So why does he arch his back and push away instead of relaxing?

[Harmony96]

DS is 11 days old today, and sometimes when he's hungry, he'll do this weird back-arching thing and sort of push himself away from the breast instead of just latching and eating. Sometimes it's b/c he needs to burp or poop, but other times he just does this, even though he's clearly hungry (rooting, wide open mouth, long time since last meal, etc.).

DD never did this. I don't understand. Then if he DOES latch on, he only stays there for about 10 seconds before falling off and we have to do the whole thing over again.

[Sheryl1678]

My first thought was poo or pee but you mentioned that. What about teething? That turns my lo into a spastic nurser.

[StrongFeather]

Originally Posted by Sheryl1678

My first thought was poo or pee but you mentioned that. What about teething? That turns my lo into a spastic nurser.

most likely not since the baby is 11 days old.

overactive letdown was my first thought.

[Llyra]

acid reflux?

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by StrongFeather

most likely not since the baby is 11 days old.

overactive letdown was my first thought.

That's why my DS did it!

[justKate]

I second acid reflux.

Does he stretch his neck up like a turtle? Seem more comfortable when held upright, especially after feeds?

If not, then I'd look in to a let down issue. Does he eventually settle and eat when the flow slows? Hmm...

[sunshynbaby]

Could it be overactive letdown?

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

[LadyCatherine185]

My DS did this when he had silent reflux. It progressively got worse to the point where he'd pop off and scream 10+ times during each feeding. We didn't figure out what it was until he was 3 months old because he was not spitting up. Once we finally got him on Prevacid (Zantac did nothing) he stopped the screaming altogether. I also had overactive letdown.

[PatioGardener]

The previous posters gave great ideas (reflux, over-active letdown). If neither of those seem to be the cause, take a look at your hand when you are feeding. Do you have anything touching baby's head? Baby will often push back against Mama's hand on the head, pillow etc. An easy solution is to support the back/neck when you feed - if that's the issue.

[Harmony96]

I'm pretty sure it's a supply/letdown problem, b/c after nursing peacefully for a short bit, he'll pull off and choke and cough. I had the same issue w/ DD but she was better able to handle it than DS is.

Thanks for all the input.