Fussy Baby - Schooleys Mountain,NJ

Updated on April 01, 2008
B.P. asks from Schooleys Mountain, NJ
5 answers

My newborn is almost 3 weeks old and generally a pretty good eater. I have had to supplement formula because I can't keep up with his appetite. He is happy to feed from my breast but falls asleep after 5-10 minutes. When tickling and other methods dont work, I stop and change him. When I try to resume he acts very fussy, squirming, and usually getting very angry. Sometimes bottle feeding helps, othertimes nothing helps and he screams. Is it gas? What can I do to help him?

The reason I wake him is if I do not he wakes up 30 minutes later hungry as ever. The stress of this was really starting to upset me. I tried it for a week and I was very unhappy.

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So What Happened?

Since I am home with him, I have lots of time to try new things, thank goodness! I think the issue was that he did not like the position I had him in and I was waiting too long to feed him and he was getting too upset and that was giving him gas. So now, I feel him as soon as I can and after changing him, I put him right on the bottle. I tuck him into my body and he likes that position much more than how I had him. I also burp him much more frequently. I also keep him upright 5-10 minutes after a feeding since I noticed that he was spitting up a lot. I will try to reduce my dairy intake and see if that reduces his gas...thanks for the good advice. I appreciate any further imput anyone has. He still is happy to nurse as long as he is not extremely upset. Forcing him to stick to breastmilk only was making him very unhappy and he was not getting the proper sleep he needed. That approach is not for everyone.

More Answers

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S.L.

answers from New York on

Why do you feel like you have to wake him up? He's obviously content if he falls asleep. If he wasn't he'd either keep nursing or wake up sooner. Just go with his cycle. And you will be able to keep up with him, just let your body adapt. My baby has only ever taken 5 minutes to nurse and only ever on one side at a time, completely differnt from my other two. But she's perfectly content and putting on weight and being like other babies. He probably screams because he's sleepy and wants to sleep and you wake him. Take a few days to see what his schedule is like. Feed him when he's hungry, put him down when he's sleepy, hold him when he's awake and just wants to be held, and see how he is. I'm sure he'll be fine.

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D.

answers from New York on

This is totally normal. When you notice that he is starting to fall asleep, stop nursing. Taking off the breast and wake him up. You may need to do this several times in one feeding. Eventually he'll get that he shouldn't sleep during meals.

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A.P.

answers from New York on

Something I did was when my son fell asleep at the breast is I would sqeeze the breast slightly which would help with let down. It would fill his mouth with milk and he'd drink right up. Something that could be happening with your little guy is that if he's falling asleep before you have let down, then you take him off, he's tired of trying. He knows that if he fusses enough he'll get the bottle which is a lot easier for him to get milk from. I would try for a while cutting out all bottles and only breastfeeding and often, every 2 hours for a couple of days and see if that helps. Also, your breastmilk supply is available supply and demand. So if he's not really getting much before you switch to the bottle your production will be low. Breastfeed long and often to build up that milk!! I wish you lots of luck. Breastfeeding can be very challenging, but it is one of the BEST things we can give our children.

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A.J.

answers from Albany on

I agree to just let him sleep. As well as the supply & demand, the more he feeds the more you make.

My second child was a voracious eater (& spitter)and extremely fussy. The only thing that would stop him from crying would be to breastfeed him. At 1 month he was gaining too much weight and the crying still continued.

At his 1 month well visit the dr. concluded that he had acid reflux and feeding was the only thing that soothed that burning. Also I do not think he liked the food I was eating. So I stopped breastfeeding (my choice), gave him formula mixed with rice (to give him a fuller sensation & to lessen spit up-dr.'s advice)and zantac.

Worked like a charm. The spit-up was less, his weight gain normalized and the incessant screaming stopped. We also had him sleep upright for a little while in his bouncy seat, swing, car seat. HTH!

A.

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H.V.

answers from Syracuse on

I had the exact same problems with my son at about that age! Even if I could keep him awake, he often would grimace/scream/pull away at the breast, even though he seemed hungry. He also was very gassy. My doctor recommended that I cut out all dairy products and that helped a great deal. Ultimately, though, he was diagnosed with acid reflux. Only when he started meds did the feeding get better.

I hope your doctor is able to help you sort through this and find some solutions. Perhaps limit your dairy intake for a week or so to see if that makes any difference at all.

Good luck!!

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