My baby is now 4 months and he has been doing this for over a month. I went to the Pediatrician, I changed Dr b/c she doesnt seem like she cares much for breastfeeding. She told me to give him formula.I went to the lactation center in North Central Baptist where he was born and all they seemed to care about was selling me a breastpump. My son has been tugging and pulling at my nipple when he eats. He does this every time he eats!!He pulls and looks away.He screams and cries and starts "hitting" me. The ladies at La Leche told me to keep feeding him no matter what and don't give him formula b/c breastmilk is best and to come to meetings.They said either I'm not producing enough milk or I have an over active reflex, how could you tell? But I haven't been able to go because I am so busy.I bought a pump so I can pump at night before I go to bed, but they said that's no way of telling how much milk I am producing.I even went so far as to go to WIC but that lady seemed like she'd rather be somewhere else and didn't like her job,she kept yawning and just not paying attention. I am afraid he is going to start teething and start biting me. Is there anybody out there that had this happen to them when they breastfed and what did you do?
L.,
call Kathy Parkes at the Lactation Connection (TLC)
www.tlc4moms.com
She is an RN AND a Lactation Specialist plus does home visits in the San Antonio Area. Plus, if you have WIC, she contracts with them so its free :) She never tried to sell me something and always was caring to my and the babies needs. She helped me with both my babies.
She is Awsome!!! Good Luck!
sounds like it may be reflux
Hi L., I know that you will not always have time to make feeding times "relaxing" But I know that when my daughter was sick she acted just like that. I have been nursing her for 9 months. But when she was sick she would fuss and I truly believe that she could tell that I was anxious to get her to feed wich made it worse.
I filled up the tub with warm (not hot) water for to 2 of us. And we just sat in the water (me holding her) and after about 5 minutes or so she just started nursing, and she seamed to do okay after that. I think that it could be worth a shot.
Now as for teeth all babies are different my daughter is 9 months and she has no teeth yet!
Maybe giving yourself a break would be beneficial. Possibly pumping and bottle feeding a few times a day would help both you and baby. Then, there may be less frustration when he is at the breast. He may be teeting too - try giving teething tablets at least 15 min. before he is at the breast.
Hi L.,
I had major difficulties breastfeeding my first son and while my second one latched on like a champ, he started doing the same thing as your son. What happened with me but I just didn't want to hear (in my case - may not be you) is that I wasn't positioning him comfortably. For some reason, I couldn't tell, but everyone else around me could - my mom, husband, lactation consultant. Once I retrained myself how to hold him, he seemed to do better. My 3rd child started doing that around 6 months and no amount of repositioning, extra pumping seemed to work, so we were done at about 7.5 months. But because I work and had two other kids to take care of, I decided not to beat myself up over it.
And I think many of us who have had breastfeeding problems have experienced very similar scenarios with the people that we talked to. Hang in there, and above all, take a deep breath, try the positioning thing, or any other advice you might get (more than once), and R-E-L-A-X. Much easier said than done, I know for sure. But I also know that the more I stressed, the less milk I produced.
I also tried squeezing my breast as he nursed. It seemed to work for me.
I hope this helps!
sounds like he is teething, my son did this as well. i did formula and kept up the breastfeeding (just did a few minutes on each side). his gums hurt, so he tugs at the nipple. it passes, i promise! my son is 7 months old and has seven teeth, he has biten a few times but i sit him up and have a stern NO and he doesn't do it again.
pump early in the morning (you will get more then) and then nurse for a little bit or vice versa. give him a bottle of breastmilk. i am also taking fenugeek, it is at sun harvest, to increase the milk supply. just started a few days ago but it's working.
I had trouble with my second child. But, he was crying all of the time too. I was going crazy. I finally resorted to supplementing with formula. And then went to formula entirely. He was happy from then on. For some reason, he wasn't getting enough. I didn't have that trouble with my first or last one. I usually had too much milk. If you have to go to formula - be glad that you at least got to breastfeed him for this long. And, adding in formula doesn't mean you have to stop breastfeeding entirely. ALSO, if this just started - then he might be going through a growth spurt and wants more milk of course. The only way to get more milk is have him breastfeed. Try shortening the duration between and adding in an extra feeding to stimulate more milk production. (or just breastfeed every 2 hours for a few days.) It will produce more milk for him - he's obviously hungry. Eventually, you would be able to go back to the normal schedule. Just a thought: Make sure you're drinking plenty of fluids. You might be somewhat dehydrated with the weather being so hot! ---I just read the other responses. Oh he could very well be teething too! Ice his gums with an ice cube just before eating (or popsicle) and inbetween if needed. He won't like it, but if he's teething it will allow him to eat after. Mine would just pull away frustrated when teething - they wouldn't tug or pull because that was painful for them so he still could be going through a growth spurt. Try the ice first - if that doesn't do it, try increasing feedings.
