Going crazy at the breast

ReeceFamily · February 2013

Does anyone else's LO go kind of crazy at the breast during cluster feeds? Lily is in a bad state today and wants to be constantly at my boob. After awhile, she'll start breathing heavily and kind of snorting and really getting into the sucking, making wierd faces, and even pushing off with her feet against my abdomen. Anyone experience this too? Any idea what is going on/ what it means? It's really bizarre.

karen_loy · February 2013

Is she also crying/seeming desperate? DD does the whole grunting, pushing, hard sucking, bumping her head aganist the boob and eventually crying when she's still hungry but nothing is coming out; at that point I just make a 2 or 3oz bottle and after having that she's all happy again

ReeceFamily · February 2013

karen_loy:
Is she also crying/seeming desperate? DD does the whole grunting, pushing, hard sucking, bumping her head aganist the boob and eventually crying when she's still hungry but nothing is coming out; at that point I just make a 2 or 3oz bottle and after having that she's all happy again

Yup, she seems totally desperate! I guess I'll try supplementing tonight!

mbredin · February 2013

My lo get s fussy when she is really hungry. If she is actively swallowing I leave her on or stop to burp because sometimes its gas. If the breast is empty and she isn't swallowing anything I switch sides. This has made my supply increase to meet her needs.

JumpAroundBucky · February 2013

Wesley makes crazy dinosaur noises and waves his head around like he's never seen a boob before in his life and he's terrified it might attack him. Then he finally latches and stares at me with crazy eyes until he realizes that he loves it.

eb1113 · February 2013

My LO sometimes does that. She will pull herself off and sort of bob her head on and off again while making quite grunting noises. Sometimes she kicks her feet, sometimes not. Once I get her latched back on she usually starts sucking heavily. I sometimes wonder if it is gas that starts it.

It doesn't always happen at night, so I don't think it's because of an empty breast.

jessalared · February 2013

JumpAroundBucky:
Wesley makes crazy dinosaur noises and waves his head around like he's never seen a boob before in his life and he's terrified it might attack him. Then he finally latches and stares at me with crazy eyes until he realizes that he loves it.nbsp;

Ha! I LOLed

raraavis28 · February 2013

DS2 does this too lol! It's like he has to wrestle the boob to the ground first. Actually I was reading in one of my BF books about "types" of nursers and I guess one type is called "Excited/Ineffectives"; these babies get so excited at the breast that they sometimes have trouble latching on at first. I sometimes have to give DS a few moments to calm down or I express a few drops of milk to get him focused on sucking instead of attacking :P. It's hilarious but kinda frustrating at the same time.

ETA: Should have been quoting JumpAroundBucky

Goldsgirl9 · February 2013

marchesa28:
DS2 does this too lol! It's like he has to wrestle the boob to the ground first. Actually I was reading in one of my BF books about "types" of nursers and I guess one type is called "Excited/Ineffectives"; these babies get so excited at the breast that they sometimes have trouble latching on at first. I sometimes have to give DS a few moments to calm down or I express a few drops of milk to get him focused on sucking instead of attacking :P. It's hilarious but kinda frustrating at the same time. ETA: Should have been quoting JumpAroundBucky

This is my lo exactly! He is a little shark at the breast. I often have to calm him down and express a few drops as well. He doesn't kick but he pushes off my breast. I dont have much of a supply so I partially blame it on that.

this decaf life · February 2013

karen_loy:
Is she also crying/seeming desperate? DD does the whole grunting, pushing, hard sucking, bumping her head aganist the boob and eventually crying when she's still hungry but nothing is coming out

This, Eloise did this yesterday & the day before going through a growth spurt. Keep offering the breast because it signals to your body that your baby is growing and needs more. This morning I woke up in a puddle of milk... my body responded lol.

MelissaRae1525 · February 2013

mbredin:
My lo get s fussy when she is really hungry. If she is actively swallowing I leave her on or stop to burp because sometimes its gas. If the breast is empty and she isn't swallowing anything I switch sides. This has made my supply increase to meet her needs.

Same here.

MelissaRae1525 · February 2013

mbredin:
My lo get s fussy when she is really hungry. If she is actively swallowing I leave her on or stop to burp because sometimes its gas. If the breast is empty and she isn't swallowing anything I switch sides. This has made my supply increase to meet her needs.

Same here.

knitsandgiggles · February 2013

this decaf life:
karen_loy:
Is she also crying/seeming desperate? DD does the whole grunting, pushing, hard sucking, bumping her head aganist the boob and eventually crying when she's still hungry but nothing is coming out
This, Eloise did this yesterday & the day before going through a growth spurt. Keep offering the breast because it signals to your body that your baby is growing and needs more. This morning I woke up in a puddle of milk... my body responded lol. 

Your puddle of milk comment reminded me of when I took DD to a doc appt right after a growth spurt. I took my coat off in the exam room and I had a huge milk spot all the way down my left side and the nursing pad was soaked through. I guess I couldn't feel it under my coat because I was warm underneath it. The nurse probably thought I had no idea what was going on so she nicely offered me some thicker nursing pads. I felt like such a noob, which I am, so I graciously took the samples :

OP, when my LO gets like this, I keep offering her the boob and switching sides when she seems to no longer be swallowing on the one side.

