Grunting when nursing

[amama2011]

My baby is now almost 5 months old, and she grunts a lot while nursing. She did not grunt when she was younger - this started approximately at 3.5 months, and continues since then. She grants and moans usually only during day time feedings. Sometimes it's accompanied by pulling her legs and a fart or a poop at the end but not always. The sounds that she is making are pretty loud and to me look like sounds of pain or discomfort rather than sound of pleasure. Sometimes she even can pull away and cry or whine a little.

From what I read I have two possible explanations - first, could be gas/digestion discomfort, and second, could be teething pain. If this is gas/digestion related then why does it happen only when she is nursing? She does not grunt at other times - either awake or asleep. Also, she does not seem to be a very gassy baby but granting is pretty regular - few times a day. Teething pain could be another explanation but she does not have any sign of teeth yet (visually) and also does not drool excessively. She likes to chew on her teethers and tries to put everything into her mouth.

I asked our pediatrician at our 4-month appointment, and she just said that it was nothing to be concerned about if the baby is gaining weight and overall looks healthy. I still have some doubts - it's stresses me out when I hear these sounds. I tried to search forum for this topic but all old threads were about grunting at earlier age (first weeks or a couple months) and mostly at night/ in sleep. Anyone experienced what we have?

[AlwaysPraying]

It happens to us but K is not even 1 month old. Sometimes he would burp/fart sometimes not. He almost stopped doing it since i started swaddling his arms. My friend's daughter is 3 mo and she started does this too. No gas/burping problems over there, they cant figure out what it is either.

[cat13]

Grunting and moving around and pooping while nursing is the norm for my DS (6 mo). But I can tell he's not doing it out of pain, he's just really into it, you know? But, if your mama instincts are telling you that your DD is having some stomach issues, maybe you could look into some help for that. Have you ever tried gripe water or the like? Elimination diet? If you think it could be teething-related, have you tried giving teething tablets (we use Hylands with great success) or getting a amber teething necklace?

You mentioned pulling away and crying which makes me suspect maybe overactive let down... Does she pull away right at let down? Or if she has only been doing the pulling away thing for a few days, I'd think maybe a growth spurt? Or is she pulling away because she's getting distracted with watching the world around her?

Sometimes peds aren't really knowledgeable about bfing. Could you meet up with a LLL leader and have her watch you nurse like this?  Your ped is probably right about your DD being perfectly healthy, but a LLL leader might be able to help you find some answers. Good luck!

[amama2011]

cat13, thanks for your reply and all ideas. 

Quote:

Or is she pulling away because she's getting distracted with watching the world around her?

she does that all the time :) but that's different - I know when she is doing that. Speaking of pulling away and crying - she actually stopped doing that, did not happen in the last few days but grunting still continues. Don't know, maybe as you say, she is just really into it. 

We do use Ovol sometimes when she is gassy, it seems to help. I am going to try to add a special infant probiotics to her diet, and see if it'll make any difference. I've attended a class on starting solids, and a nutritionist who led the class recommended adding probiotics to a baby diet in their first year. 

About consultation with LLL leader it's a good idea, I think I'll do that. 

[cat13]

Glad to hear the pulling away and crying stopped. That part was probably a growth spurt.

Probiotics are a great idea, I should start adding those into DS's diet too since we've been starting solids and his tummy is a little more wonky these days.