Help! Does rooting ALWAYS mean she's hungry??

Lucy_Plus_One!

My DD is just over a week old and has been doing a lot of cluster feeding (I BF) and I know that is normal, but today it just seems out of control.

What I am wondering is if rooting always means that she is hungry? She is fussy and obviously wants something... she wont sleep... and she is doing what my DH and I call "extreme rooting" because she arches her back a little while she turns her head side to side and opens her mouth like she wants to suck. Are there times when she is just doing this as a reflex and she isn't actually needing to be fed?

I have fed her 5 times in the last 7 1/2 hours... and 3 of those in the last 3 1/2... and now she still wont sleep and seems to be rooting again.

Oh, and my milk has come in, but this last feeding I had to give her EM in a bottle since there was nothing left in my breasts. 

Any advice is appreciated. TIA!

abrtpk1

Have you tried a paci? She may just need to suck and if she'll take a paci it could be a life saver!
 

wiserless

have you tried to give her a pacifier? whenever dd would root and i had just fed her we would give her a pacifier and she would quit.

bellpeppers

ditto on the paci.  ds does that, and i know he is getting plenty since i FF.  paci works wonders.

samfish2bcrab

you can try your baby finger, too if there's no pacifier available

lily225

IT could be a sign that she's a baby that just has a need to suck. Try offering her a nuk if you are comfortable with that and see if she will take it. She won't be the best at doing it right away, it takes practice. But you should be able to tell whether she wants it in general or not.

If she's hungry she will get mad that nothing's coming out. 

I was doing TONS of nursing with DD#2 as well and finally tried the nuk to see if she just wanted to suck. Sure enough. That was also right at 1 1/2 weeks old. 

Lucy_Plus_One!

Thanks ladies. I was wondering if that could be an answer for it. I read your posts and immediately tried it and.. .she's asleep.