Agshan08 · February 2013

My dd does this sometimes too, i finally figured out this week during cluster type feedings that it was gas after sitting her up a few times during those episodes and she let out a huge burp. so now when she starts fussing like that I stop feeding and try to burp her. A lot of times she'll let out a huge burp and then be happy to start nursing again normally.

martha919 · February 2013

JumpAroundBucky:
Wesley makes crazy dinosaur noises and waves his head around like he's never seen a boob before in his life and he's terrified it might attack him. Then he finally latches and stares at me with crazy eyes until he realizes that he loves it.nbsp;

Hahaha! This is us at the beginning of a feeding as well. Not much anymore, but I remember the first time she did this at the hospital and being really freaked out by how intense she was!

gplove94 · February 2013

Yes he does that sometimes. I just try to calm him down and have him start again. He usually calms down. I wouldn't supplement though, that will only decrease your supply.

ReeceFamily · February 2013

AmyG*:
ReeceFamily:
karen_loy:
Is she also crying/seeming desperate? DD does the whole grunting, pushing, hard sucking, bumping her head aganist the boob and eventually crying when she's still hungry but nothing is coming out; at that point I just make a 2 or 3oz bottle and after having that she's all happy again
Yup, she seems totally desperate! I guess I'll try supplementing tonight!

 

Don't supplement!  What baby is doing is normal, especially when going thru a growth spurt.  it can also be just a sign of needing to burp.  so making the bottle and giving it, many breastfed babies will just chug it down cause they don't know how to control the flow of the bottle, and then they overeat, sleep too long (like you only want to sleep after gorging at thanksgiving) and then baby does't nurse as often as they need to in order to up your supply.  repeated supplementing = needing to continue to supplement, at a time when your body is building your supply and baby is gaining efficiency at the breast for future breastfeeding success.  just keep nursing, it will be fine.

 

In general I agree re dangers if supplementing... But our LC
Recommended we bottle feed BM on occasion do that LO will be familiar with bottle for when I return to work in 2 mos. So we are working the occasional bottle into my BF schedule in any case. I appreciate all the reassurances and input!!

ReeceFamily · February 2013

AmyG*:
ReeceFamily:
AmyG*:
ReeceFamily:
karen_loy:
Is she also crying/seeming desperate? DD does the whole grunting, pushing, hard sucking, bumping her head aganist the boob and eventually crying when she's still hungry but nothing is coming out; at that point I just make a 2 or 3oz bottle and after having that she's all happy again
Yup, she seems totally desperate! I guess I'll try supplementing tonight!

 

Don't supplement!  What baby is doing is normal, especially when going thru a growth spurt.  it can also be just a sign of needing to burp.  so making the bottle and giving it, many breastfed babies will just chug it down cause they don't know how to control the flow of the bottle, and then they overeat, sleep too long (like you only want to sleep after gorging at thanksgiving) and then baby does't nurse as often as they need to in order to up your supply.  repeated supplementing = needing to continue to supplement, at a time when your body is building your supply and baby is gaining efficiency at the breast for future breastfeeding success.  just keep nursing, it will be fine.

 

In general I agree re dangers if supplementing... But our LC
Recommended we bottle feed BM on occasion do that LO will be familiar with bottle for when I return to work in 2 mos. So we are working the occasional bottle into my BF schedule in any case. I appreciate all the reassurances and input!!

Sure if you are going back to work soon, introduce a bottle, but with a few "rules". Try not to give a bottle during a growth spurt, as you need baby to effectively empty the breast frequently during a growth spurt, so as to up your supply for future nursing success.
It's usually recommended to wait until after breastfeeding is well established to start bottles, but especially past the 3 or 6 week growth spurts are usually good times.
Any time you give a bottle you should pump to replace the feeding--so if you give 2-3 oz with a bottle, you should pump to get that amount, so your supply does not drop at a time you need it to increase.
If starting a bottle early, Be sure you are using a slow flow bottle nipple, premie size even, sit baby more upright and tilt bottle downward, so baby has to work for the milk, rather than gravity speeding the flow and making it easy for baby to come to prefer the bottle.
Also be sure to use appropriate amounts in a bottle, 1 oz since the last feeding, or 25 oz divided by how many feedings in a day to get a good idea for how much to give. If you give a bottle during a growth spurt--common at 3 weeks and 6 weeks of age, you don't really know how often baby will be nursing, so it's hard to judge amount. and if baby is getting 2-3 oz on top of however much they got at the breast, it is likely overfeeding, which may have a few issues--like extra cranky baby, fussy, stretching baby's tummy to hold 3-4+ oz which is not a normal breastfed baby amount, which may make baby likely to fuss when they don't get that full the next feeding.
It's not as simple as just give a bottle. you want to be protective of your breasteeding and your milk supply this early on. some babies given bottles early on do come to prefer the bottle and refuse the breast, so be a little careful.

Good advice thanks!!

hisnhers · February 2013

When he does that i check whether there is too much milk coming out, if not i switch breast and he is happy again

Want a personalized experience?

Going crazy at the breast

Re: Going crazy at the breast

Choose Another Board

Search Boards