Has this happened to anyone else? Full-on meltdown while nursing...

jenn43

Has anyone else had a full-on, screaming, kicking, wailing meltdown from their baby while trying to breastfeed?  LO is 8 weeks old, and sometimes he's fairly fussy while nursing.  Often I can figure it out (gas bubble, dirty diaper, letdown is too fast or slow, stuffed nose) and calm him down, but there have been a couple times where he just won't stop screaming, and I end up giving him a bottle and pumping later.  It happened today at work- he comes to work with me, and it's awesome if he happens to be hungry on one of my breaks so I can nurse him instead of pumping.  But I couldn't calm him down, and I was pressed for time.  I'm pretty disappointed, but I know at least he got fed.  I think it would make me feel better if I knew this happened to other people... Or if anyone had any other suggestions on what to do.  

hydrangeagirl

I could have written this post myself; my LO is 9 weeks old.  He has had latch issues on/off since he was born, but I've managed somehow to continue to BF him w/ occasional breast milk supplementation.  But today he has been screaming, crying inconsolably with almost every nursing session. And, I have been feeding on demand when I observe cues or at least every 2 hours.   I am able to start off okay and within a few minutes his behavior starts.  Like you, the only way to console him is with a bottle of breast milk (I also try to figure out every other thing it could be); I pump to replace the feeding.   He does not always exhibit this behavior, but I assume he does it when my flow is not fast enough for him or perhaps when he can't get a good latch.    I always try to re-latch him but when he is crying like his arm is being torn off it is impossible.   I wish I had some suggestions.  Hopefully, another momma will provide some helpful insights to help the both of us.     Good luck to you and hang in there!

Sam0905

This happens to me at pretty much every feeding. It's really frustrating because he starts out doing so well. I'll get him latched and he has really great sucks/swallows for a few minutes. Then he pulls off screaming and refuses the breast from then on. My only advice is to try to keep your LO as calm as possible. If he won't eat after a few tries or if he's really crying - it's better to just go to the bottle. You want to try to "keep the breast a happy place".

stephcrosby09

My LO did this around that time (she is 15 weeks now). It passed for us and if they won't eat, what can you do. It was heart breaking at the time.