Feeding & Fussiness?

Question

My baby will nurse for 30-45 minutes on one breast, then she is fussy for an hour. I know she is tired but fights sleep so badly. She is 1 week old today.
I burp her, change her, swaddle her and console her. Even let her cry for a bit. She constantly roots and acts hungry. She is gaining and dr says shes healthy.
This happens almost everytime I feed her.
Is this normal? Any suggestions? She also seems to be getting hiccups after feedings.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hiccups are caused by an irritation of the diaphragm. It is extremely common for babies to get them, even while still in the womb. I would suggest that you nurse your baby for 15-20 minutes on one breast. Than burp her, change her, and switch her to the other breast. A baby can empty a breast in as little as 5-10 minutes. However, your milk supply is just beginning the lengthy process of being established and it will take her longer to nurse completely until she becomes more proficient at nursing. There is actually little that is normal about a newborn and a nursing schedule. Each baby develops his own routine, but it takes a few weeks and sometimes a couple months. It is possible that your little one needs a little more sucking other than just nursing and a pacifier combined with the swaddling may be just what it takes to get her to settle in a bit quicker. There is no need to add formula to your daughter's diet, breast feeding exclusively is fine especially since she is healthy and gaining weight. It is normal for your baby to eat as frequent as every hour, especially in the beginning. This is how your milk supply is established. The more she nurses, the more milk your body knows to produce for her. I suggest you try to feed her on both breasts at each feeding, try a pacifier, and if she needs to eat frequently go ahead a nurse her often.

Answer 2

Maybe she has reflux. Try raising the cot at one end. She also maybe still hungry so try offering her the other breast. If she falls asleep on the breast she probably has had enough. Sometimes you just have to persist. If she is throwing her arms around she is still tired and made stay and pat her until she looks like she is nearly asleep and then take your hand away and watch. You may need to keep doing this a couple of times if she wakes. If she wakes wth screaming she probably will have pain. Leave her for a bit and see if she goes back to sleep if crying continues go in a try burping and comforting. If she keeps waking try again later.
Don't give up because it will be bliss later if you are persistent

Answer 3

the only thing that doesn't sound quite right is nursing her for 30-45 minutes on one breast. is that what you were told to do? I was told to nurse for 10 minutes on one breast and then switch to the other breast and nurse for another 10 minutes. And to be sure to switch which breast you start the baby on each time she nurses. this is so that your breasts stay approximately equally full of milk -- because the baby sucks much harder in the first stages of being hungry and will cause the breast she sucks on harder to produce more milk, and you want her to nurse pretty equally on each side. also you need to burp her after the 10 minutes on each breast. it certainly is possible that none of this will change her fussy periods but, it may be worth a try. also if she constantly acts hungry, let her nurse more often. (not necessarily for more time each time but, just more frequently) enjoy her because these first few weeks when they are so tiny go by really fast!

Answer 4

I am not saying this is what is going on, but have to throw it out there because I sure as heck don't want anyone having to go through what we did. One of our babies had what was called "silent acid reflux". The first eight weeks of her life were just horrible for both her and us. Our schedule would be nurse for ten minutes and scream for hours, fall asleep for 30 minutes from exhaustion, wake up, nurse, scream, sleep for 30 minutes, etc. It was pure hell, plain and simple. My doc kept saying colic, but my instincts told me it was not colic. Silent acid reflux is basically like reflux (characterized by lots of spitting up) but they never spit up. It comes to the top of their throats and then it goes back down. The acid irritates their little throats and they are some what horse when they cry. Other symptoms she had was hiccups (more than normal), grimacing, gagging and lots and lots of gas. She also would try sticking her fingers in her mouth, very deeply. In hindsight my doc said that these can all be "normal" in babies, but when put all together to the extent we had it and the other symptoms, it was definitely from the silent acid reflux. Again, not saying that is what is going on, but it sounds familiar.

Another thing is that it could be a foremilk/hind milk imbalances. The LLL site can explain it much better than I can. :-)
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/foremilk.html

Hang in there...I tell those I know who are nursing that if you can get through the first two months, it is a BREEZE!

Answer 5

Hiccups usually mean they are full or they have a bubble stuck. I think you should burp her a little longer, try rubbing the back as well and holding her and moving your body up and down while standing. You could also try some Gerber gas drops to see if that helps. Make sure you also watch what you eat that can upset her tummy too.

Answer 6

If she's only a week old you still may not have enough milk in your breasts so even though she's nursing she might not be actually getting very much so she's swallowing a lot of air causing the hiccups and the fussiness since she's still hungry. try supplementing her with some formula when she acts this way, at one week they eat ALOT and sometimes breastfeeding doesnt cut it alone.

Answer 7

i had kinda the same problem with my baby. it took me a while to realise that he was just comfort sucking, so i gave him a dummy and he took to it straight away. he obviously just wanted something to suck. if your little girl is gaining weight she must be getting enough milk. i don't know how you feel about pacifiers but id give it a go. my son also had hiccups every day. was a pain but didnt seem to bother him and he grew out of it after a few months.

Answer 8

I completely empathize with you. My little one was exactly like that. It drove me to tears sometimes. It was later that I realized that though he was gaining weight I was not able to fulfill his complete hunger. Some babies are verrry hungry ... may be part of their growth phase. Include fenugreek seeds in your diet... soak it overnight in water. In the morning grind it and add it to your porridge, cereal, pancakes... It will increase your milk supply. Even Asparagus racemosus helps increase milk supply. Once the milk supply increases your baby will eventually settle down. All the best.