Breastfeeding and Sleeping Problems

Have you started eating something new. My son did that if I added any thing new to my diet. or any thing oniony or garlicy.
Breast milk is like the box of baking soda in the fridge. it picks up all the flavors in the food we eat. My son has gotten used to it. If the breast milk is all she gets than she will too. Dont give up on breastfeeding it is so rewading and benifical to her.
good luck
Jas
P.S. I just read that for every month a baby breastfeeds it lowers the risk of obesity later in life by 4%.

Has anyone mentioned anything about her being lactose intolerant? I had to quit eating dairy for about 6 months while I breastfed. I just substituted soy milk & almond cheese. It's not the same, but close enough! It's NOT that she doesn't like your breast. Don't let people discourage you or make you feel bad about trying to do what's best for your baby, which is BREASTFEED! Also, maybe there's something (ie garlic) that's robust in your food that she might find distasteful.

It seems that babies do get a little overwhelmed with all the changes occuring day to day. Do you have a sling? That definitely facilitates calmness and even regulates their heartbeat. You can even breastfeed in some of them. My daughter is 17 months old & I still use mine EVERYDAY. I actually sew them also. I just realized what a lifesaver it was and wanted other parents to reap the benefits, at a fraction of the cost. So, if you are interested.....

Bottom line, don't give up. I know I was a little frustrated early on & didn't see how I was ever even going to make it to 6 months breastfeeding, much less a year! I managed to do it until she was 16 MONTHS, with ease! Well, after the first six months anyway. Best wishes & congrats on your new bundle of joy!

It sounds like reflux and once you mentioned the heart murmur that lends more credence to the reflux. For some reason heart issues and reflux go hand in hand. Have you tried sitting her up some while feeding her to see if she's ok that way? When was the last time you had her heart checked out?? Absolutely do not let her wear herself out with a heart condition - you're doing the right thing by not letting her cry!! :)

What your child is experiencing should not be ignored. Others have made a similar observation: 1) Acid Reflux, 2) Lactose Intolerance/food allergies. Ask/Tell your pediatrician you want your child evaluated for reflux. My baby would only sleep sitting propped up against my chest after eating, skin to skin. It took a while for the acid reflux to get under control. Even today if he eats too much before he falls asleep the acid flows upward. The Lactose Intolerance/food allergy issues is valid. If you are consuming milk, or any other food your child has problems with, it will affect the taste of your milk and the baby's ability to metabolize it, and desire it. Good luck.

She might have an ear infections. My daughter had the same problems. I took her in and sure enough it was an ear infection. I hope this helps.

hi, sorry to here about this hiccup. i know sometimes it can be disheartening when you cant help your little one....so keep your head up. has anyone mentioned the possibility of "thrush"? you sound like you have a lot of help and are staying very informed so im sure you have heard of it. i just thought i would mention it again since baby is having problems eating. but im sorry i dont have any suggestions about her sleep issues, maybe she is just changing her sleep habits, trying to be awake more so she doesnt miss the excitement.
anyhow, just wanted to drop off my two cents!
good luck, keep us posted

This happend with my son for awhile too. Turned out he had horrible gas, I mean horrible gas build up. He would cry and there was nothing I could do to soothe him. At about 4 months he was so happy all the time. Have you tried colic drops...I used Gripe Water. I know this sounds so useless but if the doctor has said she is okay...it will pass. I know for awhile I spent quite a few sleepless nights comforting all day and night. I noticed someone had said to check your diet, this could be the issue. Coffee, spicy foods, broccoli etc. can bother the baby. But...she might just be changing her cycle. Just you watch, she will be going through a growth spurt really soon and won't stop eating. Keep trying the breast feeding, don't give up, pump to keep the milk coming in too. You sound like a great mom, it will be alright I promise.

My son had the exact same thing, also at about 6 weeks. He would struggle and fuss while nursing, and he would only sleep for 10 or 15 minutes at a time during the day. He had no trouble sleeping at night. He also had a lot of spitup. It ended up that he had reflux. I was reluctant to put him on medication, but it made a HUGE difference. He went back to nursing calmly and taking long daytime naps. He was on Zantac for about 6 months, and then we were able to wean him off of it.

I have a 12 week old that was doing the same thing. I took her to the doctor and found out she had an ear infection in her right ear. That is why she cried and fussed during feeding was because her ears hurt when she sucked. She too was much happier being held while she slept but that was do to less pain on her ears and allows drainage. I hope this was able to help.

