6 week old refusing feeds

[Raroo]

Hi all
my LO will be 6 weeks tomorrow. For 3 days she has been rejecting maybe every 2nd or 3rd feed.
She wakes up or I wake her for the feed and she looks hungry but as I hold her in position she starts
to scream hysterically and will not calm down. The only way to calm her ia by putting her back to sleep. She is ebf
and takes a dummy. Il post our rough EASY how its been for past couple weeks before this new pattern. Its still early days so it really is rough.

We start at 7 30 with E and is up for 1 hr inc A time. Then a 2hr nap. This is all day until 10 30 where we do
E and then A is bath and then e again and S at 11 30. Lo then wakes up at 4 30 for a feed and then 7 30.

Now that LO is rejecting feeds, she is eating more like every 4 hrs and in the night wakes up at 1am and
then 7.
It seems like LO wants to just sleep instead of eat but I am worried about my milk supply. LO has gained 1.6kg since birth so i know she is gaining.
Any insight as to whats going on? Thank you!

[*Ali*]

It sounds like she could be overtired. Nights would ideally be more like 10-12hrs long from 7 or 8pm to 6 or 7am so she could me making up for the really late night.

In the day she could probably manage a little longer than 1hr of A time, maybe try 1hr10-15?. Some babies at this age prefer to go longer between feeds so if she is sleeping I'd let her sleep unless she is still sleeping at the 4hr mark. Babies do sometimes get their days and nights mixed up so it could be she hasn't worked out when to stay up between feeds yet. You might need to work on making it more obvious when it is daytime by keeping it light and active and when it is night time by keeping it dark and quiet.

[Raroo]

Thanks for the reply!  The past couple of days have been even worse. Its nearly every feed now.
lo just screams as i try latch her till I put her to sleep. Its like she doesnt
want to be awake. Then shel wake up a few min later and have a very short feed before
coming off and wont relatch again. So feedings have been very random. Even now, LO slept from 10-5am
And woke up looking for food but wouldnt latch. Had to
do pat/sh for a few mins, let her sleep for 10 min and then LO had feed. Ill try the earlier
bath and bedtime tonight and see how it goes. I can try extend our A times but even as it is
LO struggles to keep up for the hr.
Thank you

[Raroo]

As a side question, do you think I should be pumping to keep up my supply? Im really woried about it.
I dont have the rush of milk in before a feed and bearly feel any coming in at the start of the feed.
Also lo bobs on and off crying even if she does latch.

[*Ali*]

You can certainly pump if you're worried about supply but if she is gaining well and having plenty of wet nappies you probably don't have asupply issue.

It's fine for her to sleep at night without feeds if that is of her doing.  That quite common at this age.

Have you tried doing breast compressions when she first latches on? That helps dislodge the fatty molecules from the sides of the ducts.

I'd probably hold off with the dummy right now.  You want all her sucking to be done at your breast.

Can you get to see a lactation consultant or get down to a breastfeeding support group? There's no substitute for IRL help in these situations.

Have you spoken to your health visitor or GP about it?

[zissi]

hey, I would def get a lactation consultant looking at her feeding and also into her mouth and assess tongue mobility etc. what you describe sounds very much like my LO who was diagnosed with tongue tie eventually. it started with fussiness at the breast in the evenings first and then went onto all feeds except of nighttime feeds when she was sleepy. basically due to the restricted tongue LO wasn't able to get at the milk and got frustrated. while your supply seems to be great at the moment (driven by hormones rather than demand) it will go down with this irregular feeding. she is still very young and should feed more. so, if I were you I would get a LC to check on you and raise the possibility of tongue tie. hope things work out soon!!
oh and I did start pumping as I was terrified to lose my supply.

[Raroo]

I took to a pead and she said LO very congested and has red ears. She is
starting her on an anti biotic for her ears and I have been using saline for her
nose. Really hope the feeding improves once the anti biotocs start taking effect.
I have been trying to express to keep my supply going but its so low :-(.
Will go to lactation consultant on monday if no improvement

[*Ali*]

I'm glad the gp spotted that. I hope it helps.

[Raroo]

didnt help :-( LO just wont nurse even now 5 days on the antibiotic.
guess lc is next.
I have been trying to express but.get so little

[zissi]

please do get to see a LC asap to get to the bottom of this. hope things will improve very soon!

[*Ali*]

So are you feeding something else if you haven't managed to get LO latched on for 5 days?

I'd definitely get IRL help.

[Raroo]

i have been expressing because lo will take bottle very happily. But I only get about 10oz a day
Some feeds LO will come on and off but have a bit each time.These feeds are screaming
matches and last well over an hr as she really fights it. The LC said its just
the ear infection and should resolve once totally cleared. LO has lost a bit of weight this week but
she said thats normal.

[zissi]

is this LC experienced in tongue tie? did you mention this to her? TBH I find it a bit strange that a baby wouldn't feed due to an ear infection, usually when they are sick all they want is to feed. but Im no expert so don't know. would you go back to her? I presume you are topping up with formula, as 10oz don't sound enough?

[Raroo]

The 10oz is what i can express and see LO drinking. Then she has a few bits of feeds througjoit
the day. So she is getting more than what Im expressing but its a big struggle. I havent been supplementing
with anything else. She has got enough wet diapers that I know shes not dehydrated.
I am also starting to doubt it being from ears. honestly, it seems like is too lazy to work at breastfeeding.
She is happy to take the bottle. Maybe I should try get a second opinion?

[zissi]

yes I would def get a second opinion from a LC that knows about tongue tie. also, the more bottles she has the more she prefers that way of feeding as it is much easier than feeding on the breast. hope things will improve soon!