Baby pulling off breast early -- and roughly!

[violet_]

My little one is almost 3 months old now, and is exclusively breast fed. We've been using a nipple shield since the beginning, and her weight gain has been fine, so no problems there. My nipples have finally been modified enough by her sucking that the shield isn't necessary anymore, and pretty much over night she went from requiring it to totally refusing it. I had been trying to nurse her at least once per day without it (when bobs were softer in the afternoon she could usually do it ok), so she's had some practice.

Anyway, I don't know if the shield part is even related. So, right around the same time, she ramped up the frequency of her feedings, which I attributed to a 3 month growth spurt. So she's eating more often, and not using the shield. But then she started pulling off the breast after only a few (3-7) minutes, sometimes even earlier. She would clamp down on the nipple very hard and then jerk her head away -- this hurts a lot! So I try to put her back on, and she'll suck for a few seconds or maybe a minute tops, and then pulls off again. When it gets to be too much for me, I switch her to the other boob. She usually will go a few minutes there before pulling off and the same pattern repeats and we switch back.

This is getting really painful, plus it is making it extremely hard to nurse her to sleep now that she does this, so we're both really tired.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[Llyra]

My DD2 did that, at about the same age. After some careful observation, and a bit of research, what I figured out is that she was doing it when the initial faster flow slowed down. If I tolerated it for a length of time, what would happen is that eventually the yanking would elicit another letdown of milk. Basically, she was frustrated by the low flow and was trying to make it come quickly again. That's why switching sides settles them down for a few minutes-- because the flow is fast again on the other side. Then when that slows down, they start yanking again.

Switching sides is a classic supply-increasing technique. Basically, every time she pulls off, you switch, even if she's already fed from the other side, and you keep switching back and forth until she's satisfied. Switching will often elicit another letdown of milk, and thus helps her get the faster flow she wants, and also sends the message to your breasts that more is needed.

If you work on that, for a few days or a week, chances are that your supply and her needs will come into harmony again, and she'll settle down and nurse not so restlessly again. Until the next time...

Have your cycles recently returned? sometimes that's the culprit-- my supply always took a hit when AF came back. But mine were older then, so their displeasure came out in other ways--- DS used to pound on my chest with his fists and yell "mah, mah" (more, more).

The not being able to nurse to sleep was the most frustrating part of this, for me-- she was so restless and needed to switch so often, that it would take hours for her to be able to sleep. Honestly, when my feeling was that she really was TIRED, and she'd been nursing for more than an hour and still wasn't settling, I would give her a paci. Which maybe wasn't the ideal, but it got us through the worst times.

[violet_]

Thanks! I think that makes good sense. Hopefully my supply is ramping up now -- I've been ravenously hungry since she started this, so I imagine that's me making more baby food. She's seeming somewhat more sated, I think, too.

ETA: If my supply dropped, then I don't know why. I haven't changed anything or taken any meds. Though I did have a flu shot last week.

[tibeca]

Just wanted to chime in here with one other helpful bit of advice. To increase flow, you can also try breast compressions.

"To keep your baby interested in nursing, squeeze the breast firmly with your thumb on one side and fingers on the other to increase milk flow. Keep squeezing until baby is no longer actively sucking; then release. Rotate fingers around the breast and squeeze again. Then switch to the other breast, using both breasts twice at each feeding. Squeeze firmly but be careful not to cause injury your breast tissue."

from: http://www.lllofnorthaz.org/article/...ur-milk-supply

I have found that breast compressions help in MANY situations.

[violet_]

Originally Posted by tibeca

Just wanted to chime in here with one other helpful bit of advice. To increase flow, you can also try breast compressions.

"To keep your baby interested in nursing, squeeze the breast firmly with your thumb on one side and fingers on the other to increase milk flow. Keep squeezing until baby is no longer actively sucking; then release. Rotate fingers around the breast and squeeze again. Then switch to the other breast, using both breasts twice at each feeding. Squeeze firmly but be careful not to cause injury your breast tissue."

from: http://www.lllofnorthaz.org/article/...ur-milk-supply

I have found that breast compressions help in MANY situations.

Thanks! That does seem to help!