Have you considered the fact that she might have an ear infection?? My 2nd child did the same thing for a week or so and I finally took him to the doctor. You never know. They can have an infection and not have fever or show any major signs. It may be worth it to check this out. Espeially since she is having trouble sleeping as well. Good luck!

Get her ears checked. When they have an infection is hurts to suck, and swallow because of the pressure built up in the ear drum. Also when they lie down, it is worse,putting pressure in the ear, thus the sleeping issue. You have all the classic symptoms, I would take her in right away and get some antibiotics.

Hello. Since you already have plenty of feedback, I will try to keep this short. I have breastfed my three children (4,2,1). If this is not thrush and is a gas problem, possibly colic, I would recommend an absolute cure. It is called fennel. You can get it in a tea bag form from Sun Harvest or Whole foods. It is completely safe. It is used for digestion. My mother learned of this with me in Germany. I used it when I noticed my son was developing similar habits that you have mentioned. Within two nights of (appx.) 2 oz. of the prepared tea, my son was without pain and ready to nurse. I also used it with my third child as soon as the symptoms appeared - it knocks it out FAST! Also, when nursing, try not to get stressed - your baby will sense it and tend to reject the boob.

I would stop the bottle. As she grows, her nutrition needs will change as will her sleeping needs. However, would you prefer to sleep in a cold bed alone or snuggled up to a nice warm body where you resided for about 9 months? I suggest you find a baby pack, my daughter likes the one by www.newnativebaby.com
they are all natural cotton and my daughter says it keeps the baby snuggled up and she can do things without being apart or sitting there holding the baby all day. (I bought her a "second" and we went all over it with a magnifying glass and found a place where it looked like one stitch did not catch and that sling has gone through my two granddaughters, both of my nieces and two of my daughters friends babies and still looks like new and was so much cheaper than the full price) If you can't let her "cry it out" due to her medical condition then you have no option but to pack her with you if you are planning to get anything accomplished. Life cannot be lived to be holding the baby during her nap. However, a bit of fussing would not be out of line if you don't let her get out of control. Remember your job is to teach her trust. This is important to her development. When she fusses, talk to her.... "Mommy will be right there sweet baby girl. I have to finish the dishes." or whatever you are doing. Sing to her, let her watch baby einstein for a few minutes a day (it really won't hurt her for 30 minutes a couple of times a day) In fact those tapes are so wonderful I found myself watching them. The colors are bright, pure images and wholesome. I also like veggie tales for my kids/grandkids for the values and I believe you can't start too early on that. My granddaughter was two years old and singing veggie tales songs everywhere she went. Now she is the big sister at 4 "teaching" them to baby sister.
Keep us posted on what is happening,
C.

the fussing with nursing sounds kind of like nipple confusion. Do you give her a bottle or pacifier? The are a different kind of "suck" and they can get confused. I would call La Leche League. They really saved my sanity when my, now 17 year old, son had that problem. Good luck, it can be hard when these things just come up with no warning.
M.

hey there! My husband and I are parents to a 8 month old girl and I still breastfeed here. I am also a stay at home mom. I know it is not that easy at times ;-) but keep up the good work!!! She probably is going thru a growth spurt and fussing because of that. What could me another thing is, that the breast or breastmilk tastes different from a couple days ago, e.g. did you start working out alat (babies don't like it when the skin gets too sweaty, also working out too hard can diminish your milk supply), did you change your body lotion, shower gel, etc, or did you change what you are eating lately? But as long as she is pooping and peeing like before she is fine. I know it is always on your mind if the baby gets full or not, trust me I was there. Sarahbeth (my daughter) would do that too around 6 or 7 weeks, pulling away from the breast, milk running outta her mouth and just smiling at me, gazing into my eyes. At that time they can see alot better and are amazed by there surroundings. Just keep on breastfeeding her and comfort and spoil her as much as you can (that's what I did with our baby and she turned out just perfect and the breastfeeding is still going, so....) I really hope I could help you a little!!! Have a great day and talk to you later, Mel

Is your baby old enough to be teething? My baby started fussing around the four and a half month mark. She did exactly what you described. It took us two weeks to actually find out that it was because she was teething. Once we figured out we were able to ease her discomfort (and mine.)

