Pulling the Nipple

[C.Arden]

For the past several weeks, my now 4 month old dd has been causing me terrible pain every time she eats. She'll latch on and start eating but after a few swallows, she clamps down even harder on my nipple and pulls her head back as far as she can without letting go and continues to try to eat. After a few seconds of this, she gets upset and lets go and we start the process over. She's a big baby and has been gaining weight and has been in the 95th percentile for weight and height since birth. Her weight gain has slowed down considerably since she started doing this. I'm in so much pain, I have to mentally prepare myself every time we nurse. I've tried everything I can think of. Her latch is perfect when she first starts nursing. I've tried different holds, different ways of supporting her head. I've tried taking her off and burping her and repositioning her every time she does it. I don't think she's having stomach troubles. She has shown some signs of teething, but I just really don't think that's what is causing the trouble. She's my third and I've never had any trouble at all so I'm completely at a loss now. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

[cmhermes]

Could it be overactive letdown? She may be getting too much at once and trying to slow the flow by clamping and pulling away. Have you tried laying on your side to nurse? That is supposed to help. Also expressing some milk to get the initial let down and then latch her on might help.

[Peppermint Poppies]

My LO started doing this at about the same age, and continued it for 2 months until her bottom 2 teeth popped through. She hasn't done it since (even though her top teeth are coming through at the moment).

[CalaRei]

Mine do this in the late evening when they aren't getting milk anymore. It's just that one session of the day when they can't seem to get enough, so we supplement with a bottle then.

[MangoMommy]

My DD 7 mo old nearly always does this, pulls back no matter how much I try to mush her closer to me. She does it lying down too. It is painful!

[omelette]

My 3 month old has been doing this too. He did it for several days in a row and it seemed to be an issue of him not geting enough milk. He was pulling in frustration b/c my letdown wasn't happening and he was trying to get his milk. I just kept putting him on and dealing with it and after a few days things seemed to improve for us.

[_betsy_]

Both my girls did that at that age. Lasted 2 weeks or so, then it was over. I think it's preparing for a big growth spurt. Baby is aggressively increasing your supply. At least, that's what it did to my supply.