Extremely fussy at the breast, what's going on?

KoalaBear103

My dd is rooting like crazy anytime I try to take her off the breast, but when she is on, she is fussying and pulling away. What gives? I know I have an overactive let down and she sometimes struggles with that, but this is much worse than she normally fusses/pulls off.

maggie09Wed13375

I feel your pain.. Literally. My boobies are killing me from fighting with him this way. He roots and sucks like he wants to eat but when I try to feed him he fights me away! My lactation specialist says its a good thing that he is eager to eat and that he is just cranky because he isn't catching on as fast as he wants to. 

KoalaBear103

Ugh I hope she stops being cranky then!! She seems to get this way more in the evening/night. My nips do not appreciate it!! I hope your LO latches better for you soon.

kiarstin

my lil guy was doing this the other day, its slowly getting better.  Sometimes he will latch right away other times he has a mini freak out.  I just take him off pat him and console him and try again, he eventually stops spazzing and breastfeeds. Mine is also worse at night.

christinbeatrice

kiarstin:

my lil guy was doing this the other day, its slowly getting better.  Sometimes he will latch right away other times he has a mini freak out.  I just take him off pat him and console him and try again, he eventually stops spazzing and breastfeeds. Mine is also worse at night.

This is what I do. Sometimes I do the 5's (except swaddle) & change his diaper, just to give him time to chill out. Then when I reintroduce my breast, he's ready to go. He does it almost every night between 9-10pm. I hope it gets better!

jcsumm0

Have you tried burping her when she comes off fussy?  That was usually what was up w/my LO.

SuzJune04

If you are taking her off the breast, is it because she got a full feeding already?  Maybe her rooting is actually her way of saying she is tired?  My LO will root for being tired more than for nursing. 

Btw-I have an overactive letdown and lots of milk.  When DD was little she only was drinking about 1/3 of what my body was producing.  I'd pump just enough to get comfortable.  Also with my DS, I'd sometimes have to activate my letdown before he'd latch (sometimes he was impatient for the milk and other times he was overwhelmed by my letdown).

KoalaBear103

SuzJune04:

If you are taking her off the breast, is it because she got a full feeding already?  Maybe her rooting is actually her way of saying she is tired?  My LO will root for being tired more than for nursing. 

Btw-I have an overactive letdown and lots of milk.  When DD was little she only was drinking about 1/3 of what my body was producing.  I'd pump just enough to get comfortable.  Also with my DS, I'd sometimes have to activate my letdown before he'd latch (sometimes he was impatient for the milk and other times he was overwhelmed by my letdown).

sometimes I take her off because she falls asleep with my breast in her mouth, so then there is just bm spilling everywhere. Sometimes she's just fussying so much I try to take her off so I can try to burp her (she rarely burps though) or just try to calm her down. She definitely does this way more at night-this morning she latched great and is nursing wonderfully. Last night, it was almost midnight before I got her fed to her satisfaction and got her to sleep.

KoalaBear103

Thanks for the replies ladies! I'm hoping she outgrows thisphase very soon, hopefully it is just a growth spurt!

KoalaBear103

mooshagirl:

My DD has been doing this too. Usually in the middle of the night. It's really frustrating! How you hanging in there? I must have blocked out how hard BFing a newborn is because I don't remember it being this hard!

it is hard! I bf Ryan for about 5 weeks them switched to formula. Honestly formula was sooo much easier than bf. Im determined to stick with it longer but it is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

SuperGreen

jcsumm0:

Have you tried burping her when she comes off fussy?  That was usually what was up w/my LO.

It took me awhile to figure this out, but that's what fixed this issue with my LO.  I also have an overactive letdown, and he would root around, then latch for a second, then pull off hard.  Rinse and repeat.  I tried burping him after he does that a few times, and I almost always get a burp and he settles down and latches.  I think he gets a lot of air when the letdown first happens, then won't settle and latch b/c of the air bubble.  Hope this helps!