advice please

[JamieB]

But first a question. If I had an oversupply issue, would DS's poops be bright yellow? Like mustard and seedy? He is two weeks old.

DS basically screams all the time. He's either eating, sleeping or screaming. I have a ton of milk and my midwives told me that might be making him fussy. I finally couldn't take it anymore and tried him on formula since yesterday and he seems to be doing a lot better. Much happier. And now I don't know what to do.

Will i have less milk now that I haven't fed him for more than 24 hours? I've been block feeding since the day he was born. He usually feed every three hours and only from one breast. I tried some cabbage today too.

DS sometimes wakes up in the night not even to eat but jsut to cry. I think it's gas. He's constantly squirming in his sleep and lots of burping, farting and loud poops.

People also keep mentioning reflux to me but he's gaining well and not spitting up much so assume that woulnd't be the problem. He may just be a fussy baby but seems very gasssy to everyone who meets him.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Red Pajama]

I'd always heard (and seen in my own babies) that normal breastfed baby poop is mustardy and seedy.

I understand that a crying baby is very frustrating, especially if you believe that nursing is what makes him scream. My personal advice is to ditch the forumla, and get your baby back to the breast. Kellymom.com has some excellent resources that may help you in your search for why your baby cries after feedings. YOu should also search out a lactation consultant in your community to help you.

Good luck. I've got no expertise as a LC, so I don't feel qualified to offer medical advice. BUt personal advice? Nurse your baby. Look for solutions, but nurse your baby.

[KristaDJ]

Reflux doesn't mean spitting up nor do all fussy babies have reflux. Babies can have silent reflux where the contents of the stomach come up and go back down burning their esophagus twice. Babies can also react quite painfully to things you are eating, like dairy. I have had and breastfed three babies. ALL OF THEM REACTED TO DAIRY. I can not stress this enough, *****dairy is THE most common cause of "colic" "reflux" "gas" "fussiness" and/or "diarrhea" in infants****. Please look at your diet, mama. Yes, your milk supply will drop very quickly because breastfeeding is not yet well established and it may be impossible to get it back. PLEASE CHANGE YOUR DIET. I strongly recommend a total elimination diet for two weeks. Only eat plain meat, potatoes, bananas, avocados, carrots, squash and green beans, use only salt and olive oil to flavor your food. If he does not stop screaming then take him to a doctor but most likely he will be an entirely different baby and after two weeks you can slowly start to try different foods, spices, condiments etc for a week at a time and gauge his reaction. I know what this is like, mama but you CAN do this

[JamieB]

Thanks for the replies. I should have mentioned that I don't eat dairy and I really don;t think this is a reaction to anything i've eaten. The difference in DS is dramatic and immediate when he gets a bottle as opposed to nursing. If this was an issue with somthing I was eating it would take a while to get out of his system.

Unfortunately I just nursed him again and he started screaming for immediately and just kept screaming. It starts right away and I can literally see him tensing up when he latches on and hear him swallowing air. I guess this is a letdown issue? But I have no idea what to do now. I try to let some milk out into a towel but it doesn;t seem to help.


All I know is that it is really hard to nurse him when I know it causes him pain

[SantaCruzDoula]

Why not try offering pumped breast milk in a bottle?

It could be that the flow of the breast is too fast for him. You could try hand-expressing some milk before letting him nurse.

Try changing your position to one that slows your milk flow, such as baby on top. Lie on your back and let DS nurse while lying on top of you. Think about positions that force DS to overcome gravity.

You should talk to a lactation consultant in your area, or a LLL leader. There are products that could help decrease the flow of milk while keeping your DS on the breast and nursing.

This is a phase, and it will pass. You'll get past this.

[KristaDJ]

I still would not rule out reflux. Reflux babies usually react exactly that same way to nursing and many develop feeding aversions from the pain. Dairy also isn't the only thing that causes it, it's just the most common.
I would try giving him pumped milk in a bottle and see if he is okay with that. If he is then you know it is something about the act of nursing, his latch or over active letdown or something and you can go from there.

