I'm a first time mom to a healthy 6 week baby girl. She never latched on so I pump all day and night. She takes 4oz. of my breastmilk at every feeding during the day and takes 3 4oz. bottles of formula at night. Just this week, she's gotten super fussy and even cries during her feedings, day and night. I start to think she's getting full after 2oz so I try to burp her - sometimes she burps, sometimes not. She starts to cry but yet she still wants to take the bottle. I try to sooth her before giving her the bottle again. Is this something normal? I've called the pedo advice line and the nurse says she can't pinpoint what it can be. Hasa anyone gone through this with their child? She doesn't have a fever and is content when not feeding. HELP!?!?!?!
Try Gripe Water-- it is primarily ginger and fennel water and helped my baby's fussiness around feedings.
When this happened with my infant son, he had an ear infection. It hurt to suck, but the sucking also relieved some of the pressure. So, you might want to have your daughter's ears checked.
Six weeks is an age when babies can start to get "colicky." Their little digestive systems start to have problems and they can be quite fussy, especially in the afternoon and evening. Your pediatrician is sure to have some suggestions for what to do if your baby is colicky. Look up Baby_colic in the Wikipedia for some information on this condition.
Sounds a lot like she might have some reflux going on. Most babies have this because the little valve at the end of the esophagus isn't fully developed yet. However, it's in varying degrees for all babies. My son had some issues with it when he was about your daughter's age. I think you're in luck though. I used to have to get in to some very awkward positions in order to feed him. Try angling her so she's sitting up as much as possible but not slumped over. This will help the gravity keep the liquid in her belly and then keep her in the upright position for at least 15 minutes after, but longer if you can.
You might want to consider getting in contact with La Leche League to see if they will help you learn to latch on... it's not too late! :D
Could be reflux/GERD. Does she arch her back at all? That can be a sign of reflux. Reflux can be silent (little to no spit-up) or a spit-up extravaganza. I don't recall how much our son spat up at that age, but he had pretty severe reflux. He took meds and we made feeding changes, both of which seemed to help. We also used Dr. Brown's bottles (didn't know about the BPH thing then, and they are changing to the other kind of plastic). They're a pain to clean, but they were worth it for us. Also, have you checked her mouth for any sores? Last idea: sometimes the sucking and the fluid can be very painful if your child has an ear infection. I would go to the doc and have him/her check these things. While most kids run a fever w/ an ear infection, not all do. Docs and nurses need to understand that, just because they cannot figure something out, it is not okay to throw up their hands and say "Oh well." Good luck getting to the bottom of this.
K.
You might want to examine YOUR diet. She may be sensative / allergic to something that you are eating or drinking.
First, though, cut out all dairy, onions, garlic, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, kiwi, oranges/orange juice, lemonaid, black or brown beans , chocolate and coffee in your diet.
See if that makes a difference. If it does, then add these items back to your diet ONE AT A TIME every four to six days. If she starts reacting again after you've added a food/drink, you know you have a problem food.
Keep a food diary. Is there something you eat a lot? Try cutting that out of your diet and see if that makes a difference.
One of my daughters never had a problem with any food I ate while nursing. The other one was just miserable when ever I ate broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onions or garlic.
In addition to changing your diet to see if it helps her, I would also check with a doctor to see if it is reflux.
It could be gas. Try giving her Mylicon drops part way through the feeding to help her burp. My daughter went through a burpy fussy period around that age and the drops helped.
Good luck,
Alli
my baby did similar things while feeding. he also spit up a lot. we tried mylicon and zantac, nothing worked until we discovered...GRIPE WATER..great stuff.
I have a 2.5 month old, and she did the same thing around 6 weeks. What I would try is a faster nipple flow on the bottle. I know they recommend changing to a faster flow at 3+ months, but it took me a few weeks to figure this out and she's been an angel ever since.
