Baby very impatient eater!!!

[Hheffley7637]

My baby boy has been very impatient nursing since about 4 weeks old, now 14 weeks old. How do I get him to nurse longer? He'll generally eat so fast, then yell at me and go on and off, on and off, look at me- : scream then I'll switch him before he's too ticked and the same thing happens on the other side. If I don't supplement, he eats every hour around the clock- for weeks on end- not gaining weight well. (pediatrician made me supplement at 5 weeks) I've tried everything to up my supply- pump, herbs, reglan (worked but had a bad rxn). The ONLY thing I just found was to nurse him WHILE rocking him to sleep, then he'll nurse longer and I can have several let downs. Is there ANYTHING else I can do? thanks for any suggestions, he's my first and ideas are not coming easily!!!

[Hheffley7637]

an idea?

reading other sites, I'm going to try supplementation at the breast to get him to suck longer. That worked when he was an infant (bad birth, couldn't breast feed first day, refused breast after- so had to supplement to get him on-used the SNS). I'll try that again. It's been so long it just slipped my mind.

[pastrygirl]

Have you had him checked for tongue tie? My 8-week old son sounds similar -- eats every hour or more and gets very frustrated. Turns out he had a posterior tongue tie (hard to diagnose), which we had clipped last week. Now he just has to learn to use his tongue to get the milk.

For now, I have to switch sides frequently, burp constantly (every time he fusses), and sometimes change his diaper for a change of scenery if he's too upset.

[Hheffley7637]

hungry hippo

The SNS didn't work, he just got mad there was a tube and formula there.

I don't think he's tongue tied...I know what that is but I could be wrong. I'm a dental hygienist and to me (at least- I've never compared baby tongues!) he can stick his tongue out pretty far and when he latches on he always sticks out his tongue. He can empty my breast in 2 min- ea side. I will have many let downs if he is relaxed nursing, but not when he's crazy hungry. I'll try the change of scenery. Right now I switch fast before he gets too mad.

Does anyone else have babies growing SUPER fast that are mad hungry like this? it is so exhausting! he is so close to 4 months, does it slow down then? This is so shocking to me because my hubby and I are both small- short and petite.

[alegna]

Are you using bottles? Sounds like nipple confusion to me. Babies who have bottles often get frustrated with the slower flow of nursing correctly on a breast. I would suggest taking all bottles out of the equation (and getting rid of supplements if you're still using them)

-Angela

[Hheffley7637]

I would love to eliminate bottles but i'm going back to work shortly, so he'll use them during the day anyway (just p/t). I didn't think of nipple confusion but I think that is what it is now- and impatience! he nurses awesome at night and now when he's being rocked to sleep. This am he did pretty good. I think I'm just going to have to be diligent about nursing as soon as he wakes before he is too hungry (not even waiting 5 minutes!). He is growing sooooo fast, I think I'm going to have to accept that it is what it is. He is still getting 80% breast milk I figured. That's not too bad and baby food is just around the corner which hopefully then I can eliminate even more bottles and he'll have less confusion. We'll see. I will pump if I have to. I think breast feeding is so important! I plan on giving him breast milk one way or another into toddlerhood. Thanks for the advice! I'm welcome to more....

[alegna]

Okay- then get rid of bottles and supplements when you're there in person. Only use either when the breast isn't available. If you use bottles or supplement when there's a breast available you're setting yourself up for a cycle to continue this.

-Angela

[midwifetx]

Have you read on the askdrsears.com website about "Breast Compression" while nursing. My impatient eater was 'cured' using this technique.

[aisraeltax]

have you contacted a LLL leader or lactation consultant? having someone there in person can really help you figure out what is going on.
i do agree with Angela though...bottles can cause a lot of confusion.
my little guy didnt get angry but he did nurse every hour or so for many many months (probably until around 6 months).

unfortunately, if you are giving ANY formula, you are reducing your supply by that much. i know it was difficult with my first when i didn't have anyone to help me IRL and sometimes it seems that supplementing is the best for the baby, but it really will affect your supply, and the babies eagerness for food. formula comes out much quicker than bm and causes many issues (not the least of which is a lower supply, a baby who gets fed faster, and often obesity).

good luck! another site you may want to try is kellymom.com.

rach

[Hheffley7637]

thanks for the tips. I have contacted my LLL leader and I am going to a meeting next week so I'm going to have someone check his latch again and make sure i'm holding him right and so forth. he is surprisingly doing much better, but I've been adamant about not letting him get mad at the breast to make it a good experience and to take him off, distract him- change his diaper, burp him, play with him, whatever- and last night I let him sleep all night with me and he did a million times better- went to sleep for the night earlier and didnt' wake up to feed like he normally does (normally I do crib first then let him sleep with me after 2am waking so I can get really good sleep). Good to know someone else has a baby that nurses so often. This is just so shocking to me. Thanks for the support!!!

hh

[Hheffley7637]

oh- yes I do compressions- that does help a lot. Thanks for all the help and advice!!