Please help baby won't feed?

[noomummy]

Hello ladies , I really need some help and advice, over the past few days my dd has had and still has really bad wind.  For 2 days I've been giving her infacol but it doesn't seem to be helping.  Her little tummy is a bag of wind bubbling and gurgling away and causing her the most pain around 4pm onwards.  It is becoming increasingly difficult to feed, I've tried changing positions, she hasn't had a proper bowel movement for a few days, she keeps getting the hiccups, when she does burp it's not enough.  I recently started giving her ebm for her d/f (3 times to date)  , and to make matters worse I only pumped 1oz last night after the d/f and this morning after her first feed I only managed 1oz again only to SPILL HALF over the kitchen worktop....I'm so upset, it's such a palaver. Rachel x just wanted to add that I'm now doing double sided feeding x

[maggie2]

{{{hugs}}} Rachel...

I'm actually going through almost the exact same thing over here!  It's so frustrating for both of us   Its been going on for a little over a week for us - I asked the doctor and he told me to give her a little bit of Chamomile tea - I had never heard of that and I called again today to double check to make sure that he meant for me to give the tea to her and not to drink it myself   So I tried earlier but she was too fussy to even take a significant amount.

So I'm going to lurk here with you if you don't mind and see if anyone else has any suggestions!

Maggie

[noomummy]

Hugs right back at you Maggie - it's so upsetting and frustrating isn't it .....you just feel like everything you try just doesn't work and upsets them even more - she has fed today, although it's taken a LOT of patience and I feel like I don't have the energy the way it's carrying on.  I absolutely LOVE b/fding but at times like this I'm ready to go and buy some formula.  I'm not sure whether or not this is because I'm giving her the bottle of ebm for her d/f or not? maybe she's drinking a lot more than she normally does from the boob and also now it seems she gets really frustrated after the letdown slows too.......I'm becoming so exhausted I think that's why expressing has slowed....let's hope someone can come to our rescue, for now hang in there sweetie x rachel

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Rachel, had you mentioned you were taking Fenugreek in another thread and wondered if it was making her more gassy?  Are you making sure to use a very slow flow nipple on the bottle too?

[noomummy]

Hi Erin

Thanks for replying - I'm not taking as much now so gone down to 2 3x a day, so hopefully if it is that this will be ok - but I guess it's trial and error on that front.  As for the nipple it's a Dr Browns with a level one teat..........  do you think it's because I'm now double side feeding? will this mean she's not getting enough hindmilk? will more foremilk add to gassiness? thanks in advance x rachel

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

More foremilk can make her gassy, but you'd probably see really green poos which are quite explosive too (and I mean poos that look like parsely!) - and she'd be having them more often rather than not.  If you're making sure to really drain a breast before switching, then you should be fine (use a bit of breast compression).  And usually with bottles, you can see the hindmilk when they sit for a while (looks like cream) - so with the EBM, this gets mixed in more for the whole feed and you don't have to worry about her staying on long enough, IYKWIM.

I'm not that familiar with fenugreek, though, so I have no idea how much would be too much for her, in terms of gassiness...

She's having lots of wet diapers, though right?

[noomummy]

She's having plenty of wet diapers yes but so far no poopy ones, as for draining the boob it's very difficult once she pulls off in frustration she's just bobs on and off, on and off and won't take anything so I HAVE to switch.  Breast compression isn't working for me either she just gets totally frustrated I end up switching more than once - what do you think about Infacol? x rachel

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

No idea about it at all.   Have you checked the reflux board to see if any of that rings a bell?

[noomummy]

Thanks for your help Erin - I'll go and have a look on the reflux board - I think you may be on to something there - while you're on can I bend your ear about pumping though......as you can see from my original post I'm having real trouble .....rachel x

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

The thing about pumping is that it really helps to stay regular.  I pump every morning at the same time until I see no milk coming out.  Then I give a bottle of it at bedtime.  If I start getting less and less, then I skip the bottle at bedtime and nurse then (takes more out) - she might be hungry for about 2 days with this and wake again for more milk, but in a short time, my supply has increased again and I can pump more.  The other thing you can do is squeeze in more pumping session, but try to stay regular so your breasts know what to expect.  If after a few days, you still can't get more than 1 oz, I'd suspect you're not getting a letdown when you pump.  Have you checked the FAQ on pumping?

[noomummy]

Erin

I had a look at the FAQ pumping and it has definitely reassured me regarding the amount I pump so I guess it's all trial and error, still having trouble with the gas poor little thing - she hasn't pooed in almost a week, HV suggested massaging her anus with vaseline which I did tonight and she trumped a couple of times but still no poo ....I'm trying not to get too worried but it's affecting her feeding and she weighed today and i was told to go back in a couple of weeks as she's dropping down the chart, she was 5.15kg or 11.4pounds.  The HV then suggested perhaps weaning her early which really annoyed me - I wasn't worried about her weight, she's a very happy, alert baby and every human being is different, I was afraid the HV would say something like that I think they should be encouraging b/fding more....any, I'm ranting (sorry) I basically want my dd to do a lovely big poo, how long should I let it go on for without being too concerned, also, when she finally does will she feed better and then hopefully gain better? Rachel x

[noomummy]

Poo alert! she finally had a poo at some point last night so I'm soooo relieved.  Should I be concerned about weight gain? x

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

YAY about the poo!!!!

Weight gain does tend to slow down after 3 months, although she should continue to gain.  Have you plotted her on the curves for bf babies?  She might just be finding her spot on the curve.  Keep an eye on it, but especially on her having enough wet diapers.  Poos can be more irregular (as you know!).  Let me know how the feeds go, now that she's more comfortable.

[noomummy]

Hey Erin  :)thanks for keeping an eye on me!  :)I've had a look at the growth chart and she's lying in between 3rd and 15th percentile having dropped from closer to 15th - I guess we'll just have to see how it goes over the next couple of weeks but TBH I'm dreading going back to get her weighed just in case it's not satisfactory in their opinion and they start telling me to wean which I really don't want to do yet, but at the same time I want what is best for my beautiful baby ....rachel x

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Just remember she's YOUR baby!!