3wk old fussy at feedings

[springbride]

My DD is 3.5 wks old. The first 2 wks, she would latch on and drink and drink and drink and then fall asleep. The last few days she has been latching on, suckling for about 5-8 minutes, and then starts this fussy routine & it goes the same way every time.
She lets go and squeals, then tries to latch back on and starts suckling on my arm, I gently re-guide her to what she's looking for, she'll suckle for maybe a minute and then lets go again and tries to attack her fist. She seems so frustrated about it, and still seems to want to eat because she'll always take the other breast when offered.

I checked out kellymom and saw that this is noted under the 'oversupply' issues, but I'm not sure that's the problem.. could there be anything else? Am I doing something wrong here?

[KarlaC]

Originally Posted by springbride

My DD is 3.5 wks old. The first 2 wks, she would latch on and drink and drink and drink and then fall asleep. The last few days she has been latching on, suckling for about 5-8 minutes, and then starts this fussy routine & it goes the same way every time.
She lets go and squeals, then tries to latch back on and starts suckling on my arm, I gently re-guide her to what she's looking for, she'll suckle for maybe a minute and then lets go again and tries to attack her fist. She seems so frustrated about it, and still seems to want to eat because she'll always take the other breast when offered.

I checked out kellymom and saw that this is noted under the 'oversupply' issues, but I'm not sure that's the problem.. could there be anything else? Am I doing something wrong here?

I have no answers but I am watching to see if anyone else has any ideas. I'm going through the exact same thing with my lo, same age too

[springbride]

[Youngfrankenstein]

Have you noticed if you have a strong letdown? Maybe her mouth gets "flooded" or sprayed in and that's what she's reacting to? If you suspect that, you could try popping her off and letting the milk go into a pad or diaper and try again...

[PatioGardener]

Does this happen more at a certain time of day? It sounds like it may be the start of a (normal) cluster feeding pattern - usually happens in the evening and can be very frustrating for Mama! Hang in there!

[femalephish]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

Does this happen more at a certain time of day? It sounds like it may be the start of a (normal) cluster feeding pattern - usually happens in the evening and can be very frustrating for Mama! Hang in there!

This is US! My LO is 5 weeks and we do this fussy, crying, nursing-then-popping-off thing EVERY NIGHT! Luckily, then she sleeps for 3-4 hours.

It's really hard. When do they grow out of it?

[half-pigeon]

i have a 3.5 week old & go through this every night. also interested in seeing responses.

[PatioGardener]

Here is what kellymom has to say about cluster feeding/evening fussiness: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html

[curious&eager]

I'm hear after giving up on a bedtime snack feeding. My ds is 5.5 weeks old and he does the same thing. He'll act like he's starving, but then I'll put him on and he'll suck for less than a minute, pop off, cry, pop on, suck, pop off, cry. It's so frustrating. He'll go to town on my finger, sucking it for way longer than he'll suck my boob. Some of the night feedings are getting so frustrating that I just want to cry for this reason. I want him to eat so he'll sleep.

He used to do this because he was pooping and he struggles and squirms with that. But, tonight it seemed like there was no reason for his crying. I used to be able to rest during the night feedings, but now, both he and I get worked up over them and we are both awake as result.

Today I think he was just overtired. It seems he has trouble settling down at times. Seriously though I was thinking about calling the doctor about this, so I can't wait to read the responses instead. At least I'm not alone.

[BirthKathy]

My 3 mos old did this last night. I didn't think he was hungry, but he acted like he was and then I fed him. He did eat OK, but he was bouncing around a lot. Afterward, he got the hiccups and then spit up a ton of milk all over himself. I knew I couldn't feed him again, so I had to rock him to sleep. I think he was overtired, too. We had tried a pacifier first, but he didn't take it.