pulling on and off - Ouch!

[sesdaisy]

Hi,
 My son is 5 months old and constantly pulling on and off while breastfeeding. He arches his back and pulls backwards with my nipple in his mouth and it really hurts! Does anyone know how I can stop this? He is on reflux meds and seems to be pain free. He even does this when we are in a dark and quiet room with no distractions. When he is pulling on my nipple I unlatch him, wait a minute, and then latch him on again correctly. My left breast is cracked and sore and I am desperate for a solution. Thanks in advance for any ideas. -Sarah

[Niki&Isaac]

I'll be interested to see if you get a solution to this, Amber does it too so i have much sympathy.  x

[seniuk2001]

Sarah,

My lo used to do this when she had gas pains.  You can try changing the position he is in during the feed so that he is more upright.  Also just try pulling him off on your terms first, then burping him, and re-latching him after that.  This could work if that's what's going on.

Alternatively it could be that he is frustrated with a slow let down or vice versa...too fast or forceful of a let down...my girl used to be that way this the let down but mostly when she was much younger....she's 9 months now.

Not sure if that helps with your situation or not...

Do you have a LC you can contact?  They may be of some help to you.  The LC's in our area are a great resource for this kind of thing...but they are free to us up here in Canada.

Good luck!
Leanne

[ayab]

Hi! My first post here... I've had recently been experiencing this problem with my son whom I've been breastfeeding for 15 months now so I totally symphatize. The only thing I could do was keep putting Lansinoh. My experience has been worse that he's got front teeth and when he pulled, he's pulled with his teeth and a couple times, I ended up bleeding and totally in pain. I did not even know I had bled until after. And so far, I've not had a problem like this with his twin sister. Anyway, just put Lansinoh as mine seem to heal fast and although my nipples are still sometimes sore for the next feeding, the pain is greatly reduced after a few hours.

[Hayden's mom]

I've been havng similar issues with my son who is 3.5 mths old.  He's been doing this from day one.  He pops on an off and I think it's a slow down of milk issue.  I have a very fast let down and he gulps quickly for a few minutes and then starts doing what you listed.  Hope you get an answer.  It's a frustrating process for sure.

[Jodi and her boys]

HI there.  I posted wehn my lo was the same age as yours, 5 mos.  I think he learned that he could do that with his mouth, so tried it EVERY time he fed.  I would say, "Ouch, that hurts mommy" everytime.  It didn't make a big difference, but he stopped within a week or two.  I think it was just a phase thing... hope it ends soon for you!

[sesdaisy]

 Thanks for all of your input and advice. It's nice to know I'm not the only one experiencing this. I spoke to a LC this week and she thinks it is all due to overactive letdown. I've done some research on it and that could definitely be the problem. The symptoms are actually very similar to reflux and I think he was misdiagnosed by the pediatrician months ago. Fussing, pulling on and off, and gassiness are all symptoms of both. So, I'm going to do some more reading and find a way to work with this overactive letdown. Thanks!

[RachelC]

Here's a link to a thread in the FAQs:

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63604.0