My baby girl had very similar problems! It turned out that she had acid reflux! Thins is not something that the doctor told me about but when I questioned about it, he was very helpful and knowledgable about acid reflux in infants! He put het on some medicine and almost instantly she was so much better!! I was able to nurse her for a little more than a year with no problems after!
Best of Luck!

first off, congrats on the new baby! i know how frustrating it can be to have a baby that won't stop crying. my older daughter (named elizabeth BTW!) had colic and that was a very trying time on my nerves!
i'm not sure if this is the case with your daughter, but i know when my daughter (now 5 mo. old) was about 4 wks old, she would do that same thing you are describing, screaming and pushing away from my breast, even if i squirted milk into her mouth. i finally figured out she wasn't hungry at all but just wanted a pacifier to suck on and be swaddled and she would fall right to sleep! does your daughter take a pacifier? some babies just have that urge to suck more than others, but they don't want to suck on your breast b/c they know when they are full and don't want milk, just the sucking sensation. i wouldn't worry about nipple confusion either, b/c i gave my daughter a pacifier from day 1 and she is still happily breastfeeding. i also started supplementing occasionally (so my hubby could feed her and i could get some sleep!) at around 4 wks. old and she has done just fine. she still prefers the breast but she will take a bottle if need be.
someone else suggested maybe she has reflux? both my daughters do/did and for about the first 3 months i always put them down for their naps in the baby swing, reclining of course. they slept really well in it, and once they outgrew the reflux i just started them right into the crib and they were fine. maybe that is why she likes to be held, b/c she is upright? also i wouldn't rule out the suggestion it might be an ear infection or nose congestion. those can also go hand-in-hand with eating and sleeping problems.
i hope you find something that works and in the meantime, try to take some time to do some deep breathing exercises, take a walk, go to the store for 30 min. alone...something where you can de-stress, b/c a crying baby can really get under your skin, and even a few minutes of silence AWAY from the baby can recharge your batteries for the rest of the day!

My Mom gave me a tip once that was actually intended to relieve engorged breasts...but I wonder if this might help with helping baby to stay latched on too...

Take her favorite bottle nipple and place it over your nipple. Let the baby latch on. After a few seconds, your nipple takes the shape of the bottle nipple. Take off the bottle piece and let the baby latch onto you. This really helped me and allowed me to not rely on the bottle so much.

Nursing is a wonderful thing, but sure can be challenging.
Hopefully someone can help you with the sleeping thing.

Me and my husban had the a kind of the same problem you are having with the breastfeeding. When my son started to cry about breastfeeding i took him to the doctore and found out that he was allergice to the breast milk and had acid reflex that could be a problem u are having. i think if she has acidreflex that could be the problem eith her not sleeping well.

I breastfed my daughter and I couldn't drink citrus/grapefruit/orange juice or she wouldn't like my milk. So maybe you are eating something that is coming through that she doesn't like. Babies apparently can detect changes in the milk. Whatever the offending food is, it could also cause her gas, nausea, etc. I laid my baby tummy down across my knees and comforted her and sometimes that helped. Also, is her nose congested? That will aggrivate a nursing baby immensely. I did both bottle and breast with both my kids and they had no confusion or problem with it.(I did, however, have to try several types of nipples until I found the one my daughter liked, and yes, it was one that was like a natural nipple, it would pull up into her mouth like a natural nipple, not just pointy and rigid.It was 5 years ago so I forget the name, there were 2 brands like that I think) My daughter preferred the breast hands down, but she would take formula or breastmilk from a bottle.
Also, have you changed your air filters, maybe there is more dust/pollen that has changed.
You sound very committed to nursing, so hang in there. Best wishes.

has your diet changed any in the time that you have been noticing this stuff? even the smallest change could be causing her discomfort.
I inivertinately caused my son to have to have a feeding tube put back in for about a week... (he was born at 31 weeks) I had eaten some pico de gillio (SP?) and not thinking expressed the milk....

There are several things that can be going on, and several things to try to see if it helps...
1. She is at the age of a growth spurt, so will seem like she isn't getting full until your body begins to produce more milk (usually a couple of days). Be sure you are letting her "finish" the first breast before switching her to the other. She'll get more hindmilk this way, which is higher in fat and will keep her satisfied longer.
2. Try breastfeeding until you think she is full, burp/change diaper, and hold her a few minutes, then try the other side. Without getting into the technical reason this works, sometimes there is a dip in the hormone that causes a baby to feel satisfied about 10 min. after they "seem finished." If allowed to continue, this hormone peaks again and they tend to sleep better.
3. Have you tried swaddling her when she takes a nap, so she feels more secure?
4. She could also have an ear infection, but I would think it would effect her at night as well. Does she show any signs of illness?
5. She needs to feel your closeness, so you might try a sling of some kind.
6. She may have to "work at" getting milk from the breast, and because it just pours easily from a bottle, she may get frustrated.

