! pastas can be gassy... so I had to slightly modify what I ate... well worth it...
it seems to be like colic.. whether it is a "true" colic like this? I don't know... dr again was not much help... but the screaming/crying did not stop like when a baby needs are met... they were red.. and legs tight... fists balled... and after I tried those steps? they were still not the content babies I hoped for? but they were better...
oh.. I did try to switch the first one when after doing all that I only got a little sleep (better than the none I had been getting!) to bottle... the result was worse screaming... and what seemed to be more pain... just so you know.. sometimes? our babies are just a little more sensitive.. and so a little fussier... whether breastfed or bottle....
hope this helps! truly... I would love to hear if you try this and if it helps out.... good luck god bless!

Answer 2

First off, I'm a father, but my wife has breastfed our two children. Second, never judge your quality as a mother by your ability to breast-feed. Just because a child won't breast-feed does not mean you are a bad mother. (My wife often felt bad when she had trouble) You should see your pediatrician as soon as possible to ask questions. The pediatrician will be able to help make sure you are using a proper technique. While it is something you'd think would come natural, many women have trouble with it, especially with an already fussy child.

Has the child had a problem with vomiting? In rare cases the child will be lactose intolerant. My second child could only feed for 2.5 months, before he started rejecting the breast and spitting up A LOT. We discovered that he was lactose intolerant. If my wife had even a tiny amount of dairy during the day, he would throw up.

Again, speak to a pediatrician. You are trying hard to breast-feed your child, that effort is what makes you a good mom, not whether you succeed. Some babies simply will not take to the breast. In that case you should try formula. If money is an issue, take note that all baby food is held to very high federal standards, so even cheap formula will give your daughter everything she needs. If she spits up the formula, try a lactose free, non-milk based, formula.

One last tip, try some colic medicine. My son had similar symptoms, and we gave him colic medicine. Colic is when the gas in the baby's belly is in lots of tiny bubbles, not one big nice one. The little bubbles are hard to burp up, but still hurt. The colic medicine (over the counter in any Wal-Mart, CVS, etc.) helps the bubbles form into a big one so it can be burped up.

Good luck. Remember, trying is what makes a good mommy. If things get bad, ask for help. Motherhood is very hard, and getting help to protect the child doesn't make you a bad mommy...it makes you a great one.

Answer 3

Your milk supply can lessen as you go on, at 6 weeks i am guessing your baby has been feeding ok up until now so its probably not a latching problem. Perhaps your little one is going through a growth spurt and is needing more,so although before there was enough milk to satisfy her its maybe just you dont have enough now. Do you ever express? This is a good way of seeing how much milk you are getting. If you think this is the problem then see your G.P about something to help your milk supply. Dont punish yourself if you need to start with formula, you could do a bit of both so she is satisfied and still getting the good stuff from you. I am sure you would rather you enjoyed your baby and she was happy, it doesnt sound you as though you are at the moment and this time is so precious. Good luck x

Answer 4

I have breast fed 4 babies. My oldest and my youngest both had difficulties with nursing, much like you are having with your baby. There are several things that may be helpful for you to know. First, it can take quite a number of weeks for your baby's needs and your body's milk production to adjust to each other. The more your baby nurses, the more milk you will produce for her. So, frequent nursing is helpful to balance everything out. Wanting to breast feed every 1-2 hours around the clock is not uncommon in the first 3 months of a baby's life. Second, it would be helpful if you called the hospital you gave birth at and ask to speak to their lactation consultant. She will be a good resource to observe your breast feeding technique and see if there may be adjustments needed to how your baby is latching on or maybe positioning of the baby. She can answer questions and give you the encouragement you need to keep on trying. It is also helpful to try a pacifier. Sometimes babies just need some extra sucking to calm them down. There is no need to offer her formula. That will actually decrease your milk production. Your body produces what your baby needs based on her frequency of nursing. Offering formula will signal your body to make less milk. For your own well-being, try to sleep when your baby is sleeping. If she is only doing this during the night and is sleeping well during the day, she probably has her days and nights mixed-up which is quite common for newborns.