[JamieB]

Thanks for the replies. Well that one day of not nursing really dropped my supply, but I had way too much to begin with so now my oversupply and letdown issues seem to be gone. He's still very fussy though and screams for hours in the evening. And we've ditched the bottle completely because my nipples have been killing me ever since he had the bottles. Will that get better? They turn white after he nurses and I remember that happened with DS1 the whole time he nursed.

I;m going to try the chiropractor for the crying.

[SantaCruzDoula]

I also have vasospasms with DS. It's a constricting of the blood vessels in the nipples. My lactation consultant suggested heat on the nipples before and after feedings (this felt nice, but didn't help). Next she suggested I take 1000mg magnesium with 1000mg calcium. That seemed to help after about 3-4 days. Other options are pharmaceutical: there is a nitroglycerin cream you can have prescribed by your doctor. (I didn't want to go that route.)

Anyway, try the heat and the mag/calcium. Good luck!

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by JamieB

Thanks for the replies. Well that one day of not nursing really dropped my supply, but I had way too much to begin with so now my oversupply and letdown issues seem to be gone. He's still very fussy though and screams for hours in the evening. And we've ditched the bottle completely because my nipples have been killing me ever since he had the bottles. Will that get better? They turn white after he nurses and I remember that happened with DS1 the whole time he nursed.

I;m going to try the chiropractor for the crying.

Are you nursing on demand, and just letting him nurse as much as he wants? I know it seems like a silly question, but I know a lot of moms that have tried to put their newborn on a schedule.

It does sound like you had an oversupply/overactive letdown.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

I'm glad to see you've ditched the bottle, as nipple confusion could easily happen at this age, especially with OALD.

[JamieB]

Originally Posted by SantaCruzDoula

I also have vasospasms with DS. It's a constricting of the blood vessels in the nipples. My lactation consultant suggested heat on the nipples before and after feedings (this felt nice, but didn't help). Next she suggested I take 1000mg magnesium with 1000mg calcium. That seemed to help after about 3-4 days. Other options are pharmaceutical: there is a nitroglycerin cream you can have prescribed by your doctor. (I didn't want to go that route.)

Anyway, try the heat and the mag/calcium. Good luck!

Thanks for that. I will try to get some tomorrow. a question though, was the vasospasm caused by a bad latch? Or just the way your body works? i really think my latch is ok but i'm reading that the most common cause of this is a bad latch.

Originally Posted by Bokonon

Are you nursing on demand, and just letting him nurse as much as he wants? I know it seems like a silly question, but I know a lot of moms that have tried to put their newborn on a schedule.

It does sound like you had an oversupply/overactive letdown.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

I'm glad to see you've ditched the bottle, as nipple confusion could easily happen at this age, especially with OALD.

Yes i'm nursing on demand. Driving myself crazy always thinking i'm overfeding him because he eats so often. No schedule for us. I really regret the bottles but it definitely seems to have taken care of my oversupply issue. Don't babies with ovrsupply usually have green poops though? DS never did...

[Heba]

I actually was wondering if it was a latch issue which was causing your little one to swallow air...which didn't happen with the bottle. Even if it looks good to you, there could be something going on inside the mouth which you can't see.

You've had some good advice wrt to the vasospasms (could be latch, but not necessarily), but I would second the advice of seeing an IBCLC if you can manage it. They'd do a full assessment including latch, and would be able to give evidence-based suggestions as to things which may help both issues.

*Hugs* and hope things get better for both of you!

[SantaCruzDoula]

Originally Posted by JamieB

Thanks for that. I will try to get some tomorrow. a question though, was the vasospasm caused by a bad latch? Or just the way your body works? i really think my latch is ok but i'm reading that the most common cause of this is a bad latch.

Yup - see a lactation consultant. It doesn't have to be a bad latch. It could be related to prior nipple trauma, an ill-fitting bra, or a vigorous suck, to name a few.