Fussing while nursing

xonicole019

My daughter every night gets really fussing while eating. She nurses fine all day long I don't know why at night she gets angry while eating. It's not a lack of supply because she unlatches and my milk goes everywhere. Does anyone know why she could be doing this?

Starbear06

My LO was this way starting 4 weeks. I have a over active letdown but he seemed ok during the day but got really fussy at night. I never figured out what the problem was but he's grown out of it but took a few weeks. It's frustrating though.

gatsbygirl

Yup, my LO is exactly the same. He's fine all day long and 6 p.m. rolls around and BAM, he's pulling off and wiggling all over place. I think evening fussiness is just a normal part of the first few months. I find that if I cluster feed my LO between 6 - 8 p.m., he eventually settles down and then sleeps really well until around 5 a.m.

emilybailey76

apparently from what I have read, it's because our supply is lower in the evenings.

 

Why do babies fuss in the evening?

One frequently-heard explanation for baby?s fussiness in the evenings is that milk volume tends to be lower in the evening due to the natural cycling of hormones throughout the day. However, Dr. Peter Hartmann, a breastfeeding researcher, has said that in the women he has studied, milk volume is not low at this time of day. Even if milk volume is lower in the evening, fat content is typically higher in the evening (particularly if baby is allowed to control this via cue feeding), so the amount of calories that baby is getting should not be significantly different. Milk flow can beslower in the evening, which may be frustrating for some babies.

Doctors often attribute evening fussiness to baby?s immature nervous system (and the fussiness does end as baby gets older, usually by 3-4 months). However, Dr. Katherine Dettwyler (who does research on breastfeeding in traditional societies) states that babies in Mali, West Africa and other traditional societies don?t have colic or late afternoon/evening fussiness. These babies are carried all day and usually nurse several times each hour.

So perhaps none of these explanations is a complete answer to baby?s evening fussiness. For many babies, the fussy time seems to be characterized by a need to have small quantities of milk at frequent intervals, combined with lots of holding, cuddling and movement. Babies who are offered as much expressed milk or formula as they will take by bottle [note: this practice will decrease your milk supply!] often behave in exactly the same way in the evenings. Baby takes a small amount and dozes (and fusses), then a little more, and so on. Perhaps babies ?remember? mom being very active during her pregnancy at these times, and want to be held, rocked, and nurtured constantly again.

Perhaps babies simply need to nurse more often at this time ? rather than consume more milk.

this is from kellymom.com