*manic* nursing sessions

[Ldogg]

DD is 7 weeks old, and has occasionally in the past few weeks had some really *manic* nursing sessions. If my memory serves me correctly, I think they've happened mostly at night, and primarily after hanging out in a large crowd. We just had a couple of really manic sessions tonight, after attending a graduation party at my mother-in-law's house.

DD will latch on, drink fast and heavily to the point of choking, and pop on and off a bunch as if trying to get more milk (this sounds odd, but she sort of reminds me of a dog chewing on a bone, where they sink their teeth into the bone and wag their head around maniacally). She breathes really heavily and thrashes around a lot... even swaddled, she thrashes her head around and moves as much as she can in the swaddle.

She also suffers from reflux, so all this manic eating just aggravates her reflux even more, which in turns makes her even fussier.

All I can trace this behavior to is perhaps overstimulation from being at a party, and perhaps being passed around to a few different people. But she was totally sacked out in everybody's arms, so I didn't think it would bother her.

Has anyone else experienced these crazed nursing sessions? Nothing I do calms her down. She just eventually wears herself out.

[Emmery'sMom]

Because you were out and about did she go longer between nursing sessions? Could she be reacting to a stronger letdown than she's used to because you are a bit more engorged?

[Ldogg]

I actually fed her still according to her normal schedule... though I realized this morning that she might have been so manic because she was trying to sort of 'tank up' before the nighttime. She doesn't do this every night, though, so it's been a while. And she's usually not that manic, she'll just eat for an extra long time. But I did get a good 4 1/2 hour stretch after that session last night, so maybe that's why!

I do think she's a bit extra sensitive about being in crowds and getting handled more than usual, which just makes her a bit fussier. Perhaps that plus the monster feed just put her over the edge. Eeeesh!

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Ldogg

Has anyone else experienced these crazed nursing sessions? Nothing I do calms her down. She just eventually wears herself out.

nak

my 3 wk old does this. i give him the 'full' breast first, let him gorge, and then transfer to the 'old' breast (we only take 1 breast a feed and i block feed) to let him suck in a less manic way for a while. sometimes it helps

[CoBabyMaker]

This is kind of a shot in the dark but...When DD was little and used to get worked up like that DH would "make" us go have skin to skin contact. We'd all just strip down and snuggle naked for a while and she would do SO much better. Sometimes taking a bath together would help, too.

[skfmama]

My 7 week old DS has some pretty manic nursing sessions as well. He grunts and wriggles his head, with my nipple still in his mouth. It can be painful! I don't know why he does it, but here are my 3 guesses I've come up with so far.

-He's done with a side. I don't know why he just doesn't pop off, but more often he wriggles and grunts when he's done.

-He needs a burp or a break. I have pretty fast let down on one side, and even the slow side can be fast if he hasn't eaten in a while (like at night).

-He wants more milk. He favors my fast side, so sometimes I'll try to get him to feed more on the slow side to even them out and he'll get annoyed.

That said, sometimes at night it's just bad! Last night we were also at a party so we were out at the time he usually nurses a ton before he goes to bed. He was so bad! He was fussy and crying and wouldn't latch on long enough for a let down. The wriggles were really bad too. I took breaks and cuddled him and eventually he calmed down enough to eat. Poor guy, he gets into a rhythm with eating and sleeping and then I don't let him keep it...

So I don't really have an answer but my DS does the same thing. Hang in there!

[rhiOrion]

My 4.5 week old DD does this. I've found it frequently is when she needs to burp or is having gas issues. She also does it WAY more frequently on her less favored boob. She does it less often on the boob she prefers. It's annoying, for sure.