Answer 5

I wouldn't jump to formula so fast. I think you should remember to drink a lot so that you don't become dehyrated yourself and just continue to try to breastfeed him as often as he shows interest. Don't force it, though. If he's having more than two wet diapers a day then he's okay in terms of being hydrated himself. It's also good to breastfeed when ill because it will help him get some of the antibodies you are building up. If you take a break from breastfeeding, even if you pump, your supply will diminish because the pump can't get the milk out like your boy does. Try taking Fenugreek, which is sold in any whole foods or organic market. It's entirely safe and helps boost your milk supply. Follow the instructions. It really helped me to keep my milk up and doesn't cost much. I met with a lactation consultant who recommended it. You can also call a lactation consultant in your area and run your situation by her and see what they have to offer or have a session to get them to help you. My guess is that your son prob has a touch of what you have and just isn't feeling great and isn't wanting to eat. He'll eat when he's hungry! I'd switch to the bottles if you do think his wet diapers are dropping off and he's not getting enough calories or water over a few more day period.

Answer 6

My milk didn't come in for me to breastfeed. Is she getting enough milk? I would try to pump and see if she is getting enough.
Here is a article I found for you:

How much formula your baby needs depends not only on his weight but also on his age.
By the time he's about 1 month old, he'll probably be up to 3 or 4 ounces at each feeding and will consume 18 to 32 ounces in one day. From the age of 2 months to 6 months, you should be feeding your baby 4 to 6 ounces at a feeding, and he'll take in 23 to 32 ounces a day. (Some parents find that an increase of about one ounce per month works out about right.)
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/9136.html

Answer 7

Your bub is just fine. I feel for ya! I just went through the same thing. For me, it was what I ate. You have to eat really bland stuff for bub, oatmeal, bananas, and lots of 100% juices. Also, try giving baby mylecon gas drops Bub probably gets gassy from whatever it is that you are eating. Do you have bad gas or have to use the bathroom a lot the last couple of days? Well, if so, it's something you are eating. It's hard w/breastfeeding cuz your bub gets everything you get. I ended up switching over to formula after 6 weeks cuz she just was getting too upset of a tummy from my diet even though I changed my diet 1000's of times for her. I have her on Similac Low Iron and she is doing great w/that. I put her on low iron cuz the regular stuff gave her a really bad tummy ache, she is good on the low iron . I still breastfeed her at night too. We have agood system. It'll get better. I promise! This will all just be a memory. Hang in there.

Answer 8

Your baby could have calic. It is a hard thing for a baby and on the mother. The other thing it could be is that you might have eaten something that doesn't agree with the baby's stomach. It could just have a very upset stomach. They do have baby drops for upset stomachs. You could try that if that is the case. If it is colic I would suggest that you wrap the baby in a blanket (fairly snuggly) and hold him/her in her arms right by your heart and rock him/her. Sometimes that will calm the baby and help him/her to go to sleep.

Answer 9

At 6 weeks old babies go through a HUGE growth spurt .. all they want to do is nurse and nurse and nurse and nurse. They barely sleep.... is this is what is happening?? After the growth spurt she'll sleep. Just keep feeding her.

If she is having a hard time latching on then I would contact your local laleche league leader pronto... here is the website: www.lalecheleague.org

don't worry this will pass! you are still in that "boot camp" phase.. it only gets easier from here :)

Answer 10

Try to get to a lactation consultant as soon as possible! They really are a life saver. They can help you with your difficulty! If you are having a hard time, you could be stressing yourself out to a point that you aren't letting down. She is also at an age when they typically go through a growth spurt. When mine went through growth spurts, she wanted to eat constantly.

It can easily be fixed with the right help. Just hold on. It will get better!