Breastfeeding

Screaming at boob

So my LO is 6 weeks old. Today and a little yesterday she has been eating a ton (once an hour) but not for very long. She gulps down immediately when I put her on the boob and then after a couple minutes she's super fidgety, and just pulls on and off constantly until she starts screaming. I do have a powerful letdown, but this never seemed to be an issue for her. I tried burping her whenever she comes off, and sometimes I'll get a burp but not always. We have also given her gas drops as I thought she might be gassy. I also think she might be in the middle of a growth spurt. I just want her to eat calmly again!!

Re: Screaming at boob

  • Oh man this sounds so much like my son. He was always what I can only describe as an aggressive nurser. Sometimes he seemed as if he was riding a bucking bronco, and he would often suddenly pull off crying. He was also a major spit-upper. I attributed these things to a fast letdown and abundant supply, even though I'd never had these issues with my daughter. I didn't really know what to do, so we just kept on going. The upset and the spit-up reduced gradually over the first year, and got much better as he started eating more solids, but to be honest, he was never quite a peaceful nurser. I'm sorry I don't have any real advice for you, just sympathy, agreement that it might have to do with quick letdown/increasing supply, and confidence that it will get better with time.
  • Thanks for the response! Always good to hear another mom has experienced this! Yea, she just has her days I guess. Today she's been so calm when eating and I'm loving it. Last night though she was screaming! I knew she was hungry but wouldn't even latch more than a second or two and would just scream. So my hubby have her a bottle of my pumped milk and she ate 4oz! I haven't figured out what's the difference because like I said today she has been such an amazingly calm and great eater on my boob. Who knows, but as long as she's eating I'm happy :)
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  • Sounds like a growth spurt to me and she is impatient.   Sometimes when they are growing they don't like having to work for it lol.  For this reason I would advise against using a bottle as it could just compound the problem if she's wanting it quick'n'easy.   ;)
  • My daughter is 3 weeks old and just started to do the exact same thing. I can literally hear her gulping and gulping and then all of a sudden she'll scream and pull off, I do the burping and she'll calm down then want to eat immediately after. It's kind of frustrating because I can't get anything done when she's attached to me the majority of the day but I also think she's going through a growth spurt as she's already gained over a pound since birth!
  • Try expressing first and then feeding her, as this will ease the flow of milk and make it easier for her to handle. They become frustrated when the milk just flows into their mouth like a stream and then all they can do is pull away. Then complete feeding her from that breast. At the next feed, express and then feed her from their to completion. Hope this helps.
  • Have you ladies reached out to your local La Leche group? The helped me a lot with my forceful letdown issues. They recommend in unlatching, (it sprays everywhere when I do, so I can only imagine what that feels like for them), expressing into a towel, then continuing to feed. It really does help them and also takes away the gulping, choking, etc.
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