You may want to contact La Leche League or a Lactation Consultant.

K.

I had problems with my son like that. He was eating soooo much that the doctor told me there was no need to supplement with a bottle because he gained back his birthweight plus some at his first checkup. But later he was fussing and not wanting to eat. He was hungry...he would turn toward the breast...and he would get excited if he saw a bottle, but right after he started he would fuss and push the bottle away. I checked his mouth and saw a white spot pn his gums...the next day it was still there and another one was there so I called the doctor and they told me he has the thrush, and the reason he wasn't eating is because it hurt his little mouth too much. If I were you I would check that fast because if it passes through her digestive you will have an aweful rash to deal with, and it might pass to your nipples, and then they will crack and bleed. The medicine is easy to give and doesn't cost a whole lot so if that is the case, you really have nothing to worry about, but it is worth a check, Hope this helps (and that I didn't babble too much).

Could she have thrush or some mouth problem causing her pain? Call La Leche League. Just do an internet search to find your local group and phone numbers. They will know how to help you.

Keep on trying and don;t give up!! You are doing such a wonderful thing by nursing your baby - even if she doesn;t appear on board at times. This too shall pass!!

A fellow nurser,
K.

Hi F.,
I nursed my four babies for two years, except this last one, he decided at 12 months he preferred solids, he cuddles, but doesnt latch.
anyhow,

At this time, six weeks of age, the baby may be wishing to nurse longer than usual in order to help your milk continue to come in.

Or maybe you have changed something in your diet that she does not do well with,

keep trying, look for La Leche League, I'll look and share what I find,

Good luck, it is worth all this effort.
M.

Hello F.,

I was reading up on your email concerning your child's sleeping and breastfeeding concerns. I have a 6 month old little girl and I also breastfed my child. I am a working mother but was fortunate enough to be able to go home during her feedings so that I may nurse her instead of leaving pumped breast milk in bottles. I did relate to your experience with fussiness and unusual sleeping patterns.

Since my daughter was born, she has been a very alert baby. She would hardly sleep except during the evening when I would put her to sleep around 9 or 10 o'clock. I figured the later the better since that would mean more time to sleep for myself. It seemed to work out fine, the only problem was that when she did not get full she would not sleep. I would produce sufficient milk to the point where I would be engorged and in pain sometimes, especially in the mornings! I did notice though at times she would be eating and all of a sudden she would turn away, then she would latch back on, then turn away, kinda like she was playing. Then the fussiness would follow. She would start squirming and begining to cry. When this would happen I would lay her on my lap until she just didn't want to be in that position anymore. I would put myself back together and figure that she would be done feeding, until a short while after she would begin looking again and I would begin to feed her once again. Usually this time she would finish and fall asleep. My advice would be to go with the flow. Since your baby is adjusting to new life about as much as you are as well, they tend to go through stages of development and with in these stages they are trying to find their comfort zones.

I wound up introducing formula around her 3rd month as well as breastfeeding. She did really well during this time. She did not reject my breast considering she was also bottle feeding with formula during portions of the day. If you plan on doing this, which I would recommend, you will find how your baby will adjust to a certain feeding pattern. You can continue to breast feed as much as you want, but this way your baby is rest assured eating well. Please consult your baby's pediatrician before attempting this.

The best advice given to me during the first few months was to go with the flow and test everything out. This way you will know what you and your baby can handle and what to stay away from. As long as you notice that she is producing several wet diapers everyday as well as some poopy ones, you have nothing to worry, that is a sure sign that your baby is okay.

I hope that you find this information useful. Always go with your gut feeling and make sure to consult your doctor with any questions-after all, they went to school for this stuff..... Good luck and congratulations on your new arrival!!!!!

It is normal for babis eating and sleeping patterns to change every now and then. Just make sure you aren't dieting and aren't eating foods that will make the breast milk intolerable. I suggest keep pushing the breast and try swaddling her